One easy thing that everyone can do to reduce greenhouse gases is to recycle. Why? Well, according to Henry Ferland of the EPA circa 2000, “Waste diversion, through source reduction and recycling, can reduce GHG emissions in two ways: 1) Emissions associated with waste disposal, particularly landfill methane emissions are avoided; 2) Emissions associated with resource extraction are also avoided.” (source)
Not convinced? How about some stats then? According to the Stanford Recycling Center:
Aluminum Recycling of aluminum cans saves 95% of the energy required to make the same amount of aluminum from its virgin source. One ton of recycled aluminum saves 14,000 kilowatt hours (Kwh) of energy, 40 barrels of oil, 238 million Btu’s of energy, and 10 cubic yards of landfill space.
Newsprint One ton of recycled newsprint saves 601 Kwh of energy, 1.7 barrels of oil (71 gallons), 10.2 million Btu’s of energy, 60 pounds of air pollutants from being released, 7,000 gallons of water, and 4.6 cubic yards of landfill space.
Office Paper One ton of recycled office paper saves 4,100 Kwh of energy, 9 barrels of oil, 54 million Btu’s of energy, 60 pounds of air pollutants from being released, 7,000 gallons of water, and 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space.
Plastic One ton of recycled plastic saves 5,774 Kwh of energy, 16.3 barrels of oil, 98 million Btu’s of energy, and 30 cubic yards of landfill space.
Steel One ton of recycled steel saves 642 Kwh of energy, 1.8 barrels of oil, 10.9 million Btu’s of energy, and 4 cubic yards of landfill space.
Glass One ton of recycled glass saves 42 Kwh of energy, 0.12 barrels of oil (5 gallons), 714,000 Btu’s of energy, 7.5 pounds of air pollutants from being released, and 2 cubic yards of landfill space. Over 30% of the raw material used in glass production now comes from recycled glass.
So next time you are thinking of just tossing that can in the garbage because there’s no recycling nearby, think of the children (they are our future), and recycle!
I’m going to set a goal for myself of no beverage containers thrown away for a month. Let’s see if it works.
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