What Can be Recycled
Aluminum Cans
According to the container-recycling Institute, each American consumes, on average, approximatly 300 aluminium cans per year. However, although aluminium is the most cost- and production effective material around, two thirds of these cans end up in the trash rather than being recycled. In fact, it takes 20 times more energy to make a new aluminium can than it does to recycle one, that’s enough to run your TV for 3 hours! What Can You Do?
Computers and cell phones
In 2006-07, the EPA estimated that of the 157.3 million computer products disposed of in America only 48.2 million were recycled. And for cell phones that figure gets even worse with 124.3 million being taken out of circulation and only 14 million recycled. Of course, you want to be sure that if you take your old PC to a recycling center, or return it to the manufacturer for recycling, that the recycling process is actually going to be ethically and environmentally correct. As well as some substances that can prove to be toxic, computers and other electronic equipment also contain a variety of components that are reusable or valuable, such as tin, iron, aluminium, and silicon and other plastics, gold, and copper. What Can You Do?
Paper and cardboard
In 2007, 56% of the paper consumed in the US was collected and recycled. Well done America, this beat the target set by the Paper Industry Association Council for that year. However, this still leaves a whopping 44% of paper goods to be recycled. The reasons for using recycled paper is clear: to make a ton of paper from recycled materials (rather than raw products) saves 7,000 gallons of water, 380 gallons of oil, and up to 17 trees. In addition, constructing a paper mill to use and make recycled paper is 50-80% less than those for a mill to create new paper pulp. What Can You Do?
Plastic bottles and containers
As with plastic bags, recycling plastic containers can be difficult. There are two main reasons for this: one is that plastics are subdivided into 7 categories by use of a PIC code on the bottom of the container (To understand more about these categories visit: The Plastic web). This code determines if, and how, it can be recycled – in the United States, plastics 01 (PET), 02 (HDPE) and 06 (PS) are the most commonly recycled. The second reason is again a simple question of economics, some plastics require a high level of processing which outweighs the cost the sale gained of the end product. For example, in November 2008 the price of PET dropped from $370 to $20/ton. What Can You Do?
Glass bottles and jars
In the US during 2005 it was estimated that 28.8 billion glass bottles were thrown away rather than recycled. Recycling one ton of glass into new products (rather than manufacturing it from scratch) stops .35 tons (315 kg) of carbon dioxide being emitted into our atmosphere. So if we recycled all the glass we currently throw away we would be stopping 9.9 Billion tons (9 trillion kg) of carbon dioxide emissions each and every year. What Can You Do?
Kitchen waste
According to EPA figures, nearly a quarter of all US landfill is made up of compostable and biodegradable items such as food scraps and yard waste. If we all composted this material at home, not only would we get valuable beneficial organic waste for our yards, but we would significantly reduce the amount of methane gas emitted from landfill sites. Composted materials can also be used to help regenerate nutrient-poor soils and help contaminated soils recover. Also, very importantly compost helps act as a mulch and soil enhancer so reducing the need to use extra irrigation, fertilizers, and pesticides. What Can You Do?
Plastic bags
When it comes to recycling plastic bags we stand on tricky ground. The problem is that plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photodegrade – breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest. Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals die every year from eating discarded plastic bags mistaken for food. An important fact to bear in mind is that to process and recycle 1 ton of plastic bags costs $4,000 but they can only be sold to the commodities market for $32. Hardly a compelling reason for industry to take on this task. What Can You Do?
Tins and cans
In the United States steel is the most widely recycled material around. In 2005, industry recycled around 76 million tons of steelware, and saved about 75% of their annual energy costs they would have spent on making new steel. The savings to the environment too are impressive: 1.2 tons (1,100 kilograms) of iron ore, .06 tons (55 kilograms) of limestone, and .69 tons (630 kilograms) of coal are conserved for every ton of steel produced. What Can You Do?
Junkmail
The bane of many people’s lives, some households receive up to 11 pieces of junk mail for every item of personal mail! In fact, the Center for a New American Dream estimates that US landfills annually swallow more than 5.6 million tons of catalogs and other direct mail! An even more frightening statistic is that every year over 100 million trees are used to bombard US households with unsolicited mail – that’s 1.5 trees delivered to your home without your say so. What Can You Do?
Clothes and shoes
Old clothes, shoes and accessories are probably not the first thing that pop into your mind for your recycling list, but with estimates such as the following you can see how important they are to add to your list. In 2008, the New York City’s Office believed that around 193,000 tons of recyclable clothing and textiles end up in the city’s landfills. Good quality, clean clothing, shoes, hats, household linens, handbags, and belts can all be donated to charity shops, churches, shelters or into clothes banks for reuse. Those other items that can’t be reused can be recycled into industrial rags or converted into fiber for products such as mattresses and couches. What Can You Do?