Reusing + Recycling = Less Waste. And that's a good thing. The amount of solid waste produced by Americans is staggering. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, residents, businesses and institutions produced more than 245 million tons of trash in 2005. That is approximately 4.5 pounds of waste per person per day.

Recycling and reusing products are two simple yet highly effective ways to reduce the waste filling our landfills. And saving space in our landfills is just a small benefit of waste reduction activities. Recycling and reusing materials are good for the economy, the community and the environment as well.

Indiana and Recycling 

According to the Indiana's 2001 Recycling Economic Information report - part of a national study demonstrating the importance of recycling and reusing - our state is reducing waste while adding significantly to our economy. According to its findings on Indiana's recycling/reusing industry:

• There are over 1,700 recycling & reuse establishments across Indiana.
• About $3 billion was paid to employees in the recycling industry.
• Almost $19 billion in revenues are made each year due to recycling.
• Recycling and reuse centers employ more than 75,000 workers.  
• The recycling industry contributes $285 million in annual government tax revenues.

Recycling not only boosts the economy but is beneficial to the environment as well. Recycling prevents the emission of many greenhouse gases and water pollutants, saves energy and supplies valuable raw materials to industry. That is why Indiana is encouraging its citizens to recycle and reuse items as much as they can.

What is Recycling? How does it Work?

Recycling involves the separation and collection of materials for processing, the remanufacturing of recycled materials into new products, and the use of those products to complete the cycle. The EPA describes the closed-loop cycle as a three part process: 

Collection and Processing - Communities collect recyclables in a number of ways. Regardless of the collection method, the recyclables are sorted and prepared into raw materials for manufacturing at a materials recovery facility. Here they are bought and sold with prices fluctuating with the market.  

Manufacturing - Once purchased, the recycled materials are manufactured into new products with total or partial recycled content. Almost every household may find an item that contains recycled materials such as paper towels, drink containers and steel cans. Recovered materials are also responsible for some of the more innovative products made today. For example, recycled glass is made into roadway asphalt and sand.

Purchasing Recycled Products - Purchasing recycled products closes the recycling loop. By buying recycled, we play a major role in keeping recycling an important industry in our society. When consumers purchase products made from recycled materials, it creates a demand that manufacturers will want to continue to meet. 

Close the Loop: Buy Recycled

The best way to support recycling programs is not just by recycling but buying products made with recycled, or recovered, materials. There are several labels you will want to look out for to ensure that you are buying a recycled product.

"Pre-consumer materials" - Scrap, trimmings and other by-products from manufacturing plants that were never used by consumers.

"Post-consumer materials" - Comes from products that were bought by consumers, used, and then recycled.

"Recycled content" - Materials that have been recovered from going into the trash, either during the manufacturing process (pre-consumer) or after consumer use (post-consumer). A percentage of how much recycled content is used should be found on the label or container. 

"Recyclable" -  Products that can be recycled after use. These products do not necessarily contain recycled materials.

Products with the symbols shown below are also good indicators of something that has recycled material or is recyclable.

The EPA's Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines is a program that promotes the use of recycled materials. While these particular guidelines are for federal, state and local agencies funded by the federal government, the information is helpful to all individuals interested in knowing which suppliers offer recovered material-made products. Also check out their Buying Recycled website for even more information.

Reuse, Reuse, Reuse

Recycling is great but reusing is even better! It's not that hard to believe considering reusing products takes no energy, skill or resources to process an old product and create a new one. Besides, there are products and materials that may not be recyclable, so finding another way to use the product is your best option.

To reuse is to redistribute materials from someone who no longer has any use for it to someone who needs it. Besides the environmental benefits of reusing, communities profit greatly from those who choose to reuse. Those in need of clothing, house wares and appliances have been helped by people in their community who give unwanted, but still useable, items to thrift stores, charitable drop-off centers and reuse centers.

Other ways to promote reusing is to not buy disposable products. These products generate more waste than reusable ones. Reusing items like plastic or glass containers and paper or plastic bags make an impact as well. Visit Reduce Reuse Recycle for more ideas on how to reuse everyday items that are typically pitched or recycled. 

Don't Throw That Away!

There are things that recycling centers and compost bins just won't take, but that doesn't mean it should go in the trash. The following is a list of where you can go or send items that will recycle or reuse what you don't need. 

Clothes: Wearable clothes are accepted at your local Goodwill outlet or shelter. Women in the Indianapolis areas might also consider donating women's business attire to Dress for Success, a non-profit organization that clothes low-income women in search for jobs. Local animal shelters will be more than happy to accept unwearable items for them to use as pet bedding.

Eyeglasses: Drop off old eyeglasses to either your local Lion's Club or LensCrafter's chain. Lenses are reground and given to those in need.

Appliances: Goodwill accepts working appliances or you can contact the Steel Recycling Institute to recycle them.

Computers and electronics: eScrap Indiana offers a list of businesses and organizations that will reuse or recycle various electronics.

Ink/toner cartridges: Get paid to recycle! Recycleplace pays $1 for each cartridge sent.

Cell Phones: Donate your old cell phone to Collective Good and they will refurbish and re-sell it to someone in a developing country. Or you can send it to Call to Protect  which supplies phones to domestic violence survivors. Another option would be to support PetSmart's Recycle for Life program by dropping off old cell phones and ink jet / laser cartridges to help save a homeless pet's life.

"Technotrash": GreenDisk's Technotrash program will recycle your DVD's, audio/video tapes, CD's, jewel cases; cell phones, pagers, recharchable/single-use batteries and ink/toner cartridges. The $30 fee will cover a cardboard box that will hold up to 70 lbs. plus shipping and recycling fees.

Batteries: You can drop off rechargeable and single-use batteries at your local RadioShack or Staples. .

Car batteries: Service centers such as Batteries Plus, Autozone, Walmart, Jiffy Lube, Goodyear and Midas all offer car battery recycling. 

Motor Oil: Walmart, Goodyear, Midas, Jiffy Lube and Indy Lube offer oil recycling, contact your local auto service center to see if they do. Ask if your auto center recycles used oil filters, antifreeze, brake fluid, and car batters as well.

Compostable bio-plastics: Biocycle offers information on local composters for bio-plastic items you can't compost at home.

Cardboard boxes: Offer used cardboard boxes on local Freecycle groups or on Craigslist for those in need of packing material. If your workplace collects at least 100 boxes or more each month, UsedCardboardBoxes accepts them for resale.

Foam packing: Check your local shipping company to see if they will accept foam peanuts for reuse. Or drop off foam blocks and other foam packaging to the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers. There are several Indiana locations available for drop-off or send foam packaging directly to them.

Tyvek envelopes: These rip-resistant envelopes are useful for any business and when recycled are used to make wood-alternative materials. Contact Shirley Cimburke at Tyvek recycling.

Sports equipment: Resell or trade it at your local Play It Again Sports outlet. Stores located in Carmel, Elkhart, Indianapolis, Mishawaka and Plainfield.

Tennis shoes: Nike's Reuse-a-Shoe program turns old shoes into playground and athletic flooring. Send your used and still-wearable shoes to One World Running and help athletes in need in Africa, Latin America, and Haiti.

IDEM offer help on finding the closest recycling centers in your area while the EPA suggests searching Earth 911- "the Nation's Premier Environmental Resource" - for places to recycle an array of materials in your area. Lime's Guide to Recycling and the Internet Recycling Guide are good resources that will teach you how to recycle practically everything.

Did You Know?

• Extracting virgin metals requires an immense amount of energy. Recycling aluminum can reduce energy consumption by as much as 95%. Savings for other materials are lower but still substantial: about 70% for plastics, 60% for steel, 40% for paper and 30% for glass.

(The Economist 2007)

• Recycling a single aluminum can can save enough energy to power a television for three hours.
• Recycling a three foot high stack of newspaper saves one tree.
• Water pollution related to glass production can be cut by half when using recycled materials.
• Five plastic soda bottles will yield enough fiber to make an extra large t-shirt.

(The National Recycling Coalition)

• In 2006, Americans drank about 167 bottles of water each, but only recycled an average of 38 bottles per person, which equals about 50 billion plastic bottles consumed, with only 23% being recycled. That leaves 38 billion water bottles in landfills - which take 700 years before they start to decompose!
• In 2006, the amount of paper recovered for recycling averaged 357 pounds for each man, woman, and child in the United States.
• More than 37 percent of the fiber used to make new paper products in the United States comes from recycled sources.

(Earth 911)

• A used aluminum can is recycled and back on the grocery shelf as a new can, in about 60 days.
• Last year 54 billion cans were recycled saving energy equivalent to 15 million barrels of crude oil - America’s entire gas consumption for one day.

(The Aluminum Association)

• Glass containers go from recycling bin to store shelf in as little as 30 days.
• An estimated 80% of recovered glass containers are made into new glass bottles.

(Glass Packaging Institute) 

For More Information

The National Recycling Coalition is an nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement and improvement of recycling, reusing and reducing.

Indiana Recycling Coalition

Recycle Indiana offers information on recycling oppurtunities around the state. You can also measure the impact of your waste.

Keep Indianapolis Beautiful

ReDO is a non-profit whose mission is "to promote reuse as an environmentally sound, socially beneficial and economical means for managing surplus and discarded materials." 

Treehugger's Guide on How to Green your Recycling

National Sanitation Foundation & The Importance of Recycling

Aluminum Association

Glass Packaging Institute

Steel Recycling Institute

The Container Recycling Institute

Visit Recycling Revolution for more interesting recycling facts.

EPA's Environmental Kids Club and Recycle City are geared to educated kids on the importance of recycling. Check out their Student Center for more information and links. 
 

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photos © TNC.