May 28th, 2008

Recycling Saves A Ton of Energy, Too

Posted by Jessica Jensen

Ever wonder how recycling helps save energy? Our friends at Earth911.com have done a great job of laying out the energy savings of recycling everything from aluminum to plastic wrap. When you toss items in your recycling bin, you’re saving more than landfill space.

Here is just a sampling of the compelling statistics:

   +  Recycled aluminum saves 95 percent of energy required vs. virgin aluminum; recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours (Reynolds Metal Company)
   +  Enough aluminum is thrown away every year to rebuild our commercial air fleet four times.
   +  Recycled glass saves 50 percent of energy vs. virgin glass (Center for Ecological Technology)
   +  Recycling of one glass container saves enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for four hours (EPA)
   +  Recycled paper saves 60 percent of energy vs. virgin paper (Center for Ecological Technology)
   +  Production of recycled paper uses 80 percent less water, 65 percent less energy and produces 95 percent less air pollution than virgin paper production.
   +  Recycling a pound of PET (plastic) saves approximately 12,000 BTU’s. (EPA)

For more information on this topic, click here. And we highly recommend Earth911 for all of your recycling questions/needs. It is a wonderful resource!