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Aluminum and steel cans Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV or computer for three hours. An aluminum can that is thrown away will still be a can 500 years from now. There is no limit to the number of times that aluminum can be recycled. A 60 watt light bulb can be run for over a day on the amount of energy saved by recycling 1 pound of steel. Paper Approximately 1 billion trees worth of paper are thrown away every year in the U.S. Recycling a 1 yard tall stack of newspapers folded in half, saves the equivalent of one tree. 52% of all paper was recovered for recycling in 2007. Plastic Americans use 2,500,000 plastic bottles every hour. Most of them are thrown away. One extra large t-shirt is made from 5 two liter PET plastic bottles It takes 36 two liter bottles to make one square yard of carpet. Glass Every month we throw out enough glass bottles and jars to fill a skyscraper. All of these jars are recyclable. The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can run a 100 watt light bulb for 4 hours. A modern glass bottle would take 4,000 years or more to decompose. Glass is 100% recyclable. It saves raw materials, energy, and reduces waste in landfills. Cardboard A single box can be recycled up to 8 times. Tires There are 325 million tires produced annually. 32 million recycled by RMD Americas, LLC. Tires collect water that stagnates, and becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Miscellaneous Rainforests are being cut down at the rate of 100 acres per minute. A single quart of motor oil, if disposed of improperly, can contaminate up to 2,000,000 gallons of fresh water. You can 1 walk mile along an average highway in the U.S. and see over 1,400 pieces of litter. Where does it go? Aluminum cans? Makes more aluminum cans—can be recycled over and over again Steel cans? Other steel cans, appliances, cars #1 plastic? Clothing, carpet, #2 plastic? Carpet, other plastic containers, plastic lumber, water bottles Phone books? Tubes for dinner rolls, shingles, toilet paper Newspapers More paper TRASH / LANDFILLS *75% of our trash can be recycled
* About one-third of an average dump is made up of packaging material!
* Every year, each American throws out about 1,200 pounds of organic garbage that can be composted.
* New Jersey has the highest recycling rate of all the states--56%!
* The U.S. is the #1 trash-producing country in the world at 1,609 pounds per person per year. This means that 5% of the world's people generate 40% of the world's waste.
* This chart shows the composition of an average garbage dump. Notice how much of it is recyclable!!
* The highest point in Ohio is "Mount Rumpke," which is actually a mountain of trash at the Rumpke sanitary landfill!
WHO RECYCLES? During the Great American Cleanup last year: a. nearly 2 ½ million people participated nationwide b. over 7 million hours donated c. 176,000 miles of roads and highways cleaned-7 X around the world at the equator d. 51,000 acres of parks and public lands cleaned e. 21 million pounds of aluminum and steel recycled f. 57 million pounds of newspaper recycled g. Over 4 million flowers planted h. More than 100,000 trees planted i. More than 400,000 people attended education workshops Approximately 75% of what we send to the landfill could have been recycled. Have you ever wondered what is in a landfill?Most landfills in America are made up of: 37% paper 18% yard waste 10% metal 10% glass 8% food waste 7% plastic 10% other 37% of our landfill is Paper and cardboard: Recycled paper is made into newsprint, paper, paper bags, paper towels, toilet tissue Comes from a renewable natural resource-trees. If you stack newspaper folded in half one yard high, you save the equivalent of one tree. Each ton of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 4000 kilowatts of energy and 7000 gallons of water. Corrugated cardboard boxes can be recycled up to 8 times. 18% of landfills are made up of yard waste:Yard waste can be made into compost, which can be very beneficial to your yard or garden. Here in Topeka it can be taken to City of Topeka Yard Materials Recycling Facility where it is recycled into compost. 10% of our landfill is made up of metal: Aluminum: is made into more aluminum, usually cansRecycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV or computer for 3 hours. There is no limit to the number of times an aluminum can can be recycled. The primary raw material in aluminum is bauxite ore, which is a nonrenewable resource. An aluminum can thrown away, will still be there in 500 years. Steel is recycled into appliances, automobile parts, and more steel cans. More than 90% of our canned food is packaged in tin cans, which are really steel. Other cans that are steel include: paint cans and aerosol cans. All steel cans today are made of about 28% of recycled steel. Every ton of recycled steel saves 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,000 of coal and 40 pounds of limestone. 10% of landfills are made up of Glass: Recycled glass is made into more glass and glassphalt-a road resurfacing material. In Shawnee County we can recycle, clear, brown and green glass. It’s 100% recyclable. The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can run a 100 watt light bulb for four hours. It saves non-renewable raw materials. Reduces solid waste in landfills. It would take more than 4,000 years for a modern glass bottle to decompose. 8% of landfills are food waste:This can also be used in the composting process. 7% of our landfill is Plastic: The type of plastic which indicates which resin it is made from is identified in the recycle symbol on the container, many times on the bottom. In Shawnee County, we can now recycle all plastic #1-#7. #1 plastic—PET (polyethylene terephthalate)—is made into soda bottles, fiberfill, and carpet. It takes 36 two liter bottles to make one square yard of carpet. It takes 450 years for PET (#1 plastic) to break down. #2 plastic—HDPE (high density polyethylene)—made into plastic detergent bottles, insulation, recycling bins, retail bags and plastic lumber . It takes HDPE (#2 plastic) 450 years to break down. It takes 450 years for plastic 6-pack holder rings to breakdown
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Recycling 
