Recycling and You
Earth Day is right around the corner, making it the perfect time for some recycling facts and helpful tips and reminders. Recycling takes very little time, but has a huge impact on the environment.
Things to think about:
- The average person generates almost 5 pounds of waste each day
- Over 75% of waste is recyclable, but only 30% of waste is recycled
- Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for 3 hours
- Recycling aluminum cans saves 95% of the energy used to make them from new material
- Over 21.5 million tons of food waste is generated each year. Composting that food would reduce the same amount of greenhouse gas as taking 2 million cars off the road
What can you do?
- Recycle all your paper, including boxes, magazines, food boxes, newspapers, and office copy and printer paper
- Recycle all glass and plastic bottles, and aluminum and metal cans
- Bring your own mug to get coffee – paper cups increase waste and take up landfill space
- Look for and purchase products that are made with recycled materials
- Compost yard trimmings, as well as fruit and vegetable scraps to reduce landfill space and help fertilize the soil
Good things to remember:
- Even though you may not be able to recycle your paper coffee cup, you can recycle the cardboard sleeve that protects your hands
- The bottom half of your pizza box isn't recyclable…but the top of it is (if there's not grease on it)
- Plastic bottle caps are recyclable, right along with the rest of the bottle
- Glass bottle and jars don't have to be washed out before recycling
- Your bread, dry cleaning, and newspaper bags, as well as the plastic wrap around things like paper towels can be recycled, usually in the same place you recycle your plastic shopping bags
- Toilet paper and paper towel cores are most often made of cardboard and can be recycled
Each community has its own recycling program. Be sure to check with yours to find out what they accept. Small changes in your recycling habits can make a big difference for our environment. If you have questions about how any of our products can help your recycling efforts, give our Customer Service reps a call at 1-800-571-4646, or email customerservice@northernsafety.com. We're here to help.
Sources: www.americarecyclesday.org; www.dosomething.org; Washington State University; City of Elk Grove