and the greater part of North Alabama for over 11 years.
Recycling Pays (see Price List page)
Energy Savings from Recycling
By Consumer's Choice Council
Recycling Saves Energy
In 1996, 408 trillion Btus - equivalent to energy used by 4 million households, or
0.5 percent of all energy use nationwide - was saved as a result of recycling. In
2005, recycling is conservatively projected to save 605 trillion Btus, equal to the
energy used in 6 million households. (Source: White House Task Force on
Recycling, (202) 564-0188, http://www.ofee.gov/)
Each year, steel recycling saves 76 percent of the energy needed to make steel
from iron ore. This recycling of steel saves the energy equivalent of electrically
powering about one-fifth of the households in the United States, or about 18
million homes for one year. (Source: Steel Recycling Institute, (202) 496-9686,
http://www.recycle-steel.org/)
Aluminum can recycling saves 95 percent of the energy needed to make
aluminum from bauxite ore. Energy savings in 1993 alone were enough to light a
city the size of Pittsburgh for six years. (Source: Can Manufacturers Institute,
(202) 232-4677, http://www.cancentral.com/)
Using recycled aluminum beverage cans to produce new cans allows the
aluminum can industry to make up to 20 times more cans for the same amount
of energy. In 1993, the amount of energy saved was equivalent to 19.3 million
barrels of oil, or 11.5 billion kilowatt hours of electricity. (Source: Can
Manufacturers Institute)
Recycling a ton of materials in a typical curbside recycling program results in a
net energy savings of $187. (Source: California Integrated Waste Management
Board, (916) 341-6000, http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/)
* The energy saved from recycling one aluminum can will operate a computer
for three hours. (Source: California Integrated Waste Management Board)
*Recycling seven steel Campbell Soup cans saves enough energy to operate a
60-watt bulb for 26 hours (Source: Steel Recycling Institute)
Recycling prevents emissions of air and water pollutants
Environmentally preferable "green" procurement encompasses a variety of
products and services, including recycled content products, energy efficient
products, environmentally preferable products and services, and biobased
products.
Recycling reduces the need for new landfills
In 1996, recycling and composting diverted a total of 130 million cubic yards of
material away from landfills. In 2005, the projected diversion will be 195 million
cubic yards. To handle this much additional waste - the situation we would have
faced without recycling - we would have needed 64 more landfills, each of them
large enough to serve the combined city populations of Dallas and Detroit, to be
opened in our communities in 1996. Similarly, without recycling, we would need
92 such landfills in 2005. (Source: White House Task Force on Recycling)
Recycling creates jobs
Recent studies of employment in Northeast and Southern states, bolstered by
studies of the remanufacturing industry, indicate that recycling activities employ
more than 2.5 percent of manufacturing workers. (Source: White House Task
Force on Recycling)
On a per-ton basis, sorting and processing recyclables alone sustain 10 times
more jobs than landfilling or incineration. However, making new products from
the old offers the largest economic pay-off in the recycling loop. Some
recycling-based paper mills and plastics product manufacturers, for instance,
employ on a per-ton basis 60 times more workers than do landfills. (Source:
Institute for Local Self-Reliance, (202) 232-4108, http://www.ilsr.org/recycling)
Recycling reduces greenhouse gas emissions
In 1996 recycling of solid waste in the United States prevented the release of 33
million tons of carbon dioxide into the air - roughly the amount emitted annually
by 25 million cars. In 2005, recycling is projected to avoid 48 million tons of
carbon emissions annually, or the equivalent of 36 million cars. (Source: White
House Task Force on Recycling)
Recycling supplies valuable materials to industry
The dollar value of materials recovered from solid waste has become
substantial: $3.6 billion in 1996 and a projected $5.2 billion by 2005. Recovered
paper and paperboard account for about one-third of the total in both years. In
1996, the market value of recovered paper and paperboard was 24 percent of
the value of all pulp mill shipments. By 1997, the paper industry relied on
recovered paper for 45 percent of its feedstock. (Source: White House Task
Force on Recycling)
Last update: May 8, 2008
