The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has a wealth of information on different aspects of our environment. Here are a few facts about recycling, from their webpage
- ”The U.S. currently recycles 32.5 percent of its waste, compared with about five percent in 1970.
- According to the EPA, recycling cuts global warming pollution by the equivalent of removing 39.6 million passenger cars from the road.
- Before 1973, no curbside recycling programs existed in the United States. By 2006, about 8,660 curbside programs had sprouted up across the nation.
- 31 percent of plastic soft drink bottles, 45 percent of aluminum cans and 67 percent of all major appliances are now recycled.
- Only 13 percent of water bottles are recycled. In 2005, Americans purchased 30 billion water bottles, and 26 billion of them wound up in landfills.”