Data and Research

Recycling

Why should you recycle?
- Recycling saves natural resources, landfill space, and energy. Making new aluminum cans from melted recycled cans consumes just 5 % of the energy it takes to make one from scratch!
- Recycling saves energy, conserves natural resources, limits pollution, and supports several sectors of the economy.

According to the U.S. EPA, recycling:
- Conserves natural resources to help sustain the environment.
- Reduces the need for landfilling and incineration.
- Saves energy and prevents pollution caused by the extraction and processing of virgin materials.

What gets recycled?
Some people when they think of recycling think of the main three: Paper, Plastic, and Aluminum. But really, there are many more things that we use in everyday life that can be recycled!
- Paper
- Aluminum
- Steel
- Plastics
- Glass
- Scrap Tires
- Cell Phones
- Electronics

Fun Facts
- Enough plastic is produced in the United States each year to shrink wrap Texas.
- Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a 100 watt light bulb for 20 hours, a computer for 3 hours, and a TV for 2 hours.
- Recycling 1 ton of paper saves 17 mature trees, 7,000 gallons of water, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 2 barrels of oil, and 4000 kilowatt hours of electricity. This is enough energy to power the average American home for 5 months.
- Glass can be recycled virtually forever. It never wears out.
- In the United States, the amount of steel that is discarded and not recycled every year is enough to build all the new American-made cars.
- A full bath tub uses 70 gallons of water. A 5 minute shower only uses 10-25 gallons.

Be Creative!
If there's something unusual you need to get rid of and you’re considering tossing it, be creative!! You can donate your old business suits to organizations like Goodwill or Dress for Success that give them to people in need, or donate your old eyeglass frames to a charity. To find a recycling center near you, check out the recycling widget to the right of this page.

Links to More Information!
For some more recycling information visit Keep America Beautiful’s page at:
http://www.kab.org/site/PageServer?pagename=recycling Or visit the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s page at: http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/rrr/recycle.htm

For information on Evansville’s recycling efforts visit:
http://www.evansvillegov.org/Index.aspx?page=50
Interested in recycling in Evansville? Visit this link to learn about our Curbside program and see data on the amount of materials that have been recycled!
http://www.evansvillegov.org/Index.aspx?page=354