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facts GLASS • Glass is 100 percent recyclable in a true closed-loop system; there are no waste by-products. • By recycling one ton of glass, we save the energy equivalent of nine gallons of fuel oil.
CAN facts
• Glass manufacturers plan to use fifty percent of recycled material in the production of new glass bottles by the end of 2013. This step will save enough energy to power 45,000 households for a year, and keep 181,550 tons of waste from landfills each month.
Every 3 seconds a baby is born. In that time, 140 cans were born.
Keep it clean. Be sure to keep out any contaminants, such as metal caps, lids or neck rings, ceramic and wire caps from beer bottles, and light bulbs. Contaminants damage furnaces during the recycling process.
The average employee consumes 2.5 beverages a day while at work. Aluminum can be recycled and reused indefinitely without a decline in material performance or quality.
TIPS Rinse with water, but don’t worry about labels; those will burn off in the recycling process.
Know your local glass recycling rules. Most glass that is collected at the curb allows for all colors of glass bottles to be recycled mixed. At a drop-off center, however, glass may be separated by color for collection.
Recycle glass containers only. Check to make sure it’s a glass bottle or jar, such as food jars, tea and soda bottles, and beer and wine bottles. Do not include for recycling any non-container glass such as drinking glasses, ceramic coffee cups, Pyrex, mirrors, etc.
Every day, Americans use more than 100 million steel cans. About 566 steel cans are recycled every second. Recycling steel cans saves 74 percent of the energy that would be used to produce from virgin materials.
TIP
RINSE AND SORT CANS BY TYPE OF METAL. DRINK CANS ARE USUALLY ALUMINUM WHILE FOOD CANS ARE MOST OFTEN STEEL OR “TIN.” january 12 | www.002mag.com .41