Benefits of Recycling

Below are some of the latest facts about recycling:

• Each person creates about 4.7 pounds of waste every single day
• In the US 33.4% of solid waste is either recycled or composted, 12.6% is burned in combustion facilities and 54% makes it’s way into landfills
• In 2007 99% of lead acid batteries were recycled, 54% of paper and paperboard were recycled, 64% of yard trimmings are recycled and nearly 35% of metals were recycled
• The amount of recycling in 2007 saved the energy equivalent of 10.7 billion gallons of gasoline and prevented the release of carbon dioxide of approximately 35 million cars
• The number of landfills in the US are decreasing while their size is increasing. In 1998 there were 8,000 landfills but only 1,754 in 2007
• Each ton of mixed paper that is recycled can save the energy equivalent to 185 gallons of gasoline
• Approximately 8,660 curbside recycling programs exist in the United States
• There are about 3,510 community composting programs in the United States
• Disposal of waste to landfills has decreased from 89% in 1980 to 54% in 2007
• Recycling 1 ton of aluminum cans conserves the equivalent of 1,665 gallons of gasoline
• In 2007 the United States recycled and composted 85 million tons of the 254 million tons of municipal solid waste created