Recycle Everything You Can

Recycling is the third step towards conserving resources and decreasing the amount of waste that ends up in landfills and the method that most people are familiar with. (Stanford's Recycling Program) If an item cannot be reused, recycling is an excellent way to keep that product out of landfills and save natural resources at the same time. Recycling turns materials that would otherwise become waste into valuable resources. After collection, recyclable materials like glass, metal, plastics, and paper, are separated and sent to facilities that use them to make new materials or products. The recycling process generates a host of environmental, financial, and social benefits.

There are three steps that ensure the overall success of recycling: 1) collecting and processing recyclable materials, 2) manufacturing recycled-content products, and 3) purchasing these products.

  • The collection of materials differs from community to community, but there are four primary methods: curbside collection, drop-off centers, buy-back centers, and deposit/refund programs (also known as EPR - Extended Producer Responsibility).
  • After collection, recyclable materials are sent to recycling centers to be sorted and prepared for sale as marketable commodities for manufacturing. Just like any other commodity, recyclables are bought and sold according to market prices and these prices fluctuate according to the principles of supply and demand. The company that buys the recyclable materials will use them to replace virgin materials in the manufacturing process. Today, more and more products are being manufactured with recycled content. Household items like newspapers, paper towels, aluminum and steel cans, and plastic soda bottles often contain recycled materials.
  • The recycling loop is completed when consumers purchase these recycled products. Remember that if you’re not buying recycled, you’re not really recycling! As long as consumers demand more environmentally sound products, manufacturers will continue to meet that demand by using recycled materials.

According to the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), recycling is one of the best environmental success stories of the late twentieth century. The EPA has the best data on national recycling facts and figures on their solid waste website at http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/msw99.htm.

Here are some facts and figures through 2009 (click images to enlarge):

Recycling Links

Steel Recycling Institute :http://www.recycle-steel.org
Aluminum Association: http://www.aluminum.org/
American Plastics Council: http://www.plastics.org/
The EPA’s list of Recycling Publications: http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/recpubs.htm
American Forest and Paper Association: http://www.afandpa.org/

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