REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE....
Recycling Facts & Trivia
Glass
Glass never wears out -- it can be recycled forever.
We save over a ton of resources for every ton of glass recycled -- 1,330
pounds of sand, 433 pounds of soda ash, 433 pounds of limestone, and 151
pounds of feldspar.
Most bottles and jars contain at least 25% recycled glass.
Recycling one glass bottle saves enough electricity to light a 100-watt bulb
for four hours.
Most bottles and jars contain at least 25% recycled glass.
Metals
In 2003, Washington residents recycled 17,608 tons of aluminum cans.
Aluminum can recycling saves 95% of the energy needed to make aluminum from
bauxite ore.
Americans throw away enough steel every year to build all the new cars made
in America.
Tin cans are actually 99% steel, with a thin layer of tin added to prevent
rusting.
Paper
Washington State recycled a total of 2,998,428 tons of materials in 2003.
Almost 31% of that total was paper.
Seventy-five percent of a tree harvested for paper does not wind up as paper
product.
One ton of paper requires the use of 98 tons of various resources.
Paper made from recycled paper instead of virgin fiber requires 70% less
energy.
Plastic
Americans use 4 million plastic bottles every hour! – Yet only 1 bottle out
of 4 is recycled.
In 1977, polyethylene terephthalate soda bottles were introduced to the
market.
In 2002 the number of single-serving plastic beverage bottles on store
shelves was 18 billion.
Miscellaneous
Every year we dispose of 24 million tons of leaves and grass clippings,
which could be composted to conserve landfill space.
Single-use bags are a waste of trees (paper) or fossil fuels (plastic). They
contribute to water pollution during production and landfill overload at
disposal. Re-usable cloth or paper bags reduce these problems.
Recycling is a continuous loop that works only if the collected materials
are turned into products, bought and used again. Buying products made from
recycled materials supports the markets for these products and keeps the
cycle going.
Around 200 B.C. the Chinese used old fishing nets to make the world’s very
first piece of recycled paper.
Gary Dean Anderson designed the recycling symbol in 1970.
The first municipal dump was established in 400 B.C. in ancient Athens.
Myths & facts
Myth: We can recycle only 25 to 30% of our solid wastes.
Fact: 25% was considered a maximum level in 1985. Today it should be
considered a minimum, not a maximum as Washington State already exceeded 38%
in 2003.
Myth: Landfills and incinerators are most cost-effective and environmentally
sound than recycling options.
Fact: Recycling programs, when designed properly, are cost-competitive with
landfills and incinerators, and provide net pollution prevention benefits.
Recycling materials not only avoids the pollution that would be generated
through landfilling and incinerating these, but also reduces the
environmental burden of virgin materials extraction and manufacturing
processes.
Myth: Landfills are significant job generators for rural communities.
Fact: Recycling, where instituted, creates many more jobs for rural and
urban communities than landfill and incineration disposal options.
The office is working with "Kash for Kids" to recycle ink cartridges.
We would like to ask that all families bring their old ink cartridges
to
her for recycling, this helps out our planet too.
We are in need of brown paper grocery bags for bingo. If you have worked
bingo, then you know how important these are.
Save your newspapers! Bring in your stack of newspapers, neatly stacked in
our paper shed. This is located next to the sports shed. Did you know
our school can earn money from these?
Spring Cleaning??
Donate your old VCR movies to daycare.
We could use any "G" rated movie that you no longer watch. I am sorry,
we cannot accept Disney, Buena Vista or Touchstone movies, due to licensing
issues.
Also, any children's games that have all the pieces would be great too.
