In a lifetime, the average American throws away 600 times his or her weight in the garbage. This means each adult will leave a legacy of 90,000 pounds of trash for his or her children. Recycling helps the environment. We don’t have to cut down as many trees to make paper. We don’t have to dig deep into the ground to mine aluminum for cans. Recycling also saves energy and reduces pollution.
Paper
One ton of recycled paper equals 17 average sized trees, 6,953 gallons of water, 463 gallons of oil, 587 pounds of air pollution, 3.06 cubic yards of landfill space, and 4,077 kilowatts of energy. Old newspapers can be recycled into new newsprint and insulation for homes.
Plastic Bottles and Jugs
Plastic bottles can be made into paintbrush handles, park benches, computer keyboards, toys, and rulers. Five recycled plastic bottles make enough fiberfill to stuff a ski jacket. Five 2-liter pop bottles can be used to make one square foot of carpet.
Aluminum Cans
You can make 20 cans out of recycled material with the same amount of energy it takes to make one new one. Making a new pop can also creates 20 times more air and water pollution. The energy saved by recycling a six-pack of cans can drive a car for five miles or power a TV for three hours.
Steel and Tin Cans
These cans are recycled into more steel cans. Every day, Americans use enough steel cans to make a steel pipe running from Los Angeles to New York—and back. Recycling steel and tin cans saves 74 percent of the energy used to produce them from raw material. When recycling one ton of steel is recycled, 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,400 pounds of coal and 120 pounds of limestone are conserved.
Tires
The old tires your parents recycle can be used in paving roads, in playground surfaces, blocks for retaining walls, and can be burnt like coal to make electricity.
Lawn Waste
The grass clippings and leaves your parents put in paper lawn waste bag will be made into compost and used _mixing with soil enriches nutrients working as a fertilizer
