| associated recyclers of wisconsin |
Why recycle?
Put simply, recycling is good for people, planet, and the economy - a triple bottom line benefit!
It is the LawWisconsin passed a comprehensive recycling law that took effect in 1995. This law requires recycling by residents, businesses, government, non-profits, multi-family units, schools, parks, public venues and events. In 2010, the law was revised to include electronics. The law outlines items that are banned from landfills and incinerators statewide and should be reused, recycled, or composted. Here are a few items that are included in the landfill ban:
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Save Energy & Slow Climate Change
Manufacturing products from recycled materials requires less energy than using virgin materials. This reduces the impact we have on climate change and our dependence on foreign oil. In 2000, the recycling of solid waste prevented the release of 32.9 million metric tons of carbon equivalent (MMTCE, the unit of measure for greenhouse gases) into the air.[1] We can make a difference in reducing greenhouse gas emissions if we work together to recycle more often.
Facts and Figures:
- The energy saved each year by steel recycling in the US is equal to the electrical power used annually by 18 million homes, or enough energy to last Los Angeles residents for 8 years. [2]
- The energy needed to replace all the aluminum cans wasted each year is equivalent to 16 million barrels of oil, enough to keep a million American cars on the road for a year.
Prevent PollutionRecycling reduces air and water pollution that damages the environment and our health. Water pollutants can contaminate our drinking water, kill fish and other wildlife, accumulate in the tissue of fish we catch and eat, and reduce the beauty of water. If paper mills use recycled paper in their products, they save 60% of the water that would be used if they started with virgin pulp. Only 2.8% of the Earth’s water is available for human consumption, so we should take care of it! |
Conserve ResourcesRecycling saves valuable resources such as trees, minerals, fossil fuels, and even water. Recycling also conserves landfill space, allowing more room for our beautiful Wisconsin farms, parks, natural habitat areas, and cities. Current recycling efforts keep about 1.69 million tons of materials out of Wisconsin landfills and incinerators annually. At this rate, Wisconsin citizens save space equivalent to the size of an average municipal waste landfill every 1.5 – 2 years. Every ton of paper recycled saves 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space.1 We can still do a lot more! In 2005, it is estimated that Wisconsin landfilled more than $100M worth of potentially recyclable materials.[1] Every ton of paper that is recycled saves 17 trees. Even though trees are a renewable resource and can grow back again, recycling reduces the need for monoculture tree farms, and saves energy and water. The production of one ton of aluminum ingot requires 4-5 tons of bauxite ore, which is only found in a few places in the world. However, when aluminum cans are recycled, they become a new aluminum can in as little as 60 days without using up rare bauxite reserves or causing the negative environmental impacts of mining. An aluminum can has no limit to the amount of times it can be recycled, so keep returning them to your recycling container! The majority of our energy comes from fossil fuels: oil, natural gas, and coal. Fossil fuels formed over millions of years from the fossils or remains of dead animals and plants. Because it takes millions of years to “create” more fossil fuels, we call them nonrenewable resources. Once we use up all of the current fossil fuels, they are gone to us forever! [2] Facts and Figures: (1) Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources & (2) U.S. Department of Energy |
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| Create JobsRecyclable materials are in high demand and market prices are strong. These materials bring jobs and money to our local economy. In Wisconsin, the 1.6 million tons of material diverted from landfills annually supports 97,000 jobs and contributes to the $5.4 billion dollar environmental industry. Recycling in the U.S. is a $236 billion a year industry. More than 56,000 recycling and reuse enterprises employ 1.1 million workers nationwide. There is currently a lot of lost opportunity, though. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources calculated the lost annual revenue from 750,000 tons of recyclables that are still being thrown away in Wisconsin by businesses and residents, as seen below.
TOTAL= $113 Million Annually Lost Revenue Source: National Recycling Coalition & Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources |
