Global Recycling Services

Recycling reduces the need for landfills, but it also does much more. By recycling, you are conserving natural resources, such as trees, metal ores, minerals, oil, and water. You are also reducing the amount of pollution and greenhouse gases released into the environment, and you are conserving energy.

Recycling can be fun and easy, and by recycling, you are helping yourself and your community, and you are setting a good example at the same time.
Here are some facts to consider when you think about what happens when you recycle:

* Cardboard is used to ship 90 percent of all products in the U.S.

* Most cardboard waste comes from big companies, such as department stores and supermarkets.

* Recycled cardboard only takes 75 percent of the energy needed to make new cardboard and lessens the emission of sulfur dioxide that is produced when making pulp from wood trees.

* Recycling 1 ton of cardboard saves 9 cubic yards of landfill space and 46 gallons of oil.

* Cardboard is safe to dispose of as it has no toxic constituents and is biodegradable.

* The recovery rate of OCC was 78.3 percent in 2007.

* Recycling a four-foot stack of newspapers saves the equivalent of one 40-foot fir tree.

* One tree can filter up to 60 pounds of pollutants from the air each year.

* One ton of recycled paper saves 3,700 pounds of lumber and 24,000 gallons of water.

* Making paper from recycled material uses 60% less energy than making virgin paper.

* If every household in the U.S. reused a paper bag for one shopping trip, about 60,000 trees would be saved.

* Every ton of newspaper recycled saves enough energy to power a TV for 31 hours.

* Recycling corrugated cardboard cuts the emissions of sulfur dioxide in half and uses about 25% less energy than making cardboard from virgin pulp.

* Enough energy is saved by recycling one aluminum can to run a TV set for three hours or to light one 100 watt bulb for 20 hours.

* Making cans from recycled aluminum saves 95% of the energy required to produce cans from virgin material.

* Recycling a soda can saves 96% of the energy used to make a can from ore and produces 95% less air pollution and 97% less water pollution.

* Aluminum can be recycled today and will be back on the grocery shelf in about 90 days.

* Recycled steel is used to make new steel products including packaging, cars, lawnmowers, appliances, and construction materials.

* Making new steel products from recycled steel instead of virgin ore reduces water use by 40%, water pollution by 76%, air pollution by 86%, and mining wastes by 97%.

* For every ton of steel recycled, 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,000 pounds of coal and 40 pounds of limestone are preserved.

* Enough energy is saved each year by recycling steel to supply the city of Los Angeles with almost a decade worth of electricity.

* Making glass from recycled material uses 50% less energy than making virgin glass.

* Recycled glass generates 20% less air pollution and 50% less water pollution than making virgin glass.

* Glass never wears out - it can be recycled over and over again.

* Over 41 billion glass containers are made each year.

* Over a ton of resources is saved for every ton of glass recycled - 1,330 pounds of sand, 433 pounds of soda ash, 433 pounds of limestone, and 151 pounds of feldspar.

* Producing a ton of glass from 100% raw materials creates 384 pounds of mining waste. Using 50% recycled glass cuts this waste by about 75%. Plastic

* Five recycled soft drink bottles make enough fiberfill for a man's ski jacket. Thirty-six recycled bottles can make one square yard of carpet.

* Recycled soda bottles can be spun to make fiber filling for pillows, quilts and jackets.

* Five soda bottles yield enough fiber for one extra large T-shirt.

* It takes 25 two-liter bottles to make a sweater.

Electronics facts

* According to the EPA, nearly two million tons of used electronics,  computers, cell phones, TVs, computer monitors, etc. are disposed of each year, 85% of which end up in landfills.

* If the 100 million cell phones in 2006 that could have been recycled had been recycled, we would have saved enough energy to power approximately 194,0002 US households with electricity for one year.

* Electronics recycling ultimately results in reducing greenhouse gas emissions that are caused from the manufacturing of new products. 

* Electronic Recycling of these materials from our discarded electronics can reduce the need to mine the earth of our precious resources and avoid contaminating our air & water.