A more detailed explanation of the process can be found at Aluminum.org

Learn about the Life Cycle of An Aluminum Can at http://www.recycle.novelis.com/Recycle/EN/Kids/Fun+Facts/Many+Lives+of+the+Aluminum+Can/

Advantages to recycling aluminum:

• There is no limit to the number of times aluminum can be recycled
• 95% decrease in air pollution
• 97% decrease in water pollution
• 95% decrease in energy consumption
• 4 tons of bauxite and 1,500 pounds of petroleum coke and pitch for every ton of remelted aluminum

Products made from recycled aluminum:

• Cans
• Pie Pans
• House Siding
• Small Appliances
• Lawn Furniture
• Aluminum Foil

Jimmy Neutron Movie Clip
http://www.recycleyourcans.org/

A more detailed explanation of the process can be found at http://www.recycle-more.co.uk/nav/page638.aspx or
http://www.glassworks.org/product_stewardship/how.html

Learn about the Life Cycle of a Glass Container at: http://www.gvrd.bc.ca/recycling-and-garbage/pdfs/facts-glass.pdf

Advantages to recycling glass:
Glass is 100% recyclable and can be recycled endlessly.

• 20% decrease in air pollution
• 80% decrease in mining waste
• 50% decrease in water consumption
• 50% decrease in energy consumption

An informative look at the environmental benefits of recycled glass can be found at http://www.gpi.org/recycling/environment/

For the history of glass check out http://www.glassworks.org/product_stewardship/story.html

Products made from recycled glass:

• Glass bottles and jars
• Glasphalt (a paving material)

More on Glass:
Don’t Lose Your Bottle Game:
http://www.wakeuptowaste.org/bottle_game.pdf

A more detailed explanation of the process can be found at http://www.tappi.org/paperu/all_about_paper/earth_answers/EarthAnswers_Recycle.pdf

Advantages to making paper from recycled paper vs. virgin wood pulp:

• 74% decrease in air pollution
• 35% decrease in water pollution
• 58% decrease in water consumption
• 40% decrease in energy consumption

An informative look at the environmental benefits of recycled paper can be found at http://greenpressinitiative.org/documents/Environmental%20Benefits%20of%20Recycled%20Paper.pdf

Products made from recycled paper:

• Newspapers
• Paper
• Corrugated Boxes
• Insulation
• Boxboard such as cereal boxes, tissue boxes, shoeboxes
• Kraft paper
• Tissue paper and paper towels
• Building materials

Afterwards, the plastic is baled and loaded onto semi-trailer trucks. The plastic is transported from the MRF to a plastic manufacturing mill where it is cleaned, washed and either cut into flakes by a grinder or pelletized. Then the flakes or pellets are melted and stretched to form plastic fiber. Recycled plastic can be used to make a variety of products including t-shirts, carpets, pillows, fiberfill for sleeping bags, and jacket stuffing, more recycled plastic containers, hoses, pens, notebooks and many more products. HDPE plastic can be melted and made into material that looks like wood (and lasts longer, does not need as much maintenance, termites don’t like it and it saves trees. Often seen as benches, tables, signs and decks.

Interesting Facts about Plastic Recycling:

• In 2006, Americans drank about 167 bottles of water each, but only recycled an average of 38 bottles per person, which equals about 50 billion plastic bottles consumed, only 23% being recycled. That leaves 38 billion water bottles in landfills.
• Manufacturing bottled water uses over 1.5 million barrels of oil per year. In one year, that’s enough to oil to fuel 100,000 cars.
• Plastic bottles go to landfills and take 700 years before they start to decompose.
• In 2006 we spent $15 billion on bottled water. Consider using tap water and refilling one container. This saves oil (a non-renewable natural resource) energy in manufacturing and processing and landfill space!
• The first PET (plastic # 1) bottle was recycled in 1977.
• Five PET bottles will provide enough fiber to make an extra-large t-shirt.
• It takes five two-liter PET bottles to make one square foot of carpet. *
• It takes 35 two-liter PET bottles to make enough fiberfill for a ski jacket. *
• It takes 1,050 milk jugs to make a 6 foot plastic park bench. **
• Every hour Americans consume 2 ½ million plastic bottles. **

Get to know your recyclable plastics by number.
At Planet Green get the scoop on which ones are safe and easy to recycle.

Plastic Bag Statistics:

• It takes 1000 years for a plastic bag to decompose.
• The average family in the United States uses 1,460 plastic bags per year.
• 12 million barrels of oil are used annually to produce the plastic bags used in the U.S.
• Less than 1% of all plastic bags get recycled in the U.S.
• 88.5 billion plastic bags were consumed in the U.S. last year.
• Worldwide, more than a million plastic bags are used every minute.
• Roughly 60–80% of all marine debris, and 90% of floating debris is plastic.
• Each year, the State of California spends approximately $25 million to landfill discarded plastic bags.
• Plastic bags, which resemble jellyfish or sponges, cause harm to seabirds, marine mammals, fish, and sea turtles.

A more detailed explanation of the process can be found at http://www.recycle-steel.org/PDFs/education/lifecycle.pdf

Advantages to recycling steel:
Steel cans are 100% recyclable.

• 86% decrease in air pollution
• 76% decrease in water pollution
• 40% decrease in water consumption
• 95% decrease in energy consumption
• 97% decrease in mining wastes

Products made from recycled steel:

• Food cans
• Cars
• Bridges

Library Resources

Click here for a list of library resources. Information on Solid Waste, Recycling, and Composting for all grade levels, Kindergarten - High School.