Friday, March 28, 2008

Recycling Facts

• Recycling a ton of paper saves 17 trees, two barrels of oil (enough to run the average car for 1,260 miles), 4,100 kilowatts of energy (enough power for the average home for six months), 3.2 cubic yards of landfill space and 60 pounds of air pollution.

• Americans throw away enough aluminum to rebuild our entire commercial fleet of airplanes every three months.

• Recycling creates six times as many jobs as landfilling.

• Recycling glass instead of making it from silica sand reduces mining waste by 70 percent, water use by 50 percent and air pollution by 20 percent.

• Recycling just one aluminum can saves enough energy to operate a TV for three hours.

• The energy saved each year by steel recycling is equal to the electrical power used by 18 million homes each year — or enough energy to last Los Angeles residents for eight years.

• If every U.S. household replaced just one roll of 1,000-sheet virgin fiber bathroom tissues with 100 percent recycled ones, it could save 373,000 trees, 1.48 million cubic feet of landfill space and 155 million gallons of water.

Sources: Eco-Cycle, Environmental Defense Fund, Colorado Recycles, Steel Recycling Institute, Seventh Generation Co.

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous7:54 AM

    (For immediate release) Contact: Renee Bungart
    (573) 751-4465
    JEFFERSON CITY, MO, MAY, 2006 - The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has
    determined that the state is keeping an estimated 46 percent of its trash out of landfills.
    In 2005, the department estimates that 1.13 tons of waste was landfilled per person in the state.
    This is up slightly from 1.07 tons per person in 2004. However, it is less than in 1990 when 1.3
    tons of waste per person were disposed. The estimated amount of trash generated statewide has
    increased from 11.7 million tons a year ago, to 12.1 million tons in 2005. Paper products are still
    the largest percentage of waste disposed of.
    Missouri landfills received 98,611 tons less waste in 2005 than accepted in 2004. However,
    Missouri exported 415,700 more tons of waste during the same period.
    Since 2001 Missouri has continued to meet the 40 percent waste diversion goal established by
    Senate Bill 530, which was signed into law in 1990.
    The department has several fact sheets, technical bulletins and brochures on the Web that can
    provide additional ways to reduce waste. For additional ways to reduce waste in your business or
    home, visit the department’s Web site at www.dnr.mo.gov/env/swmp/publist.htm or contact Dennis
    Hansen at 1-800-361-4827 or (573) 751-5401.
    For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the
    department’s upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department’s online calendar at
    www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.
    ###
    P:\Plan&Adm\Marshall-Griffin\Waste Diversion\2005 Waste Diversion Press Release.doc

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