Recycling Facts - 2008

Originally printed in the Popular Mechanics Magazine

Americans haul 82 million tons of trash to recycling centers each year - but that's still just 32.5 percent of what we throw out. Here's how much energy recycling saves and how much that's worth.

MATERIAL ALUMINUM
PRODUCTS Drink cans Aluminum drink can
RECYCLING RATE 1,440,000 tons
Discarded/year
45% is recycled
ENERGY SAVED BY RECYCLING 96%
CARBON EMISSIONS PREVENTED 10 tons CO2/ton aluminum
PRICE PER TON $1800 - $2000
BOTTOM LINE The huge energy cost - and associated emissions - of producing virgin aluminum from bauxite makes recycling a no-brainer. Each empty can is currently worth about $0.03.


MATERIAL GLASS
PRODUCTS Bottles and jars Glass Jar
RECYCLING RATE 11,390,000 tons
Discarded/year
25% is recycled
ENERGY SAVED BY RECYCLING 21%
CARBON EMISSIONS PREVENTED 0.34 tons CO2/ton glass
PRICE PER TON $25 - $40
BOTTOM LINE There's only a marginal energy savings, and we're not going to run out of sand. Reuse (with bottle deposits) may make more sense than recycling.


MATERIAL NEWSPRINT
PRODUCTS Newspaper Newspaper
RECYCLING RATE 12,360,000 tons
Discarded/year
25% is recycled
ENERGY SAVED BY RECYCLING 45%
CARBON EMISSIONS PREVENTED 2.5 tons CO2/ton newsprint
PRICE PER TON $90-$140
BOTTOM LINE It's the hottest recycling market today, fueled by insatiable demand from China. The challenge will be to increase recycling rates for mixed paper.


MATERIAL POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE
(PET, NO. 1)
PRODUCTS Soft-drink bottles Soft-drink bottles
RECYCLING RATE 940,000 tons
Discarded/year
31% is recycled
ENERGY SAVED BY RECYCLING 76%
CARBON EMISSIONS PREVENTED 1.7 tons CO2/ton plastic
PRICE PER TON $360-$480
BOTTOM LINE PET usually gets "downcycled" into lower-grade fibers, but it's now possible to make it into new bottles. The price has doubled in the past two years; the market should continue to mature.


MATERIAL POLYSTYRENE
(PS, NO. 6)
PRODUCTS Yogurt containers yogurt container
RECYCLING RATE 1,460,000 tons
Discarded/year
Negligible amount recycled
ENERGY SAVED BY RECYCLING 88%
CARBON EMISSIONS PREVENTED 1.3 tons CO2/ton plastic
PRICE PER TON $560
BOTTOM LINE It's very hard to sort PS from other plastics, so few cities even try. But new infrared sorting technologies could help make PS recycling viable.