You’ve probably heard the 3Rs of recycling, right? We should all reduce, reuse and recycle. You probably have good intentions with recycling too. Maybe you put out a recycling bin each week.
But how much do you really know about recycling? Below is our list of the top things you should know about recycling. Use it to quiz yourself or your family! We think the more you know about recycling, the more likely you and others are to take the green initiative.
1. How long does it take for one can to decompose?
Answer: One aluminum takes between 80 – 100 years to decompose. This number is worse for other materials, however. A glass bottle takes a whopping one million years to decompose. A styrofoam cup may never decompose.
This is unless these items are recycled. Recycle it and it can be part of a new can within six weeks! It requires 95% less energy and water to recycle a can than it does to create a can from raw materials.
2. How much power does recycling one can save?
Answer: Recycling just one aluminum can save enough energy to run a television for three homes for three hours. This means that the average person has the opportunity to recycle more than 25,000 cans in a lifetime!
3. How many trees does each person use each year?
Answer: The average American uses seven trees a year in paper, wood and other products made from trees. Additionally, most Americans also throw away enough office paper each year to build a 12-foot high wall from Seattle to New York. The average household throws away 13,000 separate pieces of paper each year.
However, recycling a 3-foot tall stack of newspaper saves one tree. Making paper from recycled paper reduces the amount of air pollution-related to paper production by 95%.
5. How much plastic do Americans throw away?
Answer: Americans throw away 25 million plastic beverage bottles every hour.
However, recycling just five plastic bottles provides enough fiber to create one square foot of carpet or enough fiber to fill one ski jacket.
7. How much garbage, on average, is located on one mile of a highway?
Answer: On average, there are approximately 1,500 pieces of garbage per one mile of US highway.
We can all do our part in disposing of it properly.
8. How many times can glass be recycled?
Answer: Glass can be recycled and re-manufactured an infinite amount of times and never wear out. And recycling just one glass jar saves enough electricity to light an 11-watt CFL bulb for 20 hours.
9. How many cardboard boxes does the US use each year?
Answer: Over 90% of all products shipped in the US are shipped in corrugated boxes, which totals more than 400 billion square feet of cardboard. Nearly 80% of all retailers and grocers recycle their cardboard.
10. What things can be recycled?
Answer: Most plastic bottles and containers, paper, cardboard and food and beverage containers can be recycled.
11. What things can’t be recycled?
Answer: Plastic Saran wrap, waxed cups, food containers and styrofoam containers often cannot be recycled. Plastic grocery bags often can’t be recycled in your curbside container, but many grocery chains and other retailers collect them for recycling. Check with your favorite store.
How many answers did you get right? Were you surprised by any answers? We hope you take away at least one helpful tip from our list to help support a healthier and greener planet. If you want to help the planet even more, learn about our Smart Rain system. Visit us on our website: https://www.smartrain.net