Recycling Facts Greystar Apartments Greystar Blog

Fun Recycling Facts

Written by Greystar
Edited by Greystar
Greystar Green August 12, 2013

Recycling has become part of people’s everyday lives, and many people consider green living to be an important lifestyle choice. While a lot people recycle, many don’t know the facts behind the idea and how it can help our environment.

  • Recycling a single aluminum can saves energy that would power a television for three hours. Aluminum is the easiest material to recycle… aluminum cans become aluminum cans which become aluminum cans, for as long as they are put in the recycling bin after use.
  • One glass bottle can produce enough energy to power a 400-watt light for about four hours when recycled. That same glass bottle will take one-million years to biodegrade in a landfill.
  • A plastic bottle won’t biodegrade in a landfill for 700 years.
  • Buying a single post-consumer fiber case of paper saves about two trees from being cut down. Those trees would need to be approximately 40-feet tall to generate a single case of usable paper. It also takes 7,000 gallons of water to produce that same case of paper if made without post-consumer fibers.
  • The American population discards enough paper each year to heat 1,000 homes for 100 years. That paper should be recycled and used.
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