Recycling Fun Facts

The national recycling rate of 30 percent saves the equivalent of more than five billion gallons of gasoline, reducing dependence on foreign oil by 114 million barrels. This could be even higher!
Recycling 35 percent of our trash reduces emissions equivalent to taking 36 million cars off the road.
Every Sunday 500,000 trees could be saved if everyone recycled their newspapers.
According to the EPA, recycling, including composting, diverted 68 million tons of material away from landfills and incinerators in 2001, up from 34 million tons in 1990.
The EPA estimates that 75 percent of what Americans throw in the trash could actually be recycled. Currently, only 25 percent is.
Incinerating 10,000 tons of waste creates one job; landfilling 10,000 tons of waste creates six jobs; recycling 10,000 tons of waste creates 36 jobs.
Here in Houston the Christmas Tree Recycling Program began in 1991 as a joint effort between the Department of Solid Waste Management and the Parks and Recreation Department. To date approximately 500,000 Christmas trees have been recycled resulting in a landfill savings of approximately 53,000 dollars.

Recycling Aluminum Fun Facts

Recycling aluminum cans saves precious natural resources, energy, time and money - all for a good cause - helping out the earth, as well as the economy and local communities. In 2003, 54 billion cans were recycled, saving the energy equivalent of 15 million barrels of crude oil - America's entire gas consumption for one day.
Tossing away an aluminum can wastes as much energy as pouring out half of that can's volume of gasoline.
Making new aluminum cans from used cans takes 95 percent less energy and 20 recycled cans can be made with the energy needed to produce one can using virgin ore.
Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to keep a 100-watt bulb burning for almost four hours or run your television for three hours.
Each year, the aluminum industry pays out over $800 million dollars for empty aluminum cans - that's a lot of money that can go to organizations, like Habitat for Humanity, the Boy or Girl Scouts of America or even a local school. Money earned from recycling cans helps people help themselves and their communities. Recycling helps build new homes, pays for a group trip, supports a project or buys a lunch.

Benefits of Glass Recycling

A glass bottle can take up to one million years to biodegrade, which is how long it will sit in a landfill and take up space if it is not recycled.
Because glass is made from naturally-occurring materials like sand, it has a low rate of chemical interaction with the contents of the container, which makes it a safe packaging material to be used for generations.
Unlike other substances such as paper, glass can be recycled infinitely without any loss of purity or quality.

The Facts about Paper Recycling

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), approximately 35 percent of the municipal solid waste stream (MSW) is made up of paper and paperboard products. Paper makes up the largest portion of the municipal waste stream, and also one of the most recovered materials. Recycling produces numerous direct and indirect benefits:

Conserves resources
Prevents emissions of many greenhouse gases and water pollutants
Saves energy
Supplies valuable raw materials to industry
Creates jobs
Stimulates the growth of greener technologies
Reduces the need for new landfills and incinerators
Every ton of paper recycled saves more than 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space
In 2006, the amount of paper recovered for recycling averaged 357 pounds for each man, woman, and child in the United States
By 2012, the paper industry's goal is to recover 55 percent of all the paper Americans consume for recycling, which is approximately 55 million tons of paper

Plastic Bottle Recycling Facts

Americans send about 38 billion water bottles a year to landfills.1 Considering the 1.5 million barrels of oil needed to make those bottles the environmental impact of plastic bottle waste is truly staggering
Plastic bottles go to landfills and take 700 years before they start to decompose
Manufacturing bottled water uses over 1.5 million barrels of oil per year. In one year, that's enough oil to fuel 100,000 cars
8 out of 10 plastic water bottles become landfill waste
Take the Refill not Landfill pledge. If everyone in NYC gave up water bottles for one week they would save 24 million bottles from going into the landfill, if they gave up water bottles for one month they save 112 million bottles from going into the landfill and if they give up water bottles for one year they save 1.328 billion bottles from going into the landfill.

Local Recycling Places

Westpark Consumer Recycling Center

For those homes who need many other things recycled, the city offers alternatives. The Westpark Consumer Recycling Center is a drive-through facility where citizens can drop off their recyclables.

Currently, more than 6,000 citizens per month bring their recyclables to the center. These items are then sold to private companies for recycling, with the revenues from the sale being deposited into the city's general fund.

The Westpark Consumer Recycling Center allows all Houstonians the opportunity to recycle their used goods. The center accepts computers and other residential electronic scraps, oil filters, used motor oil, used tires.

The Solid Waste Management Department will only accept up to 5 (five) electronic components per month per customer for electronic scrap at the Westpark Consumer Recycling Center.

Westpark Recycling Center hours of operation:

Monday through Saturday: 8 am - 5 pm

5900 Westpark Dr. Houston, TX 77057

Phone: 713-837-0311

The ReSTORE

The Houston Habitat ReStore is a non-profit home improvement store and donation center that sells new and gently used furniture, home accessories, building materials, appliances, flooring, cabinetry and more at a fraction of the retail price. Proceeds from the ReStore help Houston Habitat build more homes for hard-working, low-income families.

THE ReSTORE hours of operation:

Monday - Saturday: 9:00 am to 6:00 pm

13350 Jones Rd. Houston, Houston TX 77070