Why should we recycle?

Not only do we minimize the amount of waste that enters our landfill, but making a conscious effort to recycle allows for a decrease in air and other environmental pollution, lowers energy usage, reduces the consumption of raw materials, boosts the economy by providing jobs, provides raw materials for manufacturing and production industry, and reduces the emissions of greenhouse gases. We can never be perfect, but we can take simple steps to leave behind a thriving and healthy community for generations to come.

Facts about Plastics in North Carolina**

1. Every 17.3 seconds, North Carolinians throw away enough plastic bottles to reach the height of the Bank of America Building in Charlotte. 
2. Every week, North Carolinians throw away enough plastic bottles to line the Outer Banks 28 times.
3. In a year, North Carolinians throw away enough plastic bottles to line the Blue Ridge Pkwy 642 times 
4. In the time it takes you to brush your teeth (2 minutes), North Carolinians send 4,657 plastic drink bottles to a landfill.

General Recycling Facts***

1. 4.5 Million Tons of paper are thrown away in the United States each year.
2. Recycling 1 Ton of paper saves 7,000 gallons of water and 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space.
3. Glass can be recycled forever! It takes 1,000,000 years to fully degrade in a landfill.
4. Americans throw away enough aluminum in landfills to build our Nation's entire commercial air fleet every three months.

(statistics sourced from *The Center of Biological Adversity; **North Carolina Department of Environmental Equality ***Carolina Recycling Association)