Recycling Makes "cents"

Recycling 35% of our trash reduces global warming emissions equivalent to taking 36 million cars off the road.

Americans throw away (not recycle) enough aluminum cans every three months to rebuild our entire commercial air fleet.

Every Sunday 500,000 trees could be saved if everyone recycled their newspapers.

Recycling saves tax payer dollars and frees up much needed dollars for other City projects.

The aluminum can is 100% recyclable and can be used to make new beverage cans indefinitely - demonstrating recycling at its finest! "Every can, every time!"

Throwing away a single aluminum can, versus recycling it, is like pouring out six ounces of gasoline. With gasoline prices exceeding $2.00 a gallon in many areas, every ounce (and can!) counts.

The recycling program saved the City approximately $190,00.00 fiscal year 05 (July 2004 - June 2005). This is just the landfill tipping fee savings alone.

In 2005 residents of Portsmouth generated 9,873.29 tons of waste. With a population of 20,784, each resident generated 2.61 pounds of trash a day. That means each household generates nearly 2,548 pounds of trash a year.

The national recycling rate of 30% saves the equivalent of more than five billion gallons of gasoline, reducing dependence on foreign oil by 114 million barrels. This could be higher.

Recycling one aluminum can caves enough energy to light a 100-watt light bulb for 3.5 hours. [picture of crushed aluminum can]

Last year, the average homeowner in Portsmouth recycled curbside 5,413,000 pounds of recyclables. This equates to the energy savings of 1,545 barrels of oil, the environmental equivalent of 21,393 trees and saved landfill space of 8,119.5 cubic meters.

Curbside recycling has many important environmental benefits. Energy savings is one vital benefit of recycling, reducing our consumption of scarce fossil fuels and lowering emissions of numerous air and water pollutants.