It gives a person a good feeling, that others care about the environment and about future generations. It's all about changing thinking. "A lot of people want to do the right thing, but don't take that second step," says Jennifer Scaaco, of Keep Rio Rancho Beautiful coordinator. She says the challenge is to educate residents, without making them feel like recycling in being forced on them.
The national average for recycling in 32 percent, according to E. Gifford Stack, Manager for Solid Waste Bureau of the New Mexico Environment Department. Here are a few reasons why it's important to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste, experts say. (Source: National Recycling Coalition)
* American companies rely on recycling programs to provide raw materials to make new products.
* Recycling in the United States is a 6 billion a year industry that employees 1.1 million workers.
* The average American disgards 7.5 pounds of garbage every day, most of which goes into landfills.
* Recycling requires far less energy; uses fewer natural resources; and keeps waste from piling up in
landfills, etc.
* Recycling offers significant energy savings over manufacturing with virgin materials.
* Recycling preserves existing landfill space.
* Recycling reduces green-house gas emissions, which cuts down on global warming.
* Making goods from recycled material generates less water pollution than manufacturing from virgin
materials.
* Using recycled materials reduces the need to damage forests, wetlands, rivers, and other places
important to wildlife.
* Recycling and buying recycled products create a demand for more recycled products, which helps
the economy.
Additional benefits of recycling: (Source: maisonbisson.com)
* Recycling a ton of aluminum cans saves 95% energy required to make the same amount of
aluminum cans from virgin material; saves 14,000 KWH of energy; 40 gallons of oil; saves 10 cubic
yards of landfill space.
* Recycling a ton of plastic saves 5,774 KWH of energy; 16 gallons of oil; 30 cubic yards of landfill
space.
* Recycling a ton of paper saves 4,100 KWH of energy; 5 gallons of oil; 60 pounds of air pollutants
from being released; 70,000 gallons of water; 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space.
* Recycling a ton of glass saves 42KWH of energy; 5 gallons of oil; 7.5 pounds of air pollutants from
being released; 2 cubic yards of landfill space.
All of us should be environmentalists, and leave the world better than we found it, for our children and grand-children. American's are the most giving people in the world...giving of their money; their time; and giving of themselves (blood, etc.). Talk about giving...American's are getting better and better at giving away their trash, too! WOW! WHAT A COUNTRY!
