According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
www.epa.gov:
· The average U.S. resident produces 4.4 pounds of waste per day, totaling 229 million tons of waste each year in our country. By participating in existing recycling and composting programs, we can easily cut that residential waste in half.
· Each year, people in the United States throw away enough office paper to build a 12-foot high wall from Los Angeles, CA to New York City, NY. Businesses can save money from their trash disposal fees by separating their papers and cardboard for lower-cost (or free) recycling pickups.
· Recycling reduces space needed for future landfills and energy used to fuel incinerators. Recycling helps curb greenhouse gas emissions and pollutants in our air and water. Recycling allows manufacturers easy access to raw materials without taking them from the Earth. Energy is saved, jobs are produced and resources are conserved for future generations.
· Each ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees; 380 gallons of oil; 3 cubic yards of landfill space; 4,000 Kilowatts of energy; and 7,000 gallons of water.
· In Ann Arbor, recycling is easy--and provided at no extra charge! Free weekly recycling collection is available to every home, apartment, nonprofit and business located in Ann Arbor.
· The State of Michigan recycles between 20% and 30% of its municipal solid waste (MSW) according to the Michigan Recycling Coalition 2000 report (www.michiganrecycles.org). As a state, Michigan lags behind the national recycling rate, which is 28 percent (U.S. EPA). (However, Ann Arbor residents are recovering 53% of the residential waste.
· At Ann Arbor’s Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) 120 Tons of Recyclables are Processed Each Day (75% Paper & 25% Containers) from 30 different communities, providing the following benefits every year:
- 340,000 Trees Saved -- 1,545 Acres of Woodlands Left Standing
- 84 million KWH of Electricity Saved --140,000 Homes Could be Powered From the Electricity Saved
- 140 Million Gallons of Water Saved -- This Equals Approximately 5,600 Swimming Pools
- 1.2 Million Pounds of Air Pollution Prevented
- 60,000 Cubic Yards of Landfill Space Saved
- $200,000 Saved in Landfill Disposal Fees
- The cost to collect, sort and sell recyclables from Ann Arbor’s MRF is about the same cost as to collect, transport and bury waste in a landfill. When recycling commodity markets are strong, the sales to paper and steel mills, plastic factories, etc., can gross over a million dollars/year!