Why Recycle

Facts:

• Aluminum cans can be recycled and reused within 60 days and can be recycled indefinitely.
• Aluminum cans have 68% recycled content.
• Aluminum products from virgin metal consume close to100 times the power required to recycle aluminum.
• Recycling steel can save 2500 pounds of iron ore, 1400 pounds of coal, and 120 pounds of limestone.
• Steel producers use more than 70% recycled steel.
• Recycling steel cans saves between 60 and 74 percent of the energy to produce them from raw materials.
• 31% of the paper and paperboard recovered through MRF's like Rivers, went to produce containerboard (i.e. corrugated boxes) and 12% went to produce boxboard (i.e. cereal boxes.
  
• Producing recycled paper takes 40% less energy than producing paper from virgin wood pulp.
• Recycled paper production creates 74% less air pollution and 35% less water pollution than virgin paper production.
• When Other Paper Products Are Made From Recycled Paper East Texans Can Save Per Ton:
  • 17 trees
  • 463 gallons of oil
  • 586 pounds of air pollution
  • 6,953 gallons of water
  • 4,077 kilowatt hours of electricity
  • 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space
• Plastic bottles constitute close to 50% of recyclable waste in the dumps.
• Every pound of recycled drink bottles and other #1 grade plastics used in place of virgin materials reduces energy use in plastic production by 84% and greenhouse gas emissions by 71%.

What Can Be Made From The Products East Texans Recycle?

Paper

• Toilet Paper
• Paper Towels
• Gift Wrapping
• Cups
• Paper Plates
• Mailing Tubes and Packaging
• Newspapers
• Magazines
• Direct Mail and Coupons

Plastics

• Fiber for clothing and carpet
• Automotive parts
• New bottles
• Plastic straps
• Detergent and soap bottles
• Plastic lumber
• Traffic cones
• Cables
• Mats
• Compost bins
• Trash cans
• Trays
• Insulation boards
• License plate frames
• And more...

Aluminum and Steel Cans

• Vehicle parts
• Sliding shutters for windows and doors
• And more cans indefinitely without losing integrity!

All of these facts and statistics were accessed from the following referenced sites:
http://www.all-recycling-facts.com/recycling-statistics.html accessed October 30, 2012
http://www.livestrong.com/article/119912-products-can-recycled-plastic-made/ accessed October 30, 2012
http://www.kab.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Recycling_Facts_and_Statistics.html accessed October 3, 2012
http://www.factmonster.com/science/environment/recycling-facts.html accessed October 3, 2012