Going Green

Facts…

At the time of this writing, the world population is an estimated 6.6 billion people. The impact of that number in sheer volume is staggering and even more astounding is the impact we have upon our planet. Our ecological footprint – or demand on the earth’s natural resources – can have adverse effects on our environment, but with a little work we can all make a huge difference. Check out these facts and figures to learn about the impact we can have on our environment…
 

  • Recycling 1 ton of paper saves 17 trees, 2 barrels of oil (enough to run the average car for 1,260 miles), 4,100 kilowatts of energy (enough power for the average home for 6 months), 3.2 cubic yards of landfill space, and 60 pounds of air pollution. Source: Trash to Cash
  • Americans throw away enough aluminum to rebuild our entire commercial fleet of airplanes every 3 months. Source: Environmental Defense Fund
  • About 80% of what Americans throw away is recyclable, yet our recycling rate is just 28%. Source: Environmental Protection Agency
  • Over ½ million trees are saved each year by recycling paper in Boulder County. Source: Eco-Cycle
  • There are more roads in our National Forests than the entire U.S. Interstate Highway system. Source: National Forest Protection Alliance
  • Recycling creates 6 times as many jobs as landfilling. Source: Colorado Recycles
  • Recycling glass instead of making it from silica sand reduces mining waste by 70%, water use by 50%, and air pollution by 20%. Source: Environmental Defense Fund
  • Recycling just one aluminum can saves enough energy to operate a TV for 3 hours. Source: Eco-Cycle
  • If we recycled all of the newspapers printed in the U.S. on a typical Sunday, we would save 550,000 trees--or about 26 million trees per year. Source: California Department of Conservation
  • The energy saved each year by steel recycling is equal to the electrical power used by 18 million homes each year - or enough energy to last Los Angeles residents for eight years. Source: Steel Recycling Institute
  • If every household in the U.S. replaced just one roll of 1,000 sheet virgin fiber bathroom tissues with 100% recycled ones, we could save: 373,000 trees, 1.48 million cubic feet of landfill space, and 155 million gallons of water. Source: Seventh Generation Co.
  • The U.S. is 5% of the world's population but uses 25% of its natural resources. Source: Environmental Protection Agency

Why Recycle - Environmental Benefits

The environmental and economic premise of recycling is sound: re-using natural resources over and over again after they have been extracted from the earth makes good sense. By conserving the dwindling supply of these resources and protecting the few remaining undamaged ecosystems left on the earth, we are preserving them for future generations. Overall, the processes used to make consumer goods from recycled material instead of raw resources is much more energy and water efficient. For example, recycled paper uses 60-70% less energy than virgin pulp and 55% less water. Also, making recycled products reduces greenhouse gas emissions and the need to build landfills.

[1] “Tidbits and Facts.” EcoCycle. 30 May 2008 < http://www.ecocycle.org/tidbits/index.cfm#whyrecycle >