Benefits of Recycling

Recycling benefits both the environment and the economy. The next time you recycle your plastic bottle, aluminum can, or newspaper, remember how you are part of the solution.

Environmental Benefits

Using recycled materials in the manufacturing process conserves energy, saves natural resources, and reduces pollution.

Conserves Energy
Using recycled materials as raw materials to make new products saves a significant amount of energy.  Here’s how much these materials save compared to their virgin counterparts.

• Recycled newspaper uses 40% less energy.
• Recycled glass uses 40% less energy.
• Recycled steel uses 60% less energy.
• Recycled plastic uses 70% less energy.
• Recycled aluminum uses 95% less energy.

Saves Natural Resources
Using recycled materials means we can log fewer forests, mine fewer metals, and drill for less oil.

• Every ton of newspaper or mixed paper recycled saves the equivalent of 12 trees.
• Every ton of office paper recycled saves the equivalent of 24 trees.
• Every ton of steel recycled conserves 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,400 pounds of coal, and 120 pounds of limestone.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The national recycling rate of 30% reduces greenhouse gas emissions by as much as removing nearly 25 million cars from the road.

In 2009, Hamilton County residents recycled 36,587 tons of metal, glass, plastic, and paper.

The recycling efforts in Hamilton County:

• Conserved enough energy to power 6,689 homes for a year (more than all the homes in Sharonville!).
• Reduced more greenhouse has emissions than if every household in Colerain Township (22,418) stopped driving one car for a year.
• Saved 306,350 trees from being harvested (almost one for every resident of Cincinnati!).
• Eliminated the need to use 3,123 tons of other natural resources such as iron ore, limestone, and coal (7 pounds for each Hamilton County resident!).

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Economic Benefits

Many residents understand the environmental benefits of recycling, but did you know recycling also has economic benefits?

• The recycling industry has a total economic impact of 169,000 jobs and $6 billion in annual wages, just in the state of Ohio.
• The recycling industry accounts for $7.3 billion in annual sales, just in the state of Ohio.
• Recycling supplies valuable materials to industry.

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