Did you know that the average household can recycle over 50% of the trash? Paper / cardboard, plastic, aluminum / metal & electronics can and should be recycled into other products.
Why is recycling important?
Each year more than 200 billion beverage cans and bottles are land-filled, littered or incinerated in the U.S.!
Enough paper is thrown away every year to build a 12 foot wall from New York to Los Angeles! We use enough plastic wrap to wrap all of Texas every year.
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Electronics have revolutionized our lifestyle. Telephones, radios, TVs, computers and cell phones are items we use daily. However, once discarded, these items threaten the environment.
As newer technology hits the market, we must ensure outdated items are properly discarded. Next time you upgrade your cell phone, or get the latest video game system, think twice about what happens to the old gadget.
Most electronics contain hazardous or toxic materials which can cause an environmental problem if discarded in the trash. Safely recycling and reusing electronics helps keep substances like lead and mercury from harming people or the environment.
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Computer monitors and televisions contain significant amounts of lead - An average of 4 lbs of lead each!
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Printed circuit boards contain lead, chromium, cadmium and mercury.
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Batteries may contain lead, mercury and cadmium.
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Switches and relays found in some electronics like flat screen monitors contain mercury.
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PCBs are found in televisions and computers made before the early 1980s
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How Long Will Our Trash Be Around?
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Aluminum cans: 500 years
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Glass bottles: 1,000 years
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Plastic bags: 10-20 years
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Plastic coated: paper 5 years
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Plastic film containers: 20-30 years
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Tin cans: 50 years
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Plastic bottles: Indefinitely
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It is more likely that Americans will recycle than vote.
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In the U.S. alone, 18 billion diapers are thrown out a year.
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The United States makes up only 4% of the world’s population, yet it is the number one producer of garbage. In 2006, Americans generated more than 250 million tons of garbage. Canada produces 31 million tons of garbage per year.
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Each year, Americans throw out enough soda pop cans bottles to reach to the moon and back—twenty times.
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Nearly 50 million tons of e-waste (electronic waste such as cell phones and computers) is created each year around the world. This is enough to fill a line of garbage trucks across half the globe.
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Modern garbage is a relatively new phenomenon--a result of industrialization, mass production, and consumption.
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Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a television for three hours.
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Batteries that were made before 1997 can contain up to ten times more mercury than newer batteries. Rechargeable batteries can also contain heavily toxic materials.
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Cigarette butts and filters take 12 years to biodegrade. An aluminum can takes between 200 to 500 years to biodegrade. Plastic diapers and sanitary pads take between 500-800 years. Styrofoam takes more than 5,000 years. And it would take a glass bottle 1 million years to biodegrade.
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