Top 10 Reasons to Recycle

1. Good For Our Economy - American companies rely on recycling programs to provide the raw materials they need to make new products.
2. Creates Jobs - Recycling in the U.S. is a $236 billion a year industry. More than 56,000 recycling and reuse enterprises employ 1.1 million workers nationwide.
3. Reduces Waste - The average American discards seven and a half pounds of garbage every day. Most of this garbage goes into to landfills, where it's compacted and buried.
4. Good For The Environment - Recycling requires far less energy, uses fewer natural resources, and keeps waste from piling up in landfills.
5. Saves Energy - Recycling offers significant energy savings over manufacturing with virgin materials. (Manufacturing with recycled aluminum cans uses 95% less energy.)
6. Preserves Landfill Space - No one wants to live next door to a landfill. Recycling preserves existing landfill space.
7. Prevents Global Warming - In 2000, recycling of solid waste prevented the release of 32.9 million metric tons of carbon equivalent (MMTCE, the unit of measure for greenhouse gases) into the air.
8. Reduces Water Pollution - Making goods from recycled materials generates far less water pollution than manufacturing from virgin materials.
9. Protects Wildlife - Using recycled materials reduces the need to damage forests, wetlands, rivers and other places essential to wildlife.
10. Creates New Demand - Recycling and buying recycled products creates demand for more recycled products, decreasing waste and helping our economy.