How Does Recycling Affect The Environment?

Recycling is the greatest invention of humanity and the only possible and wise solution to the proper disposal of waste materials, but unfortunately many people don’t understand this or they just don’t care. There is a great need in every state to encourage people to recycle in every possible way. Recycling creates much more roles than landfills do enough roles to make a gigantic difference in a little city. It adds to property worth. Recycling programs in cities, towns, and villages are becoming increasingly common, and news about recycling and reusing is seen every day. Most citizens feel that they are contributing to saving their planet and decreasing greenhouse gases by carefully sorting their garbage and waste products in their respective recycling programs.

Recycling is the processing of waste products to provide the raw materials to make new ones. Before this can be done, the materials need to be collected. Recycling has expanded and grown to allow for everything from paper to plastic to batteries to be recycled and made into something useful again.

Recycling of paper uses considerably less total energy than the production of virgin paper. However, there is a greater dependency on fossil fuels in recycling processes. Recycling is not just collecting materials and taking them to the recycling bank, it is about "closing the loop" and buying recycled too. Paper mills cannot continue to produce recycled paper if people do not buy items made from it. Recycling waste means that fewer new products and consumables need to be produced, saving raw materials and reducing energy consumption.

NAPCOR and APR Report Highest PET Recycling Rate since 1997

2008 Rate Report Shows PET Container Recycling Rate Up for Fifth Year at 27%
SONOMA, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
The National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR), the Association
of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR), and the PET Resin Association (PETRA)
announced today the release of the "2008 Report on Postconsumer PET Container
Recycling Activity" and a 2008 Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) recycling rate
of 27%. This is the highest recycling rate in over ten years and represents an
increase of 9.8% over the 2007 rate of 24.6%. Over 1.45 billion pounds of PET
bottles were collected in the United States in 2008, the highest PET container
collection volume recorded to date.

"This healthy rate increase is a real reminder of the ongoing viability of
recycling and the country`s commitment to it," said Bill O`Grady, APR Chairman
and Vice President of Talco Plastics. "We at APR certainly support increased
recycling and end-use markets for recycled resins, and we see the increasing PET
recycling rate as an encouraging trend."

The Report also details the end-uses for a record 915 million pounds of recycled
PET utilized in U.S. manufacturing applications, including fiber for carpet and
apparel, strapping, sheet, film, food, beverage, and non-food bottles and
containers.

"It is very satisfying to see this significant jump in the PET recycling rate,"
said Tom Busard, NAPCOR Chairman and Vice President, Global Procurement and
Material Systems, Plastipak Packaging, Inc. "Using recycled PET in the
manufacture of goods and packaging is energy and resource-efficient and a good
example of sustainable practice. We are committed to working with our industry
partners to meet the increased demand from the manufacturing applications that
use - or would like to use - recycled PET."

This is the fourth year that NAPCOR, the APR, and PETRA have partnered to
produce this Report and the fourteenth year that NAPCOR has issued the Report in
its current format. "The PET Recycling Rate Report is an important tool for our
industry and we`re pleased to partner with NAPCOR and the APR on its release,"
commented Mark Adlam, Chairman of PETRA and North America Commercial Manager of
M&G Polymers.

Founded in 1987, the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR)
is the trade association for the PET plastic industry in the United States and
Canada. NAPCOR is dedicated to the promotion of the PET package; to overcoming
hurdles to the successful recycling of PET; and to the communication of the
attributes of the PET container as a sustainable package.

The Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR) is the national trade
association representing companies who acquire, reprocess, and sell the output
of more than 90 percent of the post-consumer plastic processing capacity in
North America. Founded in 1992, its membership includes independent recycling
companies of all sizes, processing numerous resins. APR strongly advocates the
recycling of all post-consumer plastic packaging.

PETRA is the trade association of North American PET resin manufacturers. The
association is dedicated to promoting the growth of PET products and
representing North American PET resin producers.

The full "2008 Report on Postconsumer PET Container Recycling Activity" can be
found on the NAPCOR and APR websites, www.napcor.com and
www.plasticsrecycling.org.

NAPCOR:
Dennis Sabourin, 707-996-4207, x13
Executive Director
Kate Eagles, 707-996-4207, x16
Communications Director
or
APR:
Steve Alexander, 202-316-3046
Executive Director

Copyright Business Wire 2009

Congratulations to Nantucket MA, which was recognized also by Help Recycle for obtaining a 92 percent recycling rate.

On Nantucket, only eight of 100 tons of waste end up in the dump, which has extended the life of the landfill by several decades.

According to the Inquirer & Mirror, the island began its ambitious recycling and composting program about a decade ago.