RecyclePlanet.org

If you’re going to ask people to change their lifestyle and create new habits, then you better be willing back up the reasons with solid facts. If we could all go even just a little beyond the blue bin, by reducing and resusing, it could make an enormous difference on the planet’s waste. The following is a short list of astonsihing recycling facts that are sure to nudge you in the direction of going green. It can’t be stressed enough how even the smallest efforts can make a huge difference, as you’ll see with some of the examples below.

METAL:

• If it takes you 45 seconds to read this recycling fact, then by the time you are done, there will have been over a quarter of a million aluminum cans produced before you were done.

• If you drink a can of beer after work and then tossed it in the recycling bin, that one (aluminum) can saves enough energy to watch television for 3 hours after dinner! Of course, you’d save even more energy if you went out for a walk or read a good (used!) book after dinner.

• There are over 80 billion soda cans used each year. Yes, that’s billion. Yes, that’s just soda! can you see the importance of recycling aluminum?

• The good thing about recycling aluminum is that it can be recycled an unlimited amount of times, and a recycled can, even 200 years from now, can still be a can. Yes, it can!

PAPER:

• If everyone read just their Sunday paper online for now on and there was no paper versions, 500,000 trees would be saved per week!

• If every single newspaper was recycled after we read them, we would be able to save 25 million trees per year!

• If you were to add up the amount of separate pieces of paper trash that each American throws away per year, it would be approximately 13,000 pieces of paper. A large percentage of this is packaging and junk mail.

• If we were to save all the wood and paper that we toss into the trash each year, the combined amount would be enough to heat 50 million homes for up to 20 years.

• If we were to lay out all the paper that American businesses generate in just one day, that paper would be enough to circle the Earth about 20 times.

PLASTIC AND STYROFOAM:

• The soda cans mentioned above were a pretty high number, right? Well, just in the USA alone, over 25 million beverage bottles made of plastic are thrown away every hour!

• Styrofoam coffee cups are being thrown away at an unbelievable amount of 25 billion per year. That number is the statistic for USA only.

• Plastic material being dumped into the ocean is responsible for killing u to a million sea creatures yearly.

GLASS:

• Using a similar example as the single aluminum can above, did you know that recycling just one glass bottle can run one of your 100 watt light bulbs for 3-4 hours.

• When a glass bottle is recycled, it is considerably cutting back on the air and water pollution that happens when creating the bottle from raw materials.

• If we were to wait for a glass bottle to decompose after throwing it away today, we would have to wait approximately 4000 years.

• There are approximately 41 billion glass containers manufactured every year.

• Like aluminum, glass can be reused an unlimted amount of times.

Earth has warmed by about 1ºF over the past 100 years. But why? And how? 

Well, scientists are not exactly sure. The Earth could be getting warmer on its own, but many of the world’s leading climate scientists think that things people do are helping to make the Earth warmer.

Greenhouse Effect, Climate Change, and Global Warming

The Greenhouse Effect: The greenhouse effect is the rise in temperature that the Earth experiences because certain gases in the atmosphere (water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane, for example) trap energy from the sun. Without these gases, heat would escape back into space and Earth’s average temperature would be about 60ºF colder. Because of how they warm our world, these gases are referred to as greenhouse gases. Scientists are sure about the greenhouse effect. They know that greenhouse gases make the Earth warmer by trapping energy in the atmosphere. 

Climate Change: Climate is the long-term average of a region’s weather events lumped together. For example, it’s possible that a winter day in Buffalo, New York, could be sunny and mild, but the average weather – the climate – tells us that Buffalo’s winters will mainly be cold and include snow and rain. Climate change represents a change in these long-term weather patterns. They can become warmer or colder. Annual amounts of rainfall or snowfall can increase or decrease.

Global Warming: Global warming refers to an average increase in the Earth’s temperature, which in turn causes changes in climate. A warmer Earth may lead to changes in rainfall patterns, a rise in sea level, and a wide range of impacts on plants, wildlife, and humans. When scientists talk about the issue of climate change, their concern is about global warming caused by human activities.

• Buy Energy Star products and appliances.

• Turn lights and computers off when they are not in use.

• Clean your refrigerator coils. Dust on the coils located in the back of a refrigerator makes it less efficient.

• Change or clean the filters in your air conditioners and heaters.

• Use sleep mode on your computers at home and at the office. Turn them off at night.

• Open the dishwasher and air-dry dishes instead of using the hot air dry cycle. Only run the machine with full loads.

• Dry your laundry on a clothesline.

• Wash clothes on warm or cold cycle, not hot.Wash only full loads.

• Turn down your hot water heater to 120F.

• Shorten showers by a few minutes to conserve hot water.

• Adjust thermostat when you leave the house (10F down in winter, 10F up in summer).

• Keep up with basic furnace maintenance. Have it professionally tuned and cleaned, and replace air filters regularly.

• Cook more efficiently. Cover pots, use a pressure cooker when appropriate, keep burners clean, cook several dishes at a time in the oven, and use a microwave to heat food.

• Keep drapes or blinds closed at night in winter and during the day in the summer to reduce heating and cooling needs.

• Install faucet aerators in sinks to reduce hot water use.

• Insulate the 4 ft of hot water pipes closest to hot water heater.

• Insulate all hot water pipes.

• Caulk and weatherstrip all your doors and windows.

• Have a professional seal your heating ducts to reduce the loss of heated air.

• Install a programmable thermostat.

• Replace appliances–dishwashers, refrigerators, washing machines–that are more 10 years old with an Energy Star model. The older models are less efficient than newer ones.

• Replace your old furnace with efficient Energy Star model.

• Install a solar hot water heater.

• Eat one less beef meal per week. It takes far more energy to produce meat for consumption than it does to raise a crop.

Start a tradition….Recycling is a great way to involve the whole family in a joint project that can save you time and money and is also good for the environment. Making recycling a part of your family’s way of life not only helps your budget and your community, but it also instills these same values in the next generation creating good earth stewards for the future. Make recycling a family tradition!

Finding ways to reuse products takes both common sense and creativity. Here are a few ideas on how you can get double duty out of various products around the home.

If you can’t reuse a product yourself, find someone who can. Sell it in a yard sale, donate it to a community organization, or set up an exchange program. Call local elementary schools and day-care centers to find out what items might be useful. Local teachers may consider your trash to be treasure in the hands of creative youngsters.

Consider donating books and magazines to public libraries or to nursing homes. If newspaper recycling is not an option in your area, check with local pet stores and animal shelters to see if they can use your discarded newspapers.

Reduce the number of paper and plastic bags your family uses by carrying reusable tote bags to grocery and department stores. Minimize use of paper towels, paper plates, and napkins. Invest in cloth napkins for everyday use, and choose reusable cloths, towels, and plates, rather than paper “throwaways.”

Substitute rechargeable batteries for throwaway batteries. Avoid other single- or limited-use items, such as throwaway cleansing pads and cigarette lighters, non-refillable ink pens, and foil baking pans. Purchase beverages in refillable bottles.

Reduce, recycle, and reuse are known as the three Rs of the waste-reduction movement. But a fourth R often is forgotten: Respond. You can refuse to buy packaging that you think is excessive, packaging that is not recyclable locally, or products that are harmful to the environment. When selecting a store, consider those that make good environmental choices.

The USEPA estimates that commercial and residential rubbish in the United States amounts to about 207 million tons a year. Much of this material can be recycled, keeping it out of landfills and reducing the amount of virgin material used to make products. 

By weight, about 37 percent of all municipal solid waste in the United States is paper and paperboard. Many types of paper can be recycled, but different recycling programs have different guidelines, so be sure to check locally for specifics.

Because food and yard waste combined accounts for nearly 25 percent of our solid waste, dealing with it some other way makes good sense. Many, but not all, kitchen scraps make good compost.

Metals account for the fourth largest percentage of our rubbish. Along with beer and soft drink cans, you can recycle “tin cans.” Some communities will also collect aluminum foil, pie pans, TV dinner trays, and lawn furniture.

All kinds of glass containers—heavy or light—can be recycled. In addition, glass can be recycled and reused an indefinite number of times. Recycling centers will not, however, accept light bulbs, ceramic glass, dishes, or plate glass.

Although there are many types of plastics, only two are currently being recycled in any significant quantities: PETE (polyethelene terephthalate), the primary plastic for soda bottles and HDPE (high-density polyethelene), the usual component of milk jugs and detergent bottles.

Purchase products produced from recycled material. Look for the “recycled” symbol. But don’t be confused by the similarity between the “recycled” and “recyclable” symbols. When a product is labeled “recycled,” it has been produced—at least in part—from recycled materials. When it says “recyclable,” that means it can be recycled. However, keep in mind that when labels use the term “recycled,” the percentage of recycled material may be very low or the product and packaging may be entirely made from recylced materials. Also, it’s possible that a package labeled “recyclable” may not be recyclable in your community.

Recycling is a great way to reduce the amount of waste you produce, but there are a lot of easy things you can do to avoid creating waste at all.

Tips with the $ sign next to them also save money too!

$ Put your lunch, leftovers and other things in reusable plastic containers instead of using plastic bags.

$ Use washable cloth dish towels and napkins instead of paper towels and napkins

$ Use disposable shopping bags as trash liners or tote bags.

When shopping, use canvas shopping bags instead of plastic ones. If you can’t use canvas bags, choose paper over plastic - it’s recyclable in the mixed paper bin.

Compost your kitchen scraps, yard trimming, dead leaves and other organic waste and create a wonderful amendment for your garden.

$ Purchase several reusable water bottles and keep them filled with water and in the refrigerator. You’ll avoid buying so much bottle water and reduce your waste.

Donate unwanted clothing to Goodwill or a similar charity.

Donate unwanted household items such as furniture, decorations, and other things to Habitat for Humanity.

$ Taking care of lawn and recreational equipment by properly storing and maintaining it will save money and create less waste.

$ Purchase items with less packaging, such as “economy-sized” products will be cheaper and have a lower packaging to product ratio.

Close the loop by purchasing products made from recycled material.

Look for the symbol!

There are many types of plastic in use. Plastic must be sorted by type for recycling, since each type melts at a different temperature and has different properties. The plastics industry has developed an identification system to label different types of plastic. The system divides plastic into seven distinct groups and uses a number code generally found on the bottom of containers.

The following explains the seven different types of recyclable plastics:

Plastic #1: Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) 

Common uses: 2 liter soda bottles, cooking oil bottles, peanut butter jars. 

Plastic #2: High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) 

Common uses: detergent bottles, milk jugs, grocery bags. 

Plastic #3: Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) 

Common uses: plastic pipes, outdoor furniture, shrink wrap, water bottles, salad dressing and liquid detergent con-tainers. 

Plastic #4: Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE)

Common uses: dry cleaning bags, produce bags, trash can liners, food storage containers. 

Plastic #5: Polypropylene (PP)  

Common uses: aerosol caps, drinking straws. 

Plastic #6: Polystyrene (PS) 

Common uses: packaging pellets or “Styrofoam peanuts,” cups, plastic tableware, meat trays, to-go “clam shells.” 

Plastic #7: Other 

Common uses: certain kinds of food containers and Tupperware.

Plastic recycling can be very confusing. One way to think about the different types of plastic is to compare plastic to fruit. Not all fruit is the same. An apple is not an orange. Not all plastic is the same. Plastic 1 is not plastic 5. Even within the same plastic group there are differences. Consider apples. A red apple is not a green apple. A plastic 2 narrow neck milk jug is not the same as a plastic 2 wide mouth yogurt cup. Keep the value of plastic high by placing only those types that are accepted for recycling in your recycling container. 

We all receive unsolicited mail. Each time you enter a contest, make a donation, buy something on credit or with a check, order a product by mail or send in a subscription or warranty card, there is a good chance that your name and address will be added to a mailing list. These lists are valuable commodities which are regularly sold or traded.  With a few smart steps, you can minimize unwanted mail and continue to receive mail you really want.

Here is three steps you can take to reduce unwanted mail:

1 - Write or call organizations requesting that your name and address be removed from their mailing list. If there is a pre-paid postage return envelope, insert a note requesting removal of your name and address from mailing lists. Be sure to include the original mailing label with your name and address and account number, if there is one. 

2 - If there is an 800 telephone number listed, call to request removal of your name and address from mailing lists. 

3 - Write or call mail list brokers and ask to be placed on their “suppress” files.

There’s more to recycling than setting out your recyclables at the curb. In order to make recycling economically feasible, we must buy recycled products and packaging. When we buy recycled products, we create an economic incentive for recyclable materials to be collected, manufactured, and marketed as new products. Buying recycled has both economic and environmental benefits. Purchasing products made from or packaged in recycled materials saves resources for future generations.

• Recycled-content products are made from materials that would otherwise have been discarded. Items in this category are made totally or partially from material destined for disposal or recovered from industrial activities-like aluminum soda cans or newspaper. Recycled-content products also can be items that are rebuilt or remanufactured from used products such as toner cartridges or computers.
• Postconsumer content refers to material from products that were used by consumers or businesses and would otherwise be discarded as waste. If a product is labeled “recycled content,” the rest of the product material might have come from excess or damaged items generated during normal manufacturing processes-not collected through a local recycling program.
• Recyclable products can be collected and remanufactured into new products after they’ve been used. These products do not necessarily contain recycled materials and only benefit the environment if people recycle them after use. Check with your local recycling program to determine which items are recyclable in your community.