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Green Facts


Recycling

  • In 1988, there were 600 curbside recycling programs in the US. Now there are more than 9,340 programs, over 12,000 drop-off centers, and 480 material recovery facilities to process collected materials. (Environmental Protection Agency, 2000)
  • In 1991, the US recycling rate was 17%. Now it is estimated at 30% (including composting). (Environmental Protection Agency, 2000)
  • The number and availability of recycled products has increased. In 1990, the Recycled Products Guide listed 170 items; today, more than 5,000 recycled content products areavailable. (Environmental Protection Agency, 2003)
  • By the year 2006, all cars made in Europe must be taken back free of charge by their producers, and 80% of the vehicle must be re-used or recycled. (European Union End of Life Vehicle Directive, 2000)
  • Recycling and composting diverted 64 million tons of material from landfills and incinerators in 1999, up from 34 million tons in 1990. (EPA, 2000)
  • The overall recycling rate for plastics is fairly small-9%. (Environmental Protection Agency, 2000)
  • Recycling activities employ more than 2.5% of manufacturing workers. Recycling and remanufacturing activities could account for approximately 1 million manufacturing jobs and more than $100 billion in revenue. (White House Task Force on Recycling, 1998)
  • In the US, 52% of all major appliances are recycled. (EPA, 1999)

Paper Products

  • In 2000, 45.4 % of the total paper generated in the US was recycled, up from 28% in 1990. (Environmental Protection Agency, 2000)

Aluminum and Steel

  • In 2000, Americans recycled 55% of aluminum cans. Most of the aluminum recovered from the waste stream (cans, foil, pie plates, etc.) is used to manufacture new cans. (Environmental Protection Agency, 2000)
  • Fifty-eight percent of steel cans were recycled in 2000. (Environmental Protection Agency, 2000)

Bottles and Containers

  • Food and beverage containers make up 91% of the glass waste that is generated. In 2000, 26% of all glass food and beverage containers were recycled. (Environmental Protection Agency, 2000)

Garbage

  • In 2000, the US generated 232 million tons of municipal solid waste - an average of 4.5 pounds of waste per person per day. About one third of that refuse is paper and paperboard products. (Environmental Protection Agency, 2002)
  • On a national average, American garbage consists of:
    37% paper and paperboard 5% glass
    8% metals 11% plastics
    11% food 12% yard trimmings
    15% other (textiles, rubber, leather, wood...) (Environmental Protection Agency, 2000)
  • Americans recycle or compost about 30% of their trash. Of the remaining 70%, fifteen percent is incinerated and 55% landfilled. (Environmental Protection Agency, 2000)
  • Glass takes more than one million years to decompose in our landfills.
  • There are 4-8 pounds of lead in every computer monitor, and there is lead in most of the solder points in electronic product circuit boards. Between 1997 and 2004, 315 million computers became obsolete, along with millions of other electronic products. (Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, 2004)
  • Landfills are the largest source of anthropogenic methane (CH4) emissions, accounting for 32% of the total US methane emissions. (EPA, 2004)
  • The item most frequently encountered in municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills is plain old paper-on average, it accounts for more than 40 percent of a landfill's contents. Newspapers alone can take up as much as 13 percent of the space in US landfills. (EPA, 2003)
  • The number of landfills in the US decreased from 8000 in 1989 to 2216 in 2000, despite no change in total capacity. (EPA Draft Report on the Environment, 2002)
  • About 86 percent of US landfills are currently leaking toxic materials into lakes, streams, and aquifers. Once groundwater is contaminated, it is extremely expensive and difficult, sometimes even impossible, to clean it up. (EPA, 2003)

Air Pollution, Greenhouse Effect, and Ozone Depletion

  • Forty-three percent of landfilled or incinerated municipal discards, by weight, is packaging and containers, or disposable products such as paper and plastic plates and cups, diapers, junk mail, trash bags, and tissue paper and towels. (EPA, 1998)
  • Protecting the ozone layer is critical because it is the only gas in the upper atmosphere that limits the amount of harmful solar ultraviolet radiation reaching the Earth. Ozone is our umbrella against ultraviolet rays. Without it, life on Earth would be impossible.
  • More than 133 million people lived in areas where monitored air quality in 2001 was unhealthy because of high levels of at least one criteria air pollutant. (EPA Draft Report on the Environment, 2002)
  • Natural visibility in the western US is 124-186 miles. Pollution levels during 1999 dropped average visibility to 50 miles. (EPA Draft Report on the Environment, 2002)
  • Operating a commercial leaf blower for one half hour produces the hydrocarbon equivalent of driving a new 1999-2000 light duty vehicle at 30 mph for more than 2 round trips between Denver and New York City. (California Environmental Protection Agency, 2000)

Water Use, Water Pollution, and Acid Rain

  • Most acid rain comes from emissions of sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxide from industrial or transportation sources. These turn into sulfuric acid and nitric acid in the atmosphere. These acids are deposited into the soil, lakes, and rivers when it rains. (EPA, 2004)
  • Roughly 10% of streams and 20% of drinking wells in farming areas exceed federal drinking water standards for nitrate. (EPA Draft Report on the Environment, 2002)
  • Six percent of community water systems do not meet all health-based standards in 2002. (EPA Draft Report on the Environment, 2002)
  • In the US, 15% of river miles, 33% of lake acreage, and 100% of the Great Lakes and their connecting waters are under fish consumption advisories. (EPA, 2003)
  • Twenty states have fish consumption advisories on 100% of their lake acreage; 18 states have 100% of their river acreage under fish consumption advisories. (EPA, 2003)
  • Watering non-lawn areas with drip irrigation rather than sprinkler heads can reduce water use up to 70 percent.
  • Xeriscape techniques can reduce outdoor water use by 30-50 percent.
  • Global water consumption is doubling every 20 years, twice the rate of population growth. (Environmental Defense Fund, 2003)
  • Urban stormwater runoff is the largest source of impairment in US coastal waters and the second largest source of water pollution in US estuaries. (Environmental Protection Agency, 2000)
  • More than 4 billion gallons of water get flushed down the toilet every day in the US.
  • The average household uses over 22,000 gallons of water per year just for showers and baths.

Forests

  • Coffee, bananas, rice, tomatoes, corn, potatoes, chocolate, sugar, spices, wicker, rubber, vanilla, oranges, lemons, limes and peanuts are some of the products that were discovered in tropical rainforests.

Household Hazardous Waste and Pesticides

  • In 2000, US industries released 7 billion pounds of toxic chemicals and chemical compounds into our land, air, and water. Only 2.9% of this waste was properly treated as hazardous waste. (EPA Draft Report on the Environment, 2002)