Recycling Tips and Facts
DIVERTED WASTE
Total Diverted Waste represents the approximate quantity of Construction and Demolition (C&D) material we have salvaged or recycled to date.
ALUMINUM
Recycling one ton of aluminum:
Saves 14,000 kWh of energy
Saves 39.6 barrels (1,663 gallons) of oil
Saves 237.6 million Btu's of energy
Saves 10 cubic yards of landfill space
Aluminum Recycling Tips & Facts
- Prepare aluminum cans for recycling by either crushing the cans to save space or leaving them uncrushed.
- Recycling aluminum takes 95% less energy than making aluminum from raw materials.
- A used aluminum can is recycled and back on the grocery shelf as a new can, in as little as 60 days.
CARDBOARD
Recycling one ton of cardboard:
Saves 390 kWh of energy
Saves 1.1 barrels (46 gallons) of oil
Saves 6.6 million Btu's of energy
Cardboard Recycling Tips & Facts
- Removing all other materials in the box such as plastic wrap and other packing materials.
- Break down cardboard boxes to save storage space.
- Recycling one ton of cardboard saves over 9 cubic yards of landfill space.
- Recycled cardboard saves 24% of the total energy needed for virgin cardboard.
GLASS
Recycling one ton of glass:
Saves 42 kWh of energy
Saves 0.12 barrels (5 gallons) of oil
Saves 714,286 Btu's of energy
Saves 2 cubic yards of landfill space
Saves 7.5 pounds of air pollutants from being released *WM
Glass Recycling Tips & Facts
- Rinse glass containers out with water prior to recycling.
- Labels on glass containers will be removed during the crushing process and/or burned off during the melting process.
- Avoid breaking the glass and mixing broken colors together as this may make the glass unacceptable for recycling.
- Recycling glass saves 30% of the energy required when producing glass from raw materials (soda, ash, sand and limestone). Crushed glass, called cullet, melts at a lower temperature than the raw materials, which saves energy.
- The United States throws away enough glass bottles and jars to fill a 1,350 square foot building every week.
PAPER
Recycling one ton of paper:
Saves 4,100 kWh of energy
Saves 9 barrels (380 gallons) of oil
Saves 54 million Btu's of energy
Saves 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space
Saves 60 pounds of air pollutants being released
Saves 7,000 gallons of water
Saves 17 trees
Paper Recycling Tips & Facts
- Recyclable paper includes: Magazines and catalogs, telephone books, direct mail, brochures, pamphlets and booklets in addition to cereal, cake, chip and cracker boxes.
- Be sure to remove the liner and all food from the box, flatten the box and place flattened box in a paper sack with your junk mail, mixed paper, magazines and catalogs.
- Non-recyclable paper includes tissue, waxed and carbon paper.
- 4.5 million tons of office paper is thrown away each year in the United States.
- Enough office and writing paper is thrown away each year to build a 12-foot high wall of paper from Los Angeles to New York City.
- The average American uses 650 lbs. of paper per year.
- Producing recycled white paper creates 74% less air pollution, 35% less water pollution, and 75% less processed energy than producing paper from virgin fibers.
PLASTICS
Recycling one ton of plastic:
Saves 5,774 kWh energy
Saves 16.3 barrels (685 gallons) of oil
Saves 98 million Btu's of energy
Saves 30 cubic yards of landfill space
Plastic Recycling Tips & Facts
- Prepare plastic containers for recycling by ensuring first that they are either:
#1 (PETE): soda-pop bottles, cooking-oil bottles and peanut-butter jars
#2 (HDPF): milk, water and juice bottles, bleach and detergent bottles, margarine tubs and some grocery sacks
#3 (PVC): window cleaner bottles, cooking-oil containers and detergent powder containers
#4 (LDPE): food packaging, shrink-wrap, carryout bags and heavy-duty bags
#5 (PP): butter and margarine tubs, yogurt containers, screw-on caps and drinking straws
#6 (PS): often incorrectly referred to as Styrofoam, a Dow Chemical brand trademark, the category includes cutlery and plates, foam coffee cups, egg cartons, meat trays and yogurt containers
#7 (Other): squeezable syrup and condiment bottles and some microwave food trays
These identification codes are often on the bottom of the plastic container encircled by three chasing arrows. - Remove plastic tops from the plastic containers being recycled and rinse containers with water.
- Enough plastic bottles are thrown away each year to circle the earth four times.
- Approximately 88% of the energy is saved by producing plastic from plastic as opposed to manufacturing plastic from the raw materials of oil and gas.
- Approximately 80% of the U.S. population has access to some kind of plastics recycling program. The number of companies handling and reclaiming post-consumer plastics is nearly six times greater than in 1986, growing from 310 companies to 1,792 in 1998.
- Improvements in energy efficiency made through the use of plastics in the last decade save more than 53 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually. This saves American consumers a total of more than $4 billion each year.
STEEL
Recycling one ton of steel:
Saves 642 kWh of energy
Saves 1.8 barrels (76 gallons) of oil
Saves 10.9 million Btu's of energy
Saves 4 cubic yards of landfill space
Steel Recycling Tips & Facts
- Rinse cans with water prior to recycling to remove any residue.
- To save space, remove both ends of the steel can and crush flat.
- Labels can remain since on steel cans since they will be burned off during the melting process.
- The United States throws away enough iron and steel to continuously supply all the nation's automakers.
Department of Environmental Protection - http://www.state.nj.us/dep/
Clean Air Council - http://www.state.nj.us/dep/cleanair/
Waste Management - http://www.wm.com/
These recycling facts have been compiled from sources including Waste Management, the Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of Environmental Protection. They are to be used for informational purposes only, Revive cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.