A W0R1D OF REASONS TO JUST DO IT
Most people are aware of the most talked
about reasons why recycling is so vitally
important. They understand the limited space
available for landfills, and the limited quanti
ties of natural resources.
These days, there are environmental tips pop
ing up everywhere fcoffKgrocery bags to
0-second -spots during Saturday cartoons.
? Still"some of the most significant and far
reaching advantages of recycling often go
unmentioned.
So we've provided some details on a couple
of very important reasons to recycle.
RECYCLING IS A GREAT
ENERGY SAVER
Recycling saves energy because making new
products from seconaary rather than virgin
materials is more efficient since much of me
processing has already taken place. This
bypasses energy-intensive and environmen
talfy damaging steps, such as strip mining,
refining ores, and grinding pulpwood.
Secondary ingredients only require the re
moval of contaminants, such as inks from
paper, lacquer from cans and the return of
already-refined material to a useable condi
tion, such as re-melting metals or glass or
re^ulping paper.
Just how much energy is saved through recy
cling? Take a look:
? Recycling 1 aluminum can saves enough
energy to keep a 1 00 watt bulb burning
for 3-1/2 hours.
? By recycling 1 .7 billion pounds of
aluminum cans in 1 990, it saved enough
energy to serve Pittsburgh's power needs
for 6 years.
? For every pound of steel recycled, 5450
BTU of energy are conserved, enough to
light a 60-watt bulb for 26 hours.
? It takes 49,000 BTU to produce one pound
of new PET plastic (the kind found in soft
drink bottles). But it only takes 6,000 BTU
to make one pound of recycled PET plastic.
? Recycling one pound of HDPEjplastic, (milk
jugs) saves about 38,000 BTu.
? Each ton of recycled paper requires4,100
kwh less of energy tnan producing paper
made from virgin materials.
? Recycling one ton of glass saves 9 gallons
of fuel oil because the cullet (ground
recycled glass) melts at a lesser
temperature than the raw ingredients.
It's especially appropriate to focus on energy
savings right now with a proposed increase in
energy and BTU taxes being discussed in
Washington. Regardless of tne outcome in
D.C., hopefully the proposed tax has prompted
manufacturers to begin exploring new ways
to reduce energy consumption in the future -
namely bv using more recyclable materials in
their production processes. That would be
good news to cities because there would be
expanded markets for recyclables collected.
RECYCLING CUTS DOWN
ON POLLUTION
And just one additional, but not often dis
cussed benefit of recycling. ..it cuts down
significantly on pollution. Using recyclable '
materials in manufacturing processes can cut
air pollution by up to 22 % for glass, 72% for
paper and 95% for aluminum^
Recycling more of these materials will help to
slow the "greenhouse effect" caused by the
build-up or gasses, mainly carbon dioxide,
from burning oil and coal mat's disrupting the
earth's atmospheric balance.
The combined benefits of greatly reduced
energy use and significantly reduced environ
mental pollution makes recycling a "win-win"
situation!
Sources: Resource Recycling, January/Febru
ary 1989, Institute of Scrap Recycling
Industries, Inc., ALCOA and Aluminum Asso
ciation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, %
and the Glass Packaging Institute.
MANUFACTURING ENERGY SAVED
THROUGH USE OF RECYCLABLE MATERIALS
>-.4
re:
95%
88%
?0%
34%
22%