Recycling, a term widely used but least followed. Yes, we may see recycling bins at numerous locations, but most of the time people don’t pay attention to the nature of trash they throw in them. Apart from it, a large amount of trash from recycling bin ends up in landfills and oceans rather than getting recycled. Shocking? There are numerous interesting recycling facts ahead, keep reading.

Interesting Recycling Facts

Many people struggle to practice recycling due to a lack of opportunity and knowledge. According to a survey conducted by the World Economic Forum, 84% of individuals care about recycling with uncertainty on what should not be recycled. This leads to contamination that diminishes the value as well as quality of recyclable materials hence making most end up in landfills. However, 65% want to know more about sustainability while improving their waste practices for the earth’s sake.

Recycling Facts for Plastic

Depending on its type and quality, plastics can be recycled in different manners.

recycling plastic

1. In 2020, the plastic bottle recycling rate declined to 27.2% in comparison to 28.7% in 2019.

2. The presence of impurities from different types of plastics, additives, and catalysts makes the recycling process difficult for plastic materials.

3. The U.S. recycled only a small percentage (5-6%) of its 40 million tons of plastic waste in 2021.

4. Packaging accounts for over one-third of the total amount of plastics while the majority (85%) ends up in landfills.

5. Fossil fuels are the source of nearly all 98% single-use plastics that we produce in our daily lives.

6. Worldwide production annually totals 400 million metric tonnes of plastic waste.

7. Other countries have stopped accepting plastic waste making recycling more difficult in the US instead of sending some plastic abroad as before.

8. Post-consumer PET bottle recyclers across America. use curbside recycling, drop-off centers or reverse vending machines/collection points.

9. Ocean debris comprises about 80% plastics.

10. The U.S. discards more than 2.5 million plastic bottles each hour.

11. In 2016, voters in California supported a single-state plastic bag ban that was the first of its kind in the country and brought state law into unison with various local initiatives to reduce plastic waste.

12. It takes more than 4 centuries for plastic bottles to decompose.

13. Every year over 8 million tonnes of plastics find their way into the oceans where they harm marine organisms and lead to losses of up to $8 billion.

14. Our seas contain little pieces of plastic floating around; these amount to 51 trillion pieces, which is 500 times greater than all our galaxy’s stars, and are very harmful to marine animals.

15. By 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean, with almost every seabird having consumed some sort of plastic material.

16. We discard a substantial proportion of the worldwide value of packaging made from plastics around $80-120 billion after its first application only.

17. Some trash bags in California must have at least 10% recycled plastic in them.

18. Only 14% of all global recycled plastic packaging is returned into new products while 40% goes to landfills and 32% is released as litter.

19. In 2018, recycling ratio was only 8.7%; however, recycling of some types of plastic containers like PET bottles and jars (29.1%) and HDPE natural bottles (29.3%) were in greater volume.

20. Plastic packaging constitutes 26% of all plastics used but, with reuse and recycling rates at just 2% and 14% respectively.

21. The production of plastics has increased considerably since 1964: it grew from 20 times to 311 million tons in 2014. It will double its quantity within 20 years and quadruple by the year 2050.

22. In MSW, plastics accounted for over 12.8% in 2018.

23. Bottles and other containers had the greatest share among the different categories at over 14.5 million tons in 2018 including container bags, wraps, bottles, or jugs among others.

Do you know there is a man who recycles dry waste and offers rewards in return?

Recycling Facts for Aluminum

Recycling aluminum does not hamper its quality and it can be repeated endlessly because they have specific codes.

24. 75% of all aluminum ever produced, 1.5 billion tonnes is still in use today.

25. Recycling aluminum helps reduce environmental pollution by approximately 95 % including emissions responsible for global warming.

26. In 2020, 76% of aluminum scrap was recycled worldwide.

27. The transportation sector recycles the highest weight 9 million tonnes and rate 86% of aluminum.

28. A tonne of recycled aluminum equals a US vehicle driving 40,000 miles.

29. Aluminum recycling saves enough electricity to power France for a year.

30. Scrap metal constitutes 57% of North America’s production capacity; the highest globally.

31. The efficiency with which Europe treats its scrap aluminum at 81% is world-leading.

32. Globally, they are reprocessing around 70% of beverage cans.

33. Around 20 smartphones could be charged using energy from just one recycled aluminum can.

34. The U.S. recycles 65% of aluminum.

35. Every minute, 123,097 aluminum cans are recycled.

36. Americans recycle two-thirds of their used aluminum cans.

37. Post-consumer aluminum makes up over 50% of the cans.

38. A recycled can is utilized again in 90 days.

39. Nowadays, aluminum cans have become lighter hence, it takes 19 instead of 29 to make one pound. This saves energy and resources.

40. Throwing away aluminum can wastes as much energy as half a gallon of gasoline.

41. Recycled aluminum cans require only 5% energy compared to virgin ore ones.

42. One can from virgin ore needs the energy of 20 Coke tins that were made from recycled waste.

43. Just a single can is enough to illuminate a hundred-watt bulb for four hours or watch TV for three hours

44. Using recycled aluminum cans can reduce air pollution by up to 95%.

45. More than one million tons of aluminum packaging are thrown away each year.

Let’s follow these innovative eco-friendly zero waste business ideas and reduce our carbon footprint.

46. Enough aluminum gets tossed by American citizens every quarter so that they can rebuild their Air Force.

47. Landfills received last year 36 billion in aluminum which cost more than 600 million dollars.

48. For over 20 years now, more than 11 million tonnes of aluminum cans have been thrown out costing over 12 billion dollars in total.

49. Siding, gutters, frames, furniture, foil, and other such items can also be recycled as well.

50. We exhaust about 80 billion aluminum tins used for soda on an annual basis.

51. There was a time when aluminum was worth more than gold.

52. An abandoned aluminum tin may still exist for as long as five centuries.

53. Aluminum cans make up less than 1% of America’s garbage because they are recyclable.

Recycling Facts for Glass

Recycling does not degrade glass quality. It cuts on energy, materials, and money.

interesting facts about recycling glass

54. Silica sand, soda ash (sodium carbonate), limestone, and cullet (broken glass) constitute the most common raw materials used in making glass.

55. By replacing up to 95% of virgin raw materials, recycled glass offers an opportunity to conserve resources.

56. Manufacturers will realize the following benefits from recycling: reduced emissions; less need for raw materials; lower equipment wear; and less use of energy.

57. Recycled bottles are a vital resource for manufacturers who cater to consumer demands for new ones.

58. More use of recycled glass decreases energy consumption and costs while protecting the environment.

59. Glass containers for food and drinks can be recycled, although not together with other glasses such as window glass, ovenware, and crystal. They are capable of causing flaws and problems in production.

If interested, you can go through these Interesting Landfills Facts and Stats

60. Metals, ceramics, rocks, or stones should never be present in recycled glass (cullet).

61. Color sorting is important because glass factories can only produce certain quantities of mixed color (3 mixes). Thus for different bottles to meet customer requirements they have to be separated by colors.

62. Some recycled glass containers cannot be used for new bottles, jars, or fiberglass since they may be contaminated, oversized, or just don’t fit into the market. They are used in other things like tiling, filtration, and sand-blasting concrete among others.

63. Recycling programs that create uncontaminated recycled glass are preferred by the industry because they result in the cleanest raw materials possible.

Considering starting a glass recycling business? Find out if glass recycling is profitable or not.

Recycling Facts for Coffee Cups

Coffee cups are widely used by people every day, especially in the morning hours but disposing them off is hard since many coffee cups are made from plastic or wax-coated papers that cannot be recycled as waste.

64. In the US there are 136 million out-of-home paper coffee cups taken each day which is the largest number.

65. The consumption of paperboard cup stock will amount to 6.8 million tonnes by 2025.

66. Cafés and similar places have stimulated global demand for out-of-home coffee.

67. The market for out-of-home paper coffee cups will grow from 118 to 294 billion units by the year 2025.

68. Despite attempts, less than a percent of coffee cups are recycled globally.

69. Taking over 2 decades to decompose while polluting it that’s what plastics-coated paper coffee cups do.

70. Single or double-walled coated paperboard is the primarily material in making up coffee cups.

Recycling Facts for Paper

Paper recycling is a logical choice because it ranks among the most recycled materials in America.

shocking facts about recycling paper

71. In 2018, landfills received 17.2 million tons of paper waste.

72. Paper products had a 43.1% recycling rate while newspapers had a recycling rate of 64.8%.

73. Approximately 46 million tonnes of paper were recycled in 2018 at a rate of about 68.2%.

74. As of 2022, the paper recycling rate remained unchanged at 68%.

Cross-Reference: How to increase the recyclability of paper packaging

75. 80% of US paper mills used recycled paper as raw material for new products.

76. Half of the recycled paper is converted to container boards for making corrugated boxes.

77. Recycled paper is also used to make dry food boxes, tissue products, and newspapers.

78. Paper recycling reduced air pollution by 74% and water pollution by 35% while saving 17 trees per ton.

79. Paper represented 60% of all materials recycled from waste.

80. If one-tenth of American newspapers were recycled, 25 million trees would be saved every year.

81. Per tonne, recycled paper resulted in 64% energy reduction and utilized less than half of the total water content used in manufacturing new paper products.

82. Recycling all morning newspapers in the U.S. would save 41,000 trees and 6 million tons of junk produced every day.

83. The U.S. paper recovery conserved 90 million cubic yards of landfill space last year.

84. Recycling cardboard results in reducing sulfur dioxide emissions by 50% and using 25% less energy.

Recycling Facts for Food

Food recycling is a technique that converts waste into useful products.

85. The United States is thought to waste around a third of its food supply.

Cross-Reference: Food wastage footprint and climate change

86. In 2015, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agreed to reduce the country’s halfway food waste by fifty percent by 2030.

87. Most households discarded food in 2019 and ended up in landfills, incinerators, or sewers.

Also, check out the Examples of Wet Waste and Dry Waste

Recycling Facts for Batteries

recycle batteries

Used or unwanted batteries are turned into raw materials through battery recycling. This could help in reducing the impact of battery waste on the environment which contains dangerous substances such as metals and chemicals that can pollute soil and water.

88. Avoid the Spark, Be Battery Safety Smart campaign aims at educating American consumers about safe disposal and handling of used Lithium-ion batteries.

89. Recycling spent lithium-ion battery cells keeps back precious materials and critical minerals.

90. Once collected and assessed for recycling, shredding is a common way of managing batteries.

91. By 2027, North America or its FTAs must either mine/process 80% of critical minerals’ value in EV batteries or recycle them within North America.

92. Pyrometallurgy (smelting), hydrometallurgy (leaching), and direct recycling (physical processes) are some ways to recycle batteries.

93. Li-ion battery recycling targets cobalt recovery because it has high value.

Cross-Reference: The Methods of Recovering Lithium Ion Batteries

94. ReCell is a device that contrasts the costs and environmental impacts of various battery recycling options.

95. Recycled batteries are better performers than new ones with regard to charging, durability, and efficiency.

96. Battery recycling stops soil pollution from dangerous substances such as Arsenic, Mercury, Fluorine, and Chlorine.

Recycling Facts for Schools

A lot can be done by schools regarding recycling since they have a lot of recycled materials such as paper, corrugated cardboard, PET bottles, plastic bags and containers. Recycling these items can save lots of money for schools and make some more on top when sold to recycling companies for reuse. Additionally, it presents an opportunity for students to understand how recycling benefits the society and environment.

recycling in schools

97. School waste which is recyclable up to 80% can affect the environment immensely if not managed.

98. Schools can also recycle colored glasses; mixed papers as well as metal cans.

99. 40% of waste in schools can be made up of recyclable paper.

100. Explore Ecology is a community-based group that educates students, in Santa Barbara County on ways to minimize waste by practicing the principles of reducing, reusing, recycling, and composting.

Learn how to reduce carbon footprint as a student in school or college.

What Percentage of Plastic Is Recycled Globally?

According to OECD reports, only 9% of plastic waste was recycled globally while 19 percent was incinerated and almost 50% was put into landfills. This shows that there is poor global performance in plastic recycling with the need for collective action beyond borders to address this problem. The remaining 22% were either dumped in unregulated sites burnt openly or lost in the wild.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article and learned some interesting recycling facts. Now you can lessen your refuse and save on energy. We all need to have more knowledge so as a result of these myriads of trash-reusing habits are instilled in our people’s lives leading to a positive effect or impact.

Recommended: How to Start a Solar Panel Recycling Business

Share.
mm

Olivia is committed to green energy and works to help ensure our planet's long-term habitability. She takes part in environmental conservation by recycling and avoiding single-use plastic.

Leave A Reply