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According to the EPA, Paper represents 33.9% of the 251 million tons of waste produced by U.S. residents.
While it has one of the highest recycling rates, only a little over 50% of paper is recovered. This means that 41.3 million tons of paper still goes into a landfill or is incinerated each year. That is equivalent to 16.5 billion reams of standard office paper.
Recycle your paper every time. The number one way we recommend to reduce your household waste is to recycle 100% your paper all the time.
Paper products account for nearly half of all nondurable goods used. This includes newspapers and magazines, even phone books.
A good way to reduce paper waste is to eliminate these products from our lives. Try using the internet to access news and magazines. Also, give the phone book company a call and request being taken off their list.
Quick Facts:
>> Recycled paper saves 60% of the energy used on virgin paper.
>> Recycling 1 Ton of Mixed Paper Saves:
>>> 3.3 yds3 of landfill space
>>> 17 trees
>>> 7000 gal. of water
>>> 185 gal. of gas
>>> 60 lbs of air pollution
While only accounting for less than 1% of the waste stream, there are still 1.94 million tons of aluminum
containers produced each year.
Like paper, aluminum cans have one of the highest recycling rates at 45.1%.
It is also one of the easiest and quickest products to recycle. The average can will take 60 days to go from your recycle bin back to the shelf. For this reason, canned beverages are recommended over plastic containers.
The next time you have a choice between a plastic or aluminum container, consider the benefits that aluminum offers in its disposal.
You can also invest in a can crusher to help eliminate the volume of cans you store before recycling them. While it is not impossible, this is not as easy with plastic containers.
Quick Facts:
>> Recycled aluminum requires 95% less energy to process than virgin stock.
>> Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for 3 hours or a 100 W light bulb for 4 hours.
>> Enough aluminum is wasted to rebuild the U.S. commercial jet fleet each year
Plastic makes up 11.7% of municipal solid waste. According to EPA estimations, that is 29 million tons of Plastic per year.
The recycling rate for plastics is very low. Depending on the type of plastic, the rates can range from 6 to 30 percent. Number 1 and 2 plastics (water bottles and milk jugs) exhibit the highest recycling rate at 30% each.
However, when you consider that the conservative estimate for a plastic bottle decomposing in the landfill is 1 million years, the 30 percent recycling rate is alarming.
Knoxville offers Mixed Plastic (numbers 1-7) drop-off, which means you don’t have to sort it. Just make sure it is clean. The only thing not allowed is styrofoam.
The following are the various types of plastic:
>> 1 PET – Carbonated drink bottles, water bottles
>> 2 HDPE – Bottles for milk and soaps/detergents, cereal box liners
>> 3 PVC – Food trays, plastic wrap, and shampoo bottles
>> 4 LDPE – Grocery bags and bin liners, bread and frozen food bags
>> 5 PP – Yogurt and margarine tubs, and microwaveable meal trays
>> 6 PS – Vending cups, plastic cutlery, CD cases
>> 7 OTHER – Any other plastics not in other categories
Steel cans are a great example of recycling at work. With one of the highest recycling rates at 62%, steel cans complete the recycling loop by containing a minimum of 25% recycled steel content.
Steel cans are a small percent of our waste stream, but overall metals represent nearly 10% of our generated waste. Steel creation from raw materials is very costly, and the steel industry has been using the benefits of recycling for over 150 years.
Nearly all other metals are recyclable. Copper is another example of an easily recycled metal that benefits us by lowering wire costs. Steel is relatively easy to recycle, because it can be sorted out from other recyclables using magnets.
Each drop-off center in Knoxville has a container for steel cans. Please do your part by sorting them.
Metal theft is increasingly becoming a problem. Please do not take metal that is not yours. Even taking metal
out of curb side bins is illegal. That is how all of the recycling programs are funded.
Quick Facts:
>> More steel is recycled each year in the US than plastic.
>> Over 100 million steel cans are used every day in the US.
>> 75% of the energy used in creating steel from raw materials is saved by recycled steel.
>> One ton of recycled steel saves 2,500 lbs of iron ore, 1,400 lbs of coal, and 120 lbs. of limestone.
>> Steel cans have a minimum of 25% recycled content and often it is 100%.
ann says:
February 21, 2009 at 9:08 amCan bread bag closures (plastic squares somewhat similar to guitar picks in thickness and size) be recycled?
Education says:
February 23, 2009 at 8:44 amAnn, I would suggest putting the plastic squares in with the mixed plastic. The rule of thumb is to put it in if your in doubt.
Elizabeth says:
April 20, 2009 at 11:34 amIf something goes into a recycling bin that is not recyclable is the whole bin waste? How do they seperate? I guess I am commenting on the last post from Education stating, “The rule of thumb is to put it in if you’re in doubt.”
Education says:
April 20, 2009 at 3:49 pmElizabeth, if you place something in the recycling bin that doesn’t belong, it is not the end of the world. They definitely don’t throw out the whole bin. Each bin is sorted through either by hand or by machine. Don’t worry about ruining a whole batch. Some contamination is expected in the recycling container. It’s just part of the process.
Melanie says:
April 29, 2009 at 6:27 pmI have an old DVD player that I want to recycle if possible. Is that something that can be accepted at any of the recycling centers, or would it have to be through a special electronics recycling event?
Education says:
April 30, 2009 at 9:03 amMelanie, you can wait for the next electronic recycling event – next January, or you can bring it by our office for recycling. We have a service charge of $0.25/lbs for electronics and $0.50/lbs for televisions.
Chip says:
June 1, 2009 at 6:59 amI have several plastic outdoor tables and chairs that are old. I started to throw them away but noticed they have a #5 on them. So can I take them to the recycle center, also? I’ve never seen anything that large there before and wanted to ask first. Thanks
Education says:
June 1, 2009 at 7:58 amChip, I would try and break the chairs and table down, so that they will fit in the bin. Other than that you should be good to go.
Kathryn says:
June 12, 2009 at 2:38 pmCan VHS tapes, 3-ring binders, projector slides (the little white plastic frames with a square of film inside), microfilm/fiche, carbon paper, overhead projector transparency sheets, or photographs be recycled?
Kathryn says:
June 12, 2009 at 3:12 pmOops forgot one: brita water pitcher filters?
Education says:
June 15, 2009 at 9:25 amKathryn, the VHS tapes can be recycled with Green Disk, the projector slides can go in mixed plastic, I don’t know of any where for the microfilm, carbon paper is not recyclable, the overhead transparencies can be recycled with 3M, the photos are not recyclable, and the brita pitcher filters are not recyclable.
Kat says:
July 11, 2009 at 6:59 pmSo, styrofoam is not recyclable, even if it has a 6 PS on it?
Education says:
July 14, 2009 at 3:09 pmKat, styrofoam is not recyclable even with the 6 PS label.
Micah says:
August 30, 2009 at 10:26 amThe caps on drink and detergent bottles seem to be made of a different type of plastic from the bottle itself, but there is no recycling number on the cap. Are the caps recyclable?
Also, what should I do with large rechargeable batteries, such as those from a burglar alarm system or a computer Uninteruptable Power Supply. These are lead batteries.
Education says:
August 31, 2009 at 9:38 amMicah,
Yes, Knoxville recycles all Mixed Plastics (1-7), so you don’t even need to sort it, just make sure it is clean.
You should take your batteries to the Household Hazardous Waste drop-off at 1033 Elm St., just off of Baxter (open Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8am-4pm, and Wednesday and Saturday from 8am-12pm).
Keep Recycling, friend!
KRC
Kathryn says:
September 16, 2009 at 3:31 pmThe Tom’s of Maine website says that if you remove residual toothpaste, the cap, and the plastic neck, a toothpaste tube can be recycled with aluminum. Can you recycle them in Knoxville if you follow those guidelines?
Education says:
September 22, 2009 at 10:58 amKathryn,
No, you cannot recycle them in Knoxville, although you can mail them back to Tom at Tom’s of Maine, Consumer Dialogue Team, 302 Lafayette Center, Kennebunk, ME 04043. They would be happy to recycle them for you.
Jean says:
November 23, 2009 at 10:25 pmWhere do you recycle old telephones (not cell phones)?
Education says:
December 11, 2009 at 12:54 pmHousehold Hazardous Waste at 1033 Elm St. takes all electronics, including old telephones.