QUESTION:
How much energy is saved from recycling one ton of aluminum?

ANSWER:
Approximately the amount of electricty the average home uses over 10 years!

 

THEN...
In 1998, 1.3 million gallons of bottled water were consumed.

NOW...
In 2008, 9.3 million gallons of bottled water were consumed!

 

QUESTION:
How much iron and steel do Americans throw out?

ANSWER:
Enought to supply all the nation's automakers on a continuous basis!


THEN...
In 1998, 30% of people recycled in the US.

NOW...
In 2008, 70% of people recycled in the US!

 

QUESTION:
Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to do what?

ANSWER:
Watch TV for 3 hours!

 

THEN...
In 1998, about 9,700 communities in the US provided recycling services.

NOW...
In 2008, more than 20,000 communities in the US provide recycling service!

 

QUESTION:
If the recycling rate of beverage containers werw 80%, how much GHC emissions would we avoid?

ANSWER:
3 million tons...the equivalent of taking 2.4 million cars off the road for one year!

 

THEN...
In 1998, 28% of total waste was recycled in the US.

NOW...
In 2008, 32.5% of total waste was recycled in the US!

 

QUESTION:
How much energy would have been generated by using 10% post-consumer recycled content in PET carbonated soft drink & water bottles in 2004?

ANSWER:
Enough energy to supply 270,000 homes for one year!

 

By some accounts, the energy saved by recycling one aluminum can equals the amount of energy it takes to run a TV set for four hours. This is the energy equivalent of 0.5 gallon (1.9 liters) of gasoline.

Second Nature Public Recycling has been able to divert an estimated 67 tons of material from the public landfill through the following projects:

 

City pilot program 2010: an estimated 22 tons of material was diverted from the landfill and recycled.

 

City initiative 2011: an estimated 36 tons of material has been diverted from the landfill and recycled.

 

Events 2011:23 events completed this year and over 9 tons of
material was recycled.

The economic benefit to Omaha has been the addition of jobs, reduction of waste to landfill, and CLEANER, GREENER City.

A 60-watt light bulb can be run for over a day on the amount of energy saved by recycling 1 pound of steel. In one year in the United States, the recycling of steel saves enough energy to heat and light 18,000,000 homes!

 

Each ton (2000 pounds) of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4000 kilowatts of energy, and 7000 gallons of water. This represents a 64% energy savings, a 58% water savings, and 60 pounds less of air pollution!

 

The 17 trees saved (above) can absorb a total of 250 pounds of carbon dioxide from the air each year. Burning that same ton of paper would create 1500 pounds of carbon dioxide.

 

Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures every year!

 

About one-third of an average dump is made up of packaging material!

 

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.

 

On average, it costs $30 per ton to recycle trash, $50 to send it to the landfill, and $65 to $75 to incinerate it.