Font Size:

Energy Costs and Conservation Facts:

Aluminum:
* Recycled aluminum saves 95 percent energy versus virgin aluminum; recycling of one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours.
* Recycled aluminum reduces pollution by 95 percent.
* Enough aluminum is thrown away to rebuild our commercial air fleet four times every year.

Glass:
* Recycled glass saves 50 percent energy versus virgin glass.
* Recycling of one glass container saves enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for four hours.
* Recycled glass generates 20 percent less air pollution and 50 percent less water pollution.
* Glass can be reused an infinite number of times; over 41 billion glass containers are made each year.
* Over 1 ton of resources is saved for every ton of glass recycled - 1,330 pounds of sand, 433 pounds of soda ash, 433 pounds of limestone and 151 pounds of feldspar.

Paper:
* Recycled paper saves 60 percent energy versus virgin paper.
* Recycling of each ton of paper saves 17 trees and 7,000 gallons of water.
* Every year enough paper is thrown away to make a 12 foot wall from New York to California.
* Production of recycled paper uses 80 percent less water, 65 percent less energy and produces 95 percent less air pollution than virgin paper production.
* If offices throughout the country increased the rate of two-sided photocopying to 60 percent, they could save the equivalent of about 15 million trees.

Plastic:
* If we recycled every plastic bottle we used, we would keep two billion tons of plastic out of landfills.
* We use enough plastic wrap to wrap all of Texas every year.