Agenda - Environmental Policy Board - 03/05/2012

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RETHINKI'o RECYCI ING Campaign Materials - Fact Sheet Top Ten Bottles and Cans Recycling Facts Solid Waste Management mnt Coordinating Board 1. Every three months, Americans landfill enough aluminum to rebuild the entire United States commercial air fleet. 2. The average person has the opportunity to recycle more than 25,000 cans in a lifetime. At six ounces of gasoline energy savings per recycled aluminum can, that represents a potential to save the energy contained in nearly 1,200 gallons of gasoline! 3. Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to power a TV or computer for three hours. 4. Recycling one glass jar saves enough electricity to light a conventional 60- watt bulb for four hours or an 11-watt compact fluorescent bulb for 20 hours. 5. It takes 95 percent less energy to recycle aluminum than it does to make it from raw materials. Making recycled steel results in a 60 percent energy savings, making recycled plastic results in a 70 percent energy savings, and making recycled glass results in a 40 percent energy savings. 6. Making glass from recycled material cuts related water pollution by 50 percent. 7. The plastic recycling industry provides jobs for more than 52,000 Americans. 8. Five plastic soda bottles yield enough fiber for one extra large T-shirt, one square foot of carpet, or enough fiber fill for one ski jacket. 1 9. In 2006, plastic, metal, and glass recycling in the Twin Cities reduced air pollution by more than 335,000 tons and water pollution by more than 1,250 tons. 10. In 2006, Twin Cities residents recycled over 270,000 tons of plastic, metal, and glass, which resulted in a greenhouse gas emissions reduction equal to that of removing over 125,000 cars from our roads2. Rethink Recycling. It matters more than you think. To learn more, contact your community recycling program or visit www.RethinkRecycling.com, the metro area's resource for recycling and waste disposal. December 2008 This Fact Sheet was provided by the Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board as a part of the Rethink Recycling campaign. Please help us track the use of this campaign. Please send an e-mail to Info@RethinkRecycling.com with a description of how the fact sheet was used, the date it will be published, and the estimated circulation of the publication. If you have any questions about the campaign, please contact Angie Timmons, 612-348-2477. 1 Facts 1 — 8: NRC — the Conversionator 2 Facts 9 -10: NRC Calculator 477 Selby Avenue St, Paul, Minnesota 55102 w51 222-7227 Li 651 223-5229 www,s wmcb, org Printed on PCF, 14 post-consurrer recycled paper wtth agri-Inks.