The
research is done. The facts are in. Here are a few tidbits
to whet your appetite:
Well-run
recycling programs cost less to operate than waste
collection, landfilling, and incineration.
The more people recycle,
the cheaper it gets.
Recycling helps families
save money, especially in communities with pay-as-you-throw
programs.
Public sector investment
in local recycling programs pays great dividends by
creating private sector jobs. For every job collecting
recyclables, there are 26 jobs in processing the materials
and manufacturing them into new products.
Recycling creates four
jobs for every one job created in the waste management
and disposal industries..
Thousands of U.S. companies
have saved millions of dollars through their voluntary
recycling programs. They wouldn't recycle if it didn't
make economic sense.
On a per-ton basis,
sorting and processing recyclables alone sustain 10
times more jobs than landfilling or incineration.
Some recycling-based
paper mills and plastic product manufacturers employ
on a per-ton basis 60 times more workers than do landfills.
For every 100 recycling
jobs created, just 10 jobs were lost in the waste hauling
and disposal industry, and 3 jobs were lost in the timber
harvesting industry.
The costs for processing
recyclables and yard debris are often much less than
landfill or incinerator disposal tip fees, while the
jobs created may be 8 times more than those created
by landfilling or incineration..
Recycling creates 1.1 million U.S.
jobs, $236 billion in gross annual sales and $37 billion
in annual payrolls.
