Recycling Saves Energy. For example, recycling aluminum saves 95% of the energy need to manufacturer new metal.

 

Recycling Saves Valuable Water. Recycling conserves fresh water up to 95% in the mining and manufacturing process for many materials.

 

Conserves Natural Resources: Recycling reduces the need to mine, log, or extract new raw materials like timber, water, and minerals from the earth. 

 

Reduces Landfill Waste: Recycling diverts trash away from overflowing landfills and incinerators, saving valuable land space. 

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Cuts Carbon Emissions: Using less energy during manufacturing lowers greenhouse gas emissions, which helps slow down climate change. 

 

Protects Wildlife and Habitats: Lowering the demand for raw materials prevents the destruction of forests, rivers, and wetlands that animals need to survive. 

Reduces Pollution: Processing recycled goods creates less air and water pollution compared to producing new goods from raw materials. 

Prevents Ocean and Marine Damage: Recycling plastics keeps loose trash from blowing into rivers and oceans, protecting marine life. 

 

Supports Local Health: Diverting waste from local facilities and incinerators reduces harmful environmental impacts on nearby neighborhoods. 

 

Drives Economic Growth: The recycling industry creates jobs in sorting, processing, and manufacturing recycled commodities. 

 

Encourages Sustainable Habits: Practicing daily recycling builds broader public awareness about resource conservation and eco-friendly living. 

 

Contamination Risk: Placing non-recyclable or dirty items in a bin can contaminate an entire batch of recyclables, rendering them unusable.

 

Aluminum Energy Savings: Recycling aluminum cans saves 95% of the energy required to make new ones from raw materials.

 

Infinite Glass Recycling: Glass can be recycled endlessly without any loss in quality or purity

 

Paper and Trees: Recycling one ton of paper saves 17 trees, 7,000 gallons of water, and 3 cubic yards of landfill space.

 

Plastic Degradation: Plastic items can take up to 500 years to fully decompose in a landfill.

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Denver's Waste Composition by Material:

• Organics 37%

• Paper 23%

• Plastics 18%

• Metals 9%

• Glass 5%

 

Denver's Diversion Rate of 29% is about double that of Colorado's Diversion Rate of 15.7%. Though both still lag significantly behind the national average of…

 

Denver Generated 1,590,000 Tons of Solid Waste (2022)

 

Denver sent 1,130,000 Tons of Solid Waste to the Landfill.

Only 71% of Solid Waste was Diverted. That's a lot of soda bottles….

 

85% of All Waste in Denver is Generated by the Commercial Sector and Construction and Demolition Activities. That's right! You did the Math... only 15% of the Total Waste Stream is from Single Family Households (2022)

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In 2022 a supermajority, or 70% of Denver Voters approved the "Waste No More Ballot" initiative or URCO 

 

The average American produces about 4.5 to 4.9 pounds of trash each day.

 

Only 22.3% of global electronic waste (e-waste) was properly recycled.

 

Globally, only about 9% of plastic waste is recycled, A large portion ends up mismanaged or in landfills.

 

Recycling cardboard only takes 75% of the energy needed to make new cardboard.

 

Recycling just 10 plastic bottles saves enough energy to power a laptop for more than 25 hours.

 

Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour.

 

Recycling directly results in real economic benefits. Ij 2020 recycling and reuse activities in the United States accounted for:

681,000 jobs,

$37.8 billion in wages, and

$5.5 billion in tax revenues.

This equates to $65.23 in wages and $9.42 in tax revenue for every ton of materials recycled.