This isn’t one of those articles telling you about the very sad outcomes of climate change – we know that you’re conscious of it, and there’s no need to make us all even more worried and sad about what’s to come if we do not act now. Instead, this article dedicated to recycling facts will tell you some truly interesting bits of information that will make you feel good about your efforts and stress the benefits of putting your paper, plastic, and glass in separate containers (however tedious it might sometimes seem). So, ready to check out our selection of facts about recycling?
But, before you do, hang on a minute – we still need to talk a bit about what to expect from this list. We’d like to stress the notion of this being a list of fun facts about recycling and that there’s no need to drink a cup of calming herbal tea before you read them. In fact, we even made sure to include recycling facts for kids in our roster, so you can educate the little ones on the subject, too. And lastly, these interesting facts about recycling come with cool comparisons, so it is easier to visualize the real impact of your good habit or how it will look when we all finally start separating our trash to be sent to recycling facilities. Disclaimer – it will be a deed of epic proportions!
Okay, it seems that this introduction has done its job, so let’s skip straight to our cool facts about recycling, shall we? By now, you probably know where to find them – that’s right, just a smidgen down below! Once you check them out, give the most interesting facts you vote for so they find their way to the top of this list. And lastly, share this article with your environmentally conscious friends!
#1
Glass can be recycled endlessly without losing its quality or purity and is entirely recyclable.
Image source: feve.org
#2
Since 2016, Germany has had the highest recycling rate in the world, with 56.1% of all waste it produced last year being recycled.
Image source: weforum.org
#3
Only 9% of all plastic waste ever produced has been recycled.
Image source: unep.org
#4
Wasted plastic that is produced every year could circle the globe four times.
Image source: bbc.com
#5
Aluminum can be recycled indefinitely without losing any quality.
Image source: nationalgeographic.com
#6
One of the most frequent sources of water pollution is used cooking oil.
Image source: sciencedirect.com
#7
Between 30-40% of all food produced in the U.S. is wasted.
Image source: usda.gov
#8
Plastic bags might take up to a 1000 years to decompose.
Image source: wwf.org.au
#9
Recycling just one ton of plastic bottles equals enough energy for a two-person family for an entire year.
Image source: stanford.edu
#10
In the United States, electronic trash makes up around 2% of the waste stream.
Image source: nytimes.com
#11
40 hectares of rainforest are cleared every minute for agricultural and industrial development.
Image source: nationalgeographic.org
#12
The average UK office worker uses 10,000 sheets of paper per year.
Image source: restore.co.uk
#13
One sheet of A4 paper requires approximately 10 litres of water to produce.
Image source: paperontherocks.com
#14
More than 90% of all goods shipped from the United States are packaged in corrugated boxes which is more than 400 billion square of cardboard.
Image source: recyclingsimplified.com
#15
About 95% of discarded food ends up in landfills.
Image source: hsph.harvard.edu
#16
American firms use over 21 million tons of paper yearly.
Image source: anjr.com
#17
Tires, pens, razor blades, diapers, and aluminum are the most often thrown-away items in America, all of these materials can be recycled to make new products.
Image source: mga.edu
#18
Around half of all fruits, vegetables produced globally are wasted each year.
Image source: un.org
#19
In the UK, just 27% of batteries are recycled, which results in almost 20,000 tonnes of battery trash going straight to the dump.
Image source: threerivers.gov.uk
#20
The typical person could recycle over 25,000 cans in their lifetime.
Image source: arcubed.com
#21
85% of textiles end up in landfills or are incinerated although most of these materials could be reused.
Image source: unfccc.int
#22
The percentage of recovered corrugated cardboard for recycling is 70%.
Image source: wm.com
#23
The amount of municipal solid waste landfilled in 2015 was roughly 137.7 million tons.
Image source: epa.gov
#24
Paper waste in the United States amounts to about 1 billion trees annually.
Image source: dartmouth.edu
#25
Recycling one aluminum can results in energy savings sufficient to power a TV for three hours.
Image source: mga.edu
#26
The United States produces around 100 billion cardboard boxes every year.
Image source: new.abb.com
#27
One ton of recycled cardboard prevents the use of 46 gallons of oil.
Image source: fundwaste.co.uk
#28
Nearly 40 million tons of food are wasted in the United States each year, more than any other nation.
Image source: rts.com
#29
Recycling one glass bottle can save enough energy to run a 100-watt lightbulb for four hours.
Image source: lehighcounty.org
#30
In as little as 60 days, an aluminum can is recycled and put back on the grocery store shelf as a brand-new can.
Image source: crowncork.com
#31
Each year, Americans discard 25 billion coffee cups made of Styrofoam.
Image source: colliercountyfl.gov
#32
In the United States, landfills receive around 11.3 million tons of textile waste annually or about 70 pounds per person.
Image source: epa.gov
#33
Some 54 million metric tonnes of phones, computers, and other so-called e-waste are produced a year. Only 17 percent of e-waste is recycled.
Image source: naturalhomebrands.com
#34
Over 70% of all garbage in offices is made up of paper.
Image source: roadrunnerwm.com
#35
For every ton of recycled paper produced, 17 mature trees can be preserved.
Image source: inconfidence.com.au
#36
Recyclable aluminum may be produced with only 5% of the energy required to create a product from new materials.
Image source: archive.epa.gov
#37
In 2014, the United States produced 258 million tons of municipal solid garbage.
Image source: epa.gov
#38
EPA estimates that 75% of American trash is recyclable, yet we barely recycle about 30% of it.
Image source: personalcarecouncil.org
#39
There are recycling programs available to 94% of Americans.
Image source: americancommunities.org
#40
In 2010 it was estimated that paper recycling had increased by over 89% since 1990.
Image source: researchgate.net
#41
40 percent of the devices sent to U.S. recyclers were exported offshore, with the vast majority ending up in Asia.
Image source: wiki.ban.org
#42
A third of the items in most landfills are packaging that could be recycled.
Image source: earthdate.org
#43
Up to 80% of a car’s original components can be recycled and utilized again.
Image source: sellmax.com
#44
Every day, 1.4 million untouched bananas are thrown away.
Image source: theguardian.com
#45
Many regions of Asia and Africa as well as some other countries throughout the world have partial bans on plastic bags.
Image source: en.wikipedia.org
#46
Recycling cardboard uses only 75% of the energy required to manufacture new cardboard.
Image source: allcountyrecycling.com
#47
In the US, food waste makes up more than 21% of municipal solid waste.
Image source: css.umich.edu
#48
Every hour, 2.5 million plastic bottles are discarded in the United States.
Image source: thegreenteam.org
#49
Just 23% of throwaway water bottles are recycled.
Image source: tappwater.co
#50
One ton of plastic can be recycled, saving 1,000–2,000 gallons of gasoline.
Image source: wastewiseproductsinc.com
#51
When combined, recycling and composting can reduce energy consumption by three to four times compared to burning waste.
Image source: zerowasteeurope.eu
#52
Styrofoam never decomposes.
Image source: acespace.org
#53
Each year, the world produces more than 29 million US tons of polystyrene (plastic foam).
Image source: earthday.org
#54
Modern glass bottles would take at least 4,000 years to break down, and even longer if they were disposed of in a landfill.
Image source: activesustainability.com
#55
Every year, landfills receive more than 28 billion glass bottles and jars. Two Empire State Buildings could be filled with that every three weeks.
Image source: recycleacrossamerica.org
#56
In America, 85 million tons of paper are consumed annually, or around 680 pounds per person.
Image source: arkansasstateparks.com
#57
For every ton of recycled paper, 7,000 gallons of water are conserved.
Image source: portal.ct.gov
#58
One tree is saved when three feet of newspaper are recycled.
Image source: twitter.com
#59
Trash recycling typically costs $30 per ton, landfill disposal costs $50, and incineration costs between $65 and $75 per ton.
Image source: epa.gov
#60
For every ton of cardboard recycled, 9 cubic yards of landfill space are saved.
#61
Recycled plastic uses 88% less energy than plastic produced from raw materials.
Image source: plasticsrecycling.org
#62
In the US a person produces 4.4 pounds of trash per day, with roughly 1.51 pounds recycled per person per day.
Image source: citibin.com
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