Earth Day is April 22, and it’s the perfect time to share a little information about recycling. Here are some simple ways you can adjust your daily habits to lessen your impact on the environment.
Recycling is one of the easiest ways to conserve resources and reduce pollution of air and water, and according to the New Jersey WasteWise Business Network, it has many economic benefits as well.
Here are a few facts about the economics of recycling:
- In New Jersey, recycling employs approximately 27,000 people.
- Big savings are realized due to the avoided cost of disposal in a landfill or incinerator.
- In addition to cost savings from redirecting waste from disposal, a well-run recycling program for a business can produce additional revenues from the sale of recyclable materials.
Businesses can positively impact their bottom line by recycling, but there’s so much you can do at home as well. Before you toss that plastic bottle in the trash, consider these facts about the impact that even a small amount of effort can have on the environment, as shared by Recycle Across America.
Here are some facts of how recycling can impact the environment:
- Five plastic bottles recycled provides enough fiber to create one square foot of carpet or enough fiber to fill a ski jacket.
- Recycling one ton of plastic bottles saves the equivalent energy usage of a two-person household for one year.
- By Recycling one aluminum can, you can save enough energy to power a TV for three hours.
- It requires 95% less energy and water to recycle an aluminum can than it does to create a can from virgin materials.
- Recycling a stack of newspapers just three feet high saves one tree.
- Making paper from recycled paper reduces the related contribution to air pollution by 95%.
- Making glass from recycled material cuts related water pollution by 50%.
- Recycling just one glass jar saves enough electricity to light an 11-watt CFL bulb for 20 hours.
- Recycling cardboard takes 75% of the energy needed to make new cardboard.
- Did you know recycling one ton of cardboard saves 46 gallons of oil?
Whether you’re a business owner or a household, recycling materials can make a huge impact. If you are a business you can learn more on the State of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste website. If you are a homeowner, learn more at RecyclingNJ, a resource for residents run by volunteers.
And don’t forget to make every day Earth Day!