Facts on paper recycling

A spokesman from Wiltshire (UK) said the county recycled more than 700 tonnes of plastic bottles and cardboard every month. BBC

Recycling a tonne of paper spares 17 trees, and Recycling half the world’s paper would free 20 million acres of forest land.

Recycling paper uses 70% less energy than manufacturing paper from fresh materials.

Every 10 tonnes of paper recycled is 10 tonnes less on its way to the landfill.

The UK uses almost 13 million tonnes of paper and cardboard each year.

Paper and cardboard can decompose fairly easily, but the process gives off methane (a greenhouse gas), which contributes to climate change

Offices in the UK throw away around 1 million tonnes of paper each year. The bulk of it ends up in the landfill.

Facts on metal recycling
Recycling 1 aluminum can save enough energy to run a TV for 3 hours.

Once an aluminum can is recycled it is part of a new can within 6 weeks.

There is no limit to the number of times aluminum can be recycled.

The energy needed to make 1 new aluminum can is the same as it is to make 20 recycled cans.

Over 4 billion aluminum drink cans were sold in 1998, if they had been collected for recycling they would have been worth £38 million.

Nearly 60% of the aluminum used in the U.K. has been previously recycled.

Recycling steel and tin cans save 74% of the energy used to produce them.

General facts

Every year one American produces over 3285 pounds of hazardous waste.

Land pollution causes us to lose 24 billion tonnes of topsoil every year.

Americans generate 30 billion foam cups, 220 million tires, and 1.8 billion disposable diapers every year.

We throw away enough trash every day to fill 63,000 garbage trucks.

Every day Americans throw away 1 million bushels of litter out their car window.

Over 80% of items in landfills can be recycled, but they’re not.

The main human contributor to pollution is landfilling.