How much of what you throw in the trash is recyclable

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How much of what you throw in the trash is
recyclable?

• Dylan Townsend, Amy Werner and Liz Fager
• 19 April 2006

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Each of us generates on average 4.4 pounds of
waste per day per person.
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This is what that 4.4 pounds looks like
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Every glass bottle recycled saves enough energy
to light a 100-watt light bulb for 4 hours.
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We lit a 100 watt bulb for 12 Hours
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You can make 20 recycled aluminum cans with the
energy it takes to make one new aluminum can from
bauxite ore.
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How many cans could we make?
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Five recycled soft drink bottles make enough
fiberfill for a mans ski jacket. Thirty-six
recycled bottles can make one square yard of
carpet
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How many things in your room are plastic?
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Every year enough paper is thrown away to make a
12 wall from New York to California

• These are just a few of many

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In 1999, recycling and composting activities
prevented about 64 million tons of material from
ending up in landfills and incinerators. Today,
this country recycles 28 percent of its waste, a
rate that has almost doubled during the past 15
years. While recycling has grown in general,
recycling of specific materials has grown even
more drastically 42 percent of all paper, 40
percent of all plastic soft drink bottles, 55
percent of all aluminum beer and soft drink cans,
57 percent of all steel packaging, and 52 percent
of all major appliances are now
recycled. Twenty years ago, only one curbside
recycling program existed in the United States,
which collected several materials at the curb. By
1998, 9,000 curbside programs and 12,000
recyclable drop-off centers had sprouted up
across the nation. As of 1999, 480 materials
recovery facilities had been established to
process the collected materials.