When we throw away garbage, it usually ends up in a landfill. Landfill space is getting increasingly scarce, and every time we throw something away we throw with it the energy, the money, the raw materials, and the water it took to make it. The average American throws away 4 pounds of garbage per day. In 1990, it is estimated that Americans will throw away over 1 million tons of aluminum cans and foil, more than 11 million tons of glass bottles and jars, over 4 and a half million tons of office paper and nearly 10 million tons of newspaper. Almost all of this material could be recycled.
Recycling saves large amounts of energy.
Recycling one glass jar saves enough energy to light a 100-watt light bulb for four hours. Recycling one soda can saves as much energy as if the can were half full of gasoline. When waste products are recycled, fewer raw materials must be used. Americans threw away 35 billion aluminum cans last year, enough aluminum to build an entire air fleet four times over. Recycling paper reduces the pressure on our forests for wood pulp, so that less logging is needed.