Emissions into the atmosphere of carbon dioxide (C02), methane (CH4) and other gases that result from human activity are contributing to global warming. These emissions are the result not only of burning fossil fuels to generate electricity and to power motor vehicles, but also occur during the extraction and refining of raw materials to make products, the manufacture and distribution of those products, and the management of post-consumer and post-industrial wastes from the use of those products. There is an energy, resource, and environmental cost – and a carbon cost – for everything we buy, use, and discard.
By recovering valuable materials from our waste steam – aluminum, steel, plastic, paper, glass, compost, and many more – recycling substantially reduces the carbon emissions associated with raw material extraction and product manufacture, avoids the emissions associated with landfilling or combusting carbon-based wastes, and conserves our natural resources for future generations.
Consider these facts on the carbon value of recycling:
EPA estimates that the current US recycling of municipal solid waste avoids greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 180 million tons of CO2, or about 2.5% of total US greenhouse gas emissions of approximately 7.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
An increase of the recycling rate in the US from the current 32% to an achievable 65% could mean an additional 180 million tons of avoided greenhouse gas emissions, brining the total to approximately 360 millions tons.
Recycled aluminum saves 95% of the energy cost of producing aluminum from raw materials.
The plastic from a recycled beverage container can be used indefinitely, avoiding the greenhouse gas emissions associated with combusting plastic wastes and eliminating the need to extract petroleum to make another plastic bottle. The carbon in the recycled plastic bottle is continually reused and sequestered in the product, rather than wasted in a landfill.
The amount of saved energy from recycling aluminum and steel cans, plastic PET and glass containers, newsprint and corrugated packaging was equivalent to:
- The amount of electricity consumed by 17.8 million Americans in one year.
- 29% of the annual nuclear electricity generation in the US.
- 7.9% of annual electricity generation from fossil fuels in the US.
- 11% of the energy produced by coal fired power plants in the US.
- The energy supplied from 2.7% of imported barrels of crude oil into the U.S.
- The amount of gasoline used in almost 11 million passenger automobiles in one year.
Conversely, last year the amount of lost energy from throwing away aluminum and steel cans, plastic PET and glass containers, newsprint and corrugated packaging was equivalent to:
- The amount of electricity consumed by 10 million Americans in one year.
- 17% of annual nuclear electricity generation in the US.
- 4.6% of the annual electricity generated from fossil fuels in the US.
- 6% of the energy produced by coal fired power plants in the US.
- The energy supplied from 2% of imported barrels of crude oil into the U.S.
- The amount of gasoline used in 6.5 million passenger automobiles in a one year.
A 10%, 25% and 50% respective increase of the amount of cans, bottles, newsprint and corrugated packaging currently recovered would result in:
- New energy savings of 77, 191 and 383 million MBTUs, which in terms of crude oil represents a savings between $957 Million to $4.8 billion.
- 3.9, 9.6 and 19.3 fewer megatons of waste to landfill.
- 11.6, 29 and 58 fewer megatons of GHG emissions into our atmosphere, which is equivalent to 44% of all the GHG emissions from US landfills.