Experts estimate that 84% of U.S. household waste is recyclable and that 70% is compostable.

Experts estimate that the recycling industry can create six times the number of jobs currently filled by landfilling and incinerating.

The. U.S. Conference of Mayors predicts that over half of the U.S. landfills will close within the next ten years.

Did you know that in 1989 the National Academy of Sciences reported that farmers who use little or no chemicals are usually as productive as those who use pesticides and synthetic fertilizers?

AUTOMOTIVE A single quart of motor oil can pollute 250,000 gallons of drinkinig water. In fact, an estimated 40% of U.S. waterway pollution comes from crankcase oil.

Motor oil never breaks down in the environment. Once it is in our water it stays there until it is intentionally removed.

The U.S. EPA estimates that do-it-yourself oil changers alone produce 350 million gallons of used motor oil each year.

It takes 42 gallons of virgin oil to produce 2.5 quarts of motor oil. It takes 1 gallon of used, reprocessed motor oil to produce that same 2.5 quarts, saving 41 gallons of oil.

Antifreeze contains ethylene glycol (a highly poisonous substance and should be treated as a hazardous waste. The sweet taste of antifreeze makes it especially attractive to small children and pets.

Approximately 80 million lead-acid batteries are discarded in the U.S. each year.

Each year 240-260 million tires are discarded in the U.S. Currently we recycle 50 million tires yearly, or about 25%.

PAPER

We use, on average, 50 million tons of paper each year, or more than 850 million trees.

Not all paper is recyclable. Coated or slick paper, the kind used in magazines and advertising flyers and self-adhesive notepaper (the press & stick variety) gum up paper mill equipment and cause serious processing problems. Even colored paper must be specially treated since dyes or bleaches will have to be added to the mixed paper to produce a white paper stock.

We currently recycle 25% of our waste paper in the U.S., saving 200 million trees each year! During the massive nationwide recycling efforts during WWII, we managed to recycle 35% of our waste paper with fewer reprocessing mills than we have now.

Recycled paper can be substituted for virgin paper in many products with no loss in quality. However, for recycling to be successful, there must be a steady demand for recycled paper products.

If The New York Times used recycled paper in one print run of its Sunday edition, we could save 75,000 trees.

The average U.S. office worker throws away 180 pounds of high grade recyclable paper each year.

PLASTICS

Plastics make up 25% (by volume) of house hold waste, making them the second Iargest contributor to landfills after paper. Plastic is not bio- or photodegradable.

The volume of plastics used in the U.S. each year exceeds the volume of steel used.

Recycled plastic is used in bathtubs, car bumpers, storage bins, carports, and moldings.

ORGANIC WASTES

Yard and food waste is generally organic and degradable if exposed to sunlight and oxygen. When these wastes end up buried in landfills, they do not decompose. In fact, 30 year old newspapers (organic because they are made from wood) have been uncovered in the bottom of landfills that were still readable - they had not degraded, they had mummified.

Yard wastes (grass clippings, twigs, leaves, dead plants) make up 17% of household waste and food waste 8% in the U.S.

HAZARDOUS WASTES

Most waste water treatment facilities and septic tanks are not designed to handle hazardous waste. ? We throw away 2.5 billion household batteries each year in the U.S.

WHAT WE THROW AWAY

(Percentage by total volume of waste found in municipal waste streams.)

Paper 41.0%

Organic wastes (yard & food) 25.8%

Metals 8.7%

Glass 8.2%

Rubber, textiles, wood, leather 8.1%

Plastics 6.5%

Miscellaneous 1.6%