Wow! Check out some statistics about recycling, courtesy of the Maine Recycling Program.
Aluminum
- It takes 95% less energy to recycle an aluminum can then it does to manufacture a new one.
- Over 80,000,000,000 aluminum soda cans are used every year.
- A used aluminum can is recycled and back on the grocery shelf as a new can in as little as 60 days.
- Every minute an average of 113,204 aluminum cans are recycled.
- Over 50 percent of the aluminum cans produced are recycled.
- Two-thirds of the aluminum ever produced is in use today.
Steel
- American-made steel cans contain about 25% recycled steel.
- Recycling one ton of steel saves mining 2,500 lbs of iron ore, 1,000 lbs of coal and 40 lbs of limestone.
Paper
- Recycling one ton of paper saves 15 trees.
- Making one ton of paper using recycled paper uses only about 60% of the energy and water needed to make a ton of paper using virgin materials.
- Every ton of paper recycled saves landfill space.
- Recycled paper produces 25% less air pollution than paper made from raw materials.
Glass
- States with bottle deposit laws have 30-40% less litter by volume. Those states include: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, and Vermont.
- Recycling 1 ton of glass saves 1 ton of natural resources.
- Glass containers save 9 gallons of fuel (oil) for every ton of glass recycled.
- Most bottles and jars contain at least 25% recycled glass.
- It only takes one ounce of ceramic to contaminate one ton of recycled glass resulting in the batch being sent to a landfill.
Plastic
- Recycled soda bottles can be made into fleece clothing, sleeping bags, carpeting, and other textiles.
- Other items made out of recycled plastic include decking, outdoor furniture, planters/window boxes, kitchen utensils, office supplies and more.
- Enough plastic bottles are thrown away in the United States each year to circle the Earth 4 times!
- Approximately 88 percent of the energy is saved when plastic is made from plastic rather than from the raw materials of natural gas and oil.
- It takes 36 2-litre PET bottles to make one square yard of polyester carpet.
Other Materials
- One gallon of motor oil can contaminate 1 million gallons of water. Many garages and transfer stations accept used motor oil.
- One million pounds of clothing are reused every year. You can donate shoes and clothing to Goodwill, the Salvation Army, or there may even be a drop off location at your transfer station.
