Recycling Helps Everybody
It's the sensible, responsible and neighborly thing to do, and it's not hard to implement.
Following your community's recycling program by placing glass, plastic and paper items in the appropriate corresponding color-coded bins is easy, and it really does help the environment. Just look at these facts:
* Using 1 ton of post-consumer paper to make new paper products saves 7,000 gallons of water and conserves 3.3 cubic yards of landfill.
* Recycling 300 lbs. of paper saves roughly one tree.
* For every ton of glass recycled, we eliminate 384 lbs. of mining waste.
* Using post-consumer aluminum cans to make new cans produces 95% less air pollution vs. manufacturing cans from raw aluminum.
* Paper recycling reduces pollution by about half.
* Recycling a 36-inch stack of newspaper saves about 73 kilowatt hours of electricity (14% of a typical residential electric bill).
* Recycling 1 pound of aluminum saves enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for 290 hours.
* It takes 64% less energy to make paper products from post-consumer paper, saving the equivalent of three barrels of oil for each ton of paper that is recycled.
Generally, folks who don't recycle believe that their individual contribution doesn't add up to much. But it's that single household multiplied by everyone on your block, and then by every block in your community, and every community in your city that adds up to the jaw-dropping statistics above. Just follow the rules of your community. Keep your bins stored out of sight until collection day. Avoid spilling cans and bottles into the street and weigh down paper items so they don't blow away, and you'll be a big part of the solution.
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