Recycling Facts
Recycling Facts
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Why recycle?
Every time a product is made from recycled materials instead of virgin (new)
materials…
• less energy is used to produce it, and
• a smaller impact is made on the environment.
Much of the energy we use comes from burning fossil fuels such as gasoline (in
transportation) and coal (in power plants). The less energy we use, the less carbon
dioxide we put in the atmosphere!
Read through the next pages to see just how much of each material is saved.
Aluminum………………………………………….. 3
Glass……………………………………………….. 4
Paper………………………………………………..5
Plastic……………………………………………….6
Steel & Tin Cans…………………………………….7
Landfills……………………………………………. 8
References…………………………………………10
Recycling Facts
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Aluminum
Natural Resources Saved
• Aluminum is made from the ore bauxite, and the process of extracting it from the
Earth can be damaging to the surrounding environment.
o Strip mining (or “surface mining”) removes layers of rock and dirt
covering mineral deposits close to the surface of the earth. This is the
opposite of underground mining, in which the overlying rock is left in
place and the mineral is removed through shafts or tunnels.
o Bauxite deposits are primarily located around the equator, raising
concerns over the protection of rainforests and other natural habitats.
Bauxite strip mine in
Cockpit County, Jamaica,
where conservationists
have raised concerns
about the habitat of local
birds and other wildlife
(Birdlife.org).
• Aluminum is a durable and sustainable metal: 2/3 of the aluminum ever produced
is still in use today and there is no limit to the amount of times aluminum can be
recycled. (In contrast, papermaking fibers can typically be recycled 5-7 times before
they become too short to be recycled again.)
Effects on Global Warming
• Making new aluminum cans from used cans takes 95 percent less energy.
• 20 recycled cans can be made with
the energy needed to produce one
can using virgin ore. (Earth 911)
Recycling Facts
A used aluminum can is recycled and
back on the grocery shelf as a new can
in as little as 60 days.
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Glass
Natural Resources Saved
• For every ton of glass recycled, over a ton or raw materials are saved, including
1,300 pounds of sand, 410 pounds of soda ash, 380 pounds of limestone, and 160
pounds of feldspar. (GPI.org)
A recycled glass container
can go from recycling bin
to store shelf in as little as
30 days.
Effects on Global Warming
• To create new glass, substances such as
sand must be heated to 2600 degrees
Fahrenheit, which consumes energy and
creates pollution from factories (Earth
911)
• Recycled glass first becomes cullet, or
crushed glass, which uses 40 percent less
energy than making glass from new products because it melts at a lower
temperature. (Earth 911)
Glass can be recycled infinitely without any
loss of purity or quality.
Recycling Facts
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Paper
Natural Resources Saved
• Each ton of recycled paper can save
17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic
yards of landfill space, 4000 kilowatts
of energy, and 7000 gallons of water.
• This represents a 64% energy savings,
a 58% water savings, and 60 pounds
less of air pollution.
• If all our newspaper was recycled, we
could save about 250,000,000 trees
each year.
Effects on Global Warming
• The 17 trees saved (above) can absorb a total of 250 pounds of carbon dioxide
from the air each year. Burning that same ton of paper would create 1500 pounds
of carbon dioxide.
• Using recycled paper to make new products uses 64% less energy than from
virgin materials. That means less coal and oil is burned to produce energy and
fewer greenhouse gases are put into the atmosphere.
Every bit of recycling makes a difference.
For example, one year of recycling on just one college
campus, Stanford University, saved the equivalent of
33,913 trees.
Recycling Facts
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Plastic
Natural Resources Saved
• Recycling a ton of plastic bottles saves
approximately 3.8 barrels of oil.
Effects on Global Warming
• Recycling one pound of PET (polyethylene
terephthalate) plastic bottles, which include
soft drink and water bottles, saves
approximately 12,000 BTUs (British thermal
unit) of heat energy.
• Producing new plastic products from recycled
materials uses 2/3 less energy than is required
to make products from raw (virgin) materials.
According to the American Chemistry
Council, the demand for recycled plastics
exceeds the available supply.
Recycling Facts
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Steel & Tin Cans
Natural Resources Conserved
• Recycling steel prevents the need to mine for additional iron and coal, the
primary ingredients to make new steel
• A ton of recycled steel saves 2500 pounds of iron ore, 1400 pounds of coal and
120 pounds of limestone
Effect on Global Warming
• Recycling steel saves 75 percent of the energy that
would be used to create steel from raw materials,
enough to power 18 million homes
Recycling Facts
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Landfills
Why is it not good to contribute to a landfill?
• Waste of Resources
You wouldn’t go outside and bury a dollar in the ground. The same is true for
recyclable materials – why put an aluminum can in a landfill when it’s a precious
resource?
• Space Concerns
We can’t keep burying our garbage forever; eventually we’ll run out of room.
Not to mention landfills smell bad and run the risk of polluting the surrounding
areas. The fewer we have, the better.
• Lack of Microorganisms
The conditions in a landfill are not favorable to the microbes responsible for
breaking down waste.
To properly biodegrade, most bacteria need the right mixture of air and water.
A compost bin, for example, needs to be turned every few days to allow for air
to reach all the contents and the moisture level must be constantly monitored.
These conditions do not exist in a landfill – most landfills are sealed off from
surrounding air and water supplies to reduce their impact on the environment.
• Methane gas (a greenhouse gas) is produced from the decaying materials
in a landfill. This gas is often recaptured to generate electricity, meaning
the landfill is not open to the air.
• Leachate is the term used to describe rainwater that falls on a landfill and
drains out the bottom. Leachate is full of harmful chemicals and must be
prevented from polluting nearby groundwater, meaning most landfills are
sealed off from the surrounding soil.
Recycling Facts
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Under these conditions, materials take much longer to break down than they
would anywhere else.
For example, a newspaper buried in your front yard might break down in a few
months. In a landfill, however, one professor of archaeology found legible
newspapers that were 15 years old.
Recycling Facts
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Sources
Earth 911 (www.earth911.org)
Aluminum Recycling:
http://earth911.org/recycling/aluminum-can-recycling/
Glass Recycling:
http://earth911.org/recycling/glass-recycling/
Paper Recycling:
http://earth911.org/recycling/paper-recycling/
Plastic Recycling:
http://earth911.org/plastics/
Steel/Tin Can Recycling:
http://earth911.org/recycling/steel-recycling/
Glass Packaging Institute (www.gpi.org)
Environmental facts on glass recycling: http://gpi.org/recycling/environment/
“In a Landfill, How Long Does Trash Really Last?” by Brie Cadman, based on The
Garbage Project, an archaeological research project conducted by Professor
William Rathje of the University of Arizona.
http://www.divinecaroline.com/article/22355/49745-landfill--trash-really-last-/2
Keep America Beautiful (www.kab.org)
Recycling:
http://www.kab.org/site/PageServer?pagename=recycling
Landfilling:
http://www.kab.org/site/PageServer?pagename=landfilling
Recycling Revolution (www.recycling-revolution.com)
Recycling Benefits: http://www.recycling-revolution.com/recyclingbenefits.html
Recycling Facts: http://www.recycling-revolution.com/recycling-facts.html
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Strip mining: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strip_mining#Strip_mining
Recycling Facts
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