Recycling Factoids
- The world’s largest waste oil processing plant is located in East Chicago, Indiana. The facility recycles 75 million gallons per year of crankcase and industrial oil and 20 million gallons per year of oily wastewater. (Indiana Department of Environmental Management)
- The average American throws away about 3.5 pounds of garbage per day. (Indiana Department of Environmental Management)
- Recycling paper uses 60 percent less energy than manufacturing paper from virgin timber. (Indiana Department of Environmental Management)
- Preventing 1 ton of paper waste saves between 15 and 17 mature trees. (US EPA)
- Producing glass from virgin materials requires 30 percent more energy than producing it from crushed, used glass. (US EPA)
- It takes approximately 1 million years for a glass bottle to break down at the landfill. (US EPA)
- Aluminum can be recycled using less than 5 percent of the energy used to make the original product. (US EPA)
- Recycling one aluminum beverage can saves enough energy to run a 100 watt bulb for 20 hours, a computer for 3 hours, or a TV for 2 hours. (US EPA)
- Producing new plastic from recycled materials uses only two-thirds of the energy required to manufacture it from raw materials. (US EPA)
- Plastics require 100 to 400 years to break down at the landfill. (US EPA)
Resources: Indiana Department of Environmental Management and US EPA
1220 Wishard Boulevard | Indianapolis, Indiana 46202-5145 | Phone 317-278-1900 / Fax 317-274-3625