Recycling

The following information came from www.earth911.org.
Recycling
Recycling is the third R of the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Recycling means taking a product or material at the end of its useful life and turning it into a usable raw material to make another product. This section of our site provides information about how to recycle, why to recycle and what you can recycle. And of course the Earth 911 green recycling locator box above can help you find where you can recycle. Just type in what you want to recycle on the left side and where on the right side by entering your zip code or city and state.
Recycling Facts & Figures
In 1999, recycling and composting activities prevented about 64 million tons of material from ending up in landfills and incinerators. Today, this country recycles 32% of its waste, a rate that has almost doubled during the past 15 years.
While recycling has grown in general, recycling of specific materials has grown even more drastically: 50 percent of all paper, 34 percent of all plastic soft drink bottles, 45 percent of all aluminum beer and soft drink cans, 63 percent of all steel packaging, and 67 percent of all major appliances are now recycled.
Twenty years ago, only one curbside recycling program existed in the United States, which collected several materials at the curb. By 2005, almost 9,000 curbside programs had sprouted up across the nation. As of 2005, about 500 materials recovery facilities had been established to process the collected materials.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Aluminum Can RecyclingThe aluminum can is the most valuable beverage container to recycle and it is the most recycled consumer product in the U.S. today. Recycling aluminum cans provides environmental, economic and community benefits to communities and organizations across the country.

Benefits of Aluminum Can RecyclingAluminum can recycling provides many environmental, economic and community benefits to individuals, communities, organizations, companies and industries.
Environmental Benefits
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.
Aluminum cans are unique in that in 60 days a can is recycled, turned into a new can and back on store shelves.
Aluminum is a sustainable metal and can be recycled over and over again.
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.
Economic Benefits
The aluminum can is the most valuable container to recycle and is the most recycled consumer product in the U.S. today.
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!
Today it is cheaper, faster and more energy-efficient to recycle aluminum than ever before. The aluminum can is 100 percent recyclable and can be recycled indefinitely. The can remains the most recyclable of all materials.
Used aluminum beverage cans are the most recycled item in the U.S., but other types of aluminum, such as siding, gutters, car components, storm window frames, and lawn furniture can also be recycled.
Aluminum has a high market value and continues to provide an economic incentive to recycle. When aluminum cans are recycled curbside, they help pay for community services.
Community Benefits
Aluminum can recycling enables charitable organizations and groups to earn funds to further local projects. The money earned enhances programs, communities and improves the quality of people’s lives. From a local can drive to raise money for school improvements, to a Boy or Girl Scout troop “Cans Into Cash” competition to pay for camp, recycling is used all over the country to help others.
A perfect example of this is the Cans for Habitat program. Through a national partnership between the Aluminum Association and Habitat for Humanity International, aluminum cans are recycled via a network of drop-off locations to raise money for Habitat for Humanity to build decent, affordable housing with low-income families. To think, just by recycling a can once destined for the landfill, you are keeping our local environment clean, providing a needed resource for the aluminum recycling process, and most importantly, helping provide local housing to those in need. It’s a win-win for the individual, community, business, industry and the environment.
Source: The Aluminum Association

Facts about Aluminum RecyclingDiscovered in the 1820s, aluminum is the most abundant metal on earth.
Over 50% of the aluminum cans produced are recycled.
A used aluminum can is recycled and back on the grocery shelf as a new can, in as little as 60 days. That’s closed loop recycling at its finest!
Aluminum is a durable and sustainable metal: 2/3 of the aluminum ever produced is in use today.
Every minute of everyday, an average of 113,204 aluminum cans are recycled.
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.
Last year 54 billion cans were recycled saving energy equivalent to 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.
In 1972, 24,000 metric tons of aluminum used beverage containers (UBCs) were recycled. In 1998, the amount increased to over 879,000 metric tons.
In 1972, it took about 22 empty, aluminum cans to weigh one pound. Due to advanced technology to use less material and increase durability of aluminum cans, in 2002 it takes about 34 empty aluminum cans to weigh one pound.
The average employee consumes 2.5 beverages a day while at work.
The empty aluminum can is worth about 1 cent.
Source: The Aluminum Association
Sponsored By


Cans For HabitatCans for Habitat is a national partnership between The Aluminum Association and Habitat for Humanity International that began in August of 1997. Money earned from recycled aluminum cans is used to build decent, affordable housing with families nationwide. A network of Habitat affiliates, local businesses, recycling centers and community organizations “make every can count” by recycling aluminum cans to help build homes.Below are some fun facts about the Cans for Habitat program:
There are currently more than 600 Cans for Habitat affiliates participating in the program.
To date, approximately 11.3 million pounds of aluminum cans have been recycled - an equivalent of $4 million dollars raised by and for Habitat affiliates as part of the Cans for Habitat program. That equates to 88 houses!
If every American recycled one can today, Habitat could build 56 homes tomorrow.
Americans recycled $800 million worth of cans in 2003 - just one percent of that figure could build 160 Habitat for Humanity homes! Every can really does count!
For more information on how you can participate in the Cans for Habitat program and make a difference in your community, please visit the links below. Join our network and help make every can count!
Cans for HabitatLearn more about Cans for Habitat and how you and your community can recycle cans to build homes for Habitat for Humanity.
Habitat for Humanity InternationalHabitat for Humanity International is a nonprofit organization founded in 1976 that seeks to eliminate sub-standard poverty, and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action.
Source: The Aluminum Association
Sponsored By


History of Aluminum CansThe development of the “can” originated in Napoleon’s time around the early 1800s; however, the use of aluminum in beverage containers did not debut until 1965. Learn more about the evolution of steel and aluminum cans over the last several decades.

How Are Aluminum Cans Made?
Cup Forming — The process starts with an aluminum coiled sheet which is fed through a press that punches out shallow cups.
Redrawing & Ironing — Cups are fed into an ironing press where successive rings redraw and iron the cup and reduce sidewall thickness to get a full length can. The bottom is domed to obtain strength required to withstand internal pressure.
Trimming — Cans are spun as a cutting tool trims the rough shell from the inside.
Cleaning — The cans are cleaned and pre-treated for decoration and inside coating.
Pre-clean with water rinse
Clean with commercial cleaner
Cold water rinse
Conditioning
Cold water rinse
Deionized water rinse
Drying
Printing & Varnishing — Cans are rolled against a rubber cylinder to print up to four colors simultaneously, then moved to another station where a clear protective overvarnish is applied.
Bottom Varnishing — Cans are conveyed past an applicator that applies protective varnish to the bottom.
Baking — Cans wind through a conveyor in an oven to dry the printing.
Inside Spraying — A specially selected coating is sprayed on the inside of the cans.
Baking — Cans are conveyed through a tunnel oven that bakes and cures the inside coating.
Necking and Flanging — Cans are necked-in at the top to reduce can diameter and flanged to accept the end.
Light Tester — Clean cans are cycled through a light tester that detects pin holes and rejects defective cans…
Palletizing — After final inspection cans are palletized for shipments to the customer . . .
End-Making
Stamping — Ends are stamped out of pre-coated aluminum coil. Compound is added to assure a perfect seal between can and end at the customer’s plant.
Rivet Making, Scoring and Tabbing — Ends are fed through a high precision press where rivet making, scoring, and tabbing occur in consecutive operations.
Shipping — Ends are bagged and placed on skids for shipment to the customer.

How Is An Aluminum Can Recycled?Beverages packaged in aluminum cans are purchased by millions of consumers around the world each day. They pop the top, hear that familiar hiss and down their favorite drink. You didn’t think you were the only one, did you?But, then what? Where does that can go, after you toss it into the nearest recycling bin?
Two out of every three cans produced in the United States begin the recycling process either at local recycling centers, community drop-off sites, charity collection sites, reverse vending machines or curbside pick-up spots.
Aluminum cans from these sources are then gathered at large, regional scrap processing companies. There, they condense the cans into highly dense, 30-pound briquettes or 1,200-pound bales and ship them off to aluminum companies for melting.
At the aluminum companies, the condensed cans are shredded, crushed and stripped of their inside and outside decorations via a burning process. Then, the potato chip-sized pieces of aluminum are loaded into melting furnaces, where the recycled metal is blended with new, virgin aluminum.
The molten aluminum is then poured into 25-foot long ingots that weigh over 30,000 pounds. The ingots are fed into rolling mills that reduce the thickness of the metal from 20-plus inches to sheet that is about 10/1,000 of an inch thick.
This metal is then coiled and shipped to can makers, who produce can bodies (the side of a can is the same thickness as a human hair!) and lids. They, in turn, deliver cans to beverage companies for filling.
The new cans (stocked with your favorite canned beverages, of course) are then ready to return to store shelves in as little as 60 days, only to go through the entire recycling process again!
Source: The Aluminum Association
Sponsored By


Battery RecyclingBatteries are essential to our portable lifestyle. Cars, phones, music, cameras and even our daily planners make our lives convenient and instant because of power supplied by batteries. As we continue to enhance our lives with portable amenities, battery disposal is becoming an environmental challenge. A number of resources are available to reduce battery waste.
Best Buy & Future Shop Help Reduce, Reuse, RecycleBest Buy and Future Shop stores in Canada are offering boxes for customers to recycle seven different types of electronics at no charge.
Fall Electronics Recycling Day set for Oct 27 in Decatur, GAOn Saturday October 27, Decatur will have its Fall Electronics Recycling event with this year's change that batteries, Styrofoam and mercury will also be accepted.
How to Recycle and Properly Dispose of BatteriesBatteries are a unique product comprised of heavy metals and other elements that make things “portable.” Some of these toxic heavy metals include nickel cadmium, alkaline, mercury, nickel metal hydride and lead acid, which can threaten our environment if not properly discarded.
Help the Environment - Batteries Find out how you can continue to help the environment by stretching the life out of your batteries and then disposing of them properly.
Helpful Links & ResourcesFind additional battery information and regulation, including the 1996 Battery Act, the current battery Enforcement Alert by the U.S. EPA, how batteries are made and other online resources.
Sponsored By


Curbside RecyclingCurbside recycling now serves half of the U.S. population providing the most convenient means for households to recycle a variety of materials. Learn more about your curbside recycling program and the different types of curbside programs across the nation.

About Curbside Recycling
Currently one in two households with access to curbside recycling, participate on a regular basis. The EPA estimates that while 75 percent of what Americans trash every week could be recycled, only 25 percent is. There is more to be done.
According to the EPA, 20 years ago only one curbside recycling program existed in the United States, which collected several materials at the curb. By 1998, 9,000 curbside programs and 12,000 recyclable drop-off centers had sprouted up across the nation. As of 1999, 480 materials recovery facilities had been established to process the collected materials.
There are many ways for communities to recycle at the curb. They include:
Dual-stream recycling
Single-stream recycling
Pay-as-you-throw
Here is a little bit about each major option. Find out what is available in your community today.
1. Dual-Stream Recycling
This is probably the most popular form of curbside recycling in the U.S. Residents are asked to sort containers in one curbside bin and papers (newspaper, magazines, direct mail, etc.) in another. Usually the two bins are color-coded (i.e. blue for paper, green for containers, etc.). Both bins are set out on the curb on pick-up day.
Most communities that offer this service use special trucks that are divided in half to allow workers to sort at the truck by container and paper, just as the residents did.
2. Single-Stream Recycling
One growing, and often controversial development is the emergence of “single-stream” curbside recycling programs. Single-stream recycling allows all commodities to be commingled in a wheeled, lidded cart (65 or 94 gallon). Carts can be wheeled to the curb versus lifted, contents are not revealed unlike existing bins and residents do not have to separate any materials.
Haulers favor single-stream because they can reduce the number of trucks, the frequency of pick-ups and the incidence of injuries. On the other hand opponents have strong and legitimate concerns about the impact of single-stream on the quality of materials collected from this large and growing source.
Evidence does suggest, despite criticism about contamination and other issues, that single-stream sharply increases pounds per household as access to larger bins allows residents to recycle more items. Quantitative research conducted by ORC revealed that seven in 10 recyclers (using traditional 18-gallon bins) at least occasionally have more to recycle than their container holds.
Many cities have implemented, or are planning to launch or test single-stream programs, including Tucson, Orlando, Dallas, Chicago and Denver. While this list below is by no means exhaustive, here are some initial findings that shed light on the successes of single-stream:
Dallas, who has implemented a test with its MRF operator CDW among 1,400 household with 96-gallon carts. As of month 10 of the 12-month test (July 2005) Dallas has seen a participation increase of 46 percent and a pound increase of 120 percent (no data on specific commodities at this time.)
A nine-week test was conducted in Collier County, Florida, by Waste Management, Recycle America and Anheuser-Busch. The test revealed a weekly pick-up of 64-gallon carts yielded an increase in recycling when compared to a weekly pick up of 18- gallon bins. Specifically, an additional 1,640 pounds of aluminum cans and 45,700 pounds of newspaper were recycled, among other lifts as demonstrated in the accompanying chart. Interestingly, set-out rates actually declined in the three weeks of the 64-gallon test (53 percent as compared to 75 percent for the three week 18-gallon benchmark). This is most likely due to the new size of the bins (3.5 times larger than their 18-gallon bins) and the fact that as residents adapted to the new system they were not filling them quickly enough to set them out every week, instead opting to set them out only when full. This disparity between an increase in collection and decrease in set-out rates indicates a longer term study of this issue is necessary to fully understand the impact.
3. Pay-as-you-throw
“Up to 75 percent of trash in an average garbage can is recyclable, but typically only 25 percent gets recycled.”
— U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) trash collection programs, when combined with curbside recycling programs, can be highly effective in increasing participation, particularly when curbside is offered free and effectively-communicated to residents. As part of PAYT, residents often pay a fee per bag of trash they set out on the curb. In turn, curbside is offered at no cost or at a reduced cost, to incentivize less trash and more recycling.
There are several benefits to PAYT programs.
Decreases waste: The EPA says municipalities often see 25-35 percent decreases in waste as well as significant increases in recycling. Lower waste costs can also help the community, encouraging more recycling and other infrastructure investments.
Increases recycling: When faced with paying for trash or recycling for “free,” residents will be more diligent about what they recycle and more watchful about what gets trashed. According to an article in The Next American City, one California municipality implemented PAYT and saw “recycling volumes almost triple, literally overnight.”
Households can control their waste management costs: Residents are responsible for what they trash and to save money, will be forced to recycle more. Consumers can choose to divert waste every day and there is an economic reason to do so that literally affects their bottom line.
More materials about who supports PAYT are available from the EPA. Over 6,000 communities across the country have successfully implemented PAYT.
Used Motor Oil & Filter Recycling
Did you know that each year over 180 million gallons of motor oil are disposed of illegally by people who change the oil in their trucks and cars?
Never put motor oil in the trash or pour it on the ground or into a storm drain. Motor oil can be 100% recycled! Many oil change centers and auto part stores will take your oil hassle free. Many waste haulers offer curbside collection of used motor oil as well.
How To Change and Recycle Your Oil Filter
Used oil filters are becoming more commonly accepted in local recycling programs. In many cases, the used oil collection facilities where you take your used motor oil may also accept used oil filters for recycling. If they do not, and you cannot find a location on Earth 911, consult with your local used oil collection facility to see if they can direct you to a location or business that provides this service.
If you don’t have access to a local recycling program for used oil filters, check with your local municipal recycling coordinator or solid waste department for recommended disposal options. Remember – regardless of how you recycle the used oil filter, you should drain the used oil out of the oil filter first.
Tips on Changing Your Oil Filter
1. After you have drained all the oil from the engine block, use a filter wrench to loosen and remove the old oil filter.
2. Place the flat or open end of the filter in the drain pan or on the used oil recycling container to allow as much of the used oil as possible to drain out of the filter. It is recommended that you leave the filter in this draining position for at least 12 hours. Many used oil collection centers or municipalities provide specialized used oil recycling containers that accommodate filters. Your local auto parts store may stock them as well.
3. To store the oil drained from the oil change and the filter, certain everyday household containers can be used including milk and water jugs or the original motor oil bottles. DO NOT use a container that previously held household chemicals, such as cleaners,solvents, fuels (gasoline), paint or bleach. Make sure the cap is securely fastened and taped to avoid spillage.
4. Install the new oil filter according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
5. Take the used oil and oil filters to the nearest recycling center in your community.
How to Collect and Recycle Your Motor Oil
What is used motor oil?
According to the U.S. EPA, used motor oil is any petroleum-based or synthetic oil that has been used for vehicle lubrication. As a result of normal use, motor oil becomes contaminated with various impurities such as dirt, water, chemicals or metals from your engine. Some governmental jurisdictions classify used motor oil as hazardous. It may contain additives (e.g. rust inhibitors), contaminants (e.g. heavy metals generated through engine wear, or externally introduced materials such as PCBs from old transformer oils), potentially carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic compounds (from the fuel combustion process), or glycol leaked from the cooling system. Because of these “impurities,” used motor oil should be handled with care and disposed of correctly to ensure the safety of the local community, environment and waterways.
Tips on Collecting Your Used Motor Oil
Once you are finished draining the oil from your car’s crankcase, pour the used motor oil into a clean, leak proof container with a screw-top lid or use a drip pan that serves as both a collection and holding container. Check with your local collection center to determine what types of containers they can accommodate. Some collection centers may want you to leave behind the container for disposal if they are not set up to empty it immediately on site.
Containers specifically designed to hold used motor oil can be purchased at your local automotive supply store.
Certain everyday household containers can also be used for used motor oil collection, including milk and water jugs or the original motor oil bottles. DO NOT use a container that previously held household chemicals, such as cleaners, solvents, fuels (gasoline), paint or bleach.
Make sure the chosen storage container has a secure lid so motor oil will not spill or leak.
Keep the collection containers clean.
Always clearly label the container “Used Motor Oil”.
Keep collected used motor oil out of reach of children and pets at all times.