Definitely, Americans are more aware of the environment and, consequently, of recycling, than ever. Even so, the average American household manages to throw away approximately 3 pounds of trash every day. Unfortunately, it is estimated that more than half of that waste is completely recyclable. Here a can, there a can, everywhere there are cans of drinks.
Whether it's juice, soft drinks or beer, aluminum cans represent a big part of American consumerism and, thankfully, they're also a growing part of our new positive recycling mindset. However, there is no doubt that there is room for improvement. Most plastic bottles are still thrown away in the trash. Creating new containers for consumers creates more than a burden on our resources, wastes energy and causes nightmares due to the excessive use of landfills.
While Americans read fewer printed news materials, those who still do are making this article one of the most recyclable in the U.S. UU. In this way, newspaper recyclers save trees, water and even energy in the process. Glass bottles and jars, designed for food and beverages, are often forgotten in the recycling efforts of the American family.
However, this type of glass is 100% recyclable. In addition, these products can be recycled repeatedly, without ever losing their quality. Plastics can often be confusing because there are many different types of plastics on the market and these different types cannot be mixed when recycled into new products. Many residential recycling programs in Maine collect several types of paper, such as cardboard, magazines, or junk mail, in one category.
Magazines, newspapers and office papers can generally be recycled, but not all paper products are recyclable. One ton of recycled glass saves 42 kWh of energy and two cubic yards of landfill space, and recycling glass is 33 percent more energy efficient than creating new glass. This is substantially higher than the Environmental Protection Agency's recycling rates of 60 percent for aluminum cans, 56 percent for newsprint, 37 percent for plastic soda bottles, 31 percent for glass bottles for beverages and 23 percent for magazines. It's important to remember that every municipal recycling program is different, so not all of these materials are necessarily accepted where you live.
With a constant demand for aluminum cans, manufacturers can once again have an aluminum can on store shelves as a new can in as little as 60 days after it has been recycled. In addition, some products made from the same type of plastic cannot be recycled together because they are produced through different processes. The production of new cans from recycled aluminum saves 95% of the energy used to produce cans from ore, known as bauxite. When recycled, some of the materials can be recovered to create new computer systems, while professionals can safely dispose of the rest.
Colored plastics are less versatile for recyclers and therefore may have a lower price in the recycling market. Recycling aluminum saves up to 95% of the energy wasted when manufacturing cans from new raw materials. Fred Frecker, president and CEO of Flexible Pavements of Ohio, the state's asphalt industry trade association, says that last year, Ohio asphalt contractors recycled approximately 2.6 million tons of RAP into new pavements. Recycled magazines are important in the recycling process, since their high clay content is used to remove inks from paper before converting it into new paper products.
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