Ethan Clarke
Recycling plastic saves energy, resources and landfill space. Recycling plastic items reduces the amount of energy needed to create new plastic by 66%. Recycling one ton of plastic saves 5,774 Kwh of energy, 16.3 barrels of oil, 98 million Btu's of energy, and 30 cubic yards of landfill space.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Energy saved by recycling one ton of plastic | 5,774 Kilowatt-hours |
| Energy saved by recycling one ton of paper | 4,100 Kilowatt-hours |
| Energy saved by recycling aluminium | 96% less energy than processing from bauxite |
| Energy saved by recycling glass | 21% less energy than using raw materials |
| Energy saved by recycling plastic bottles | 76% less energy than using raw materials |
| Energy saved by recycling newsprint | 45% less energy than using raw materials |
| Energy saved by recycling steel and tin cans | 60-74% of the energy used to produce them from raw materials |
What You'll Learn
- Recycling plastic saves energy because less processing is required to turn it into usable materials
- One ton of recycled plastic saves 5,774 Kilowatt-hours of energy
- Producing new plastic from recycled material uses two-thirds of the energy required to manufacture it from raw materials
- Recycling plastic saves energy because it requires less energy to collect recyclables than to extract virgin materials
- Recycling plastic saves energy because it is cheaper than extracting and processing raw resources
Recycling plastic saves energy because less processing is required to turn it into usable materials
Recycling plastic also saves landfill space. In 2014, over 89 million tons of municipal solid waste were recycled or composted in the United States, saving over 322,000 GWh of energy. This was enough to provide electricity to 30 million homes.
Recycling plastic reduces the amount of energy and resources (such as water, petroleum, natural gas, and coal) needed to create other plastics. It also keeps more plastic out of our landfills.
The Environmental Protection Agency's iWARM tool allows individuals to estimate the amount of energy saved by recycling common household items (e.g. cans, bottles, plastic bags, paper, and cardboard). For many commonly recycled products, the energy savings also help to make recycling cheaper than extracting and processing raw resources.
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One ton of recycled plastic saves 5,774 Kilowatt-hours of energy
Recycling plastic saves energy and reduces the amount of plastic that ends up in landfill. It is estimated that one ton of recycled plastic saves 5,774 kilowatt-hours of energy, 16.3 barrels of oil, 98 million BTUs of energy, and 30 cubic yards of landfill space.
Recycling plastic decreases energy needs by 66%. This is because the products being recycled require less processing to turn them into usable materials. For example, manufacturing plastic items from recycled plastic requires less energy than manufacturing them from raw materials.
Recycling also reduces the need for raw resources, such as water, petroleum, natural gas, and coal. It is estimated that recycling is cheaper than extracting and processing raw resources.
The amount of energy saved depends on the material being recycled. For example, recycling glass saves roughly 10-15% of energy, while recycling aluminium saves up to 96% of energy.
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Producing new plastic from recycled material uses two-thirds of the energy required to manufacture it from raw materials
Recycling plastic saves energy, as well as landfill space. Manufacturing plastic items from recycled plastic uses two-thirds of the energy required to manufacture it from raw materials. This is because the products being recycled require less processing to turn them into usable materials. Recycling one ton of plastic saves 5,774 Kwh of energy, 16.3 barrels of oil, 98 million Btu's of energy, and 30 cubic yards of landfill space.
Recycling plastic also reduces the amount of energy and resources (such as water, petroleum, natural gas, and coal) needed to create other plastics. This means that recycling plastic saves energy and keeps more plastic out of our landfills.
The amount of energy saved depends on the material being recycled. For example, recycling glass saves 10-15% of energy, while recycling aluminium saves up to 96% of energy. However, almost all recycling operations result in energy savings. In 2014, over 89 million tons of municipal solid waste were recycled or composted in the United States, saving over 322,000 GWh of energy – enough to provide electricity to 30 million homes.
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Recycling plastic saves energy because it requires less energy to collect recyclables than to extract virgin materials
Recycling plastic saves energy because the products being recycled require less processing to turn them into usable materials. For example, manufacturing plastic items from recycled plastics decreases energy needs by 66%. Recycling plastics reduces the amount of energy and resources (such as water, petroleum, natural gas, and coal) needed to create other plastics.
Recycling also saves energy by reducing the need for extraction and processing of raw resources (wood, oil, ore) to make usable materials (paper, plastic, metal). Recycling is often cheaper than extracting and processing raw resources.
In 2014, over 89 million tons of municipal solid waste were recycled or composted in the United States, saving over 322,000 GWh of energy – enough to provide electricity to 30 million homes.
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Recycling plastic saves energy because it is cheaper than extracting and processing raw resources
Recycling plastic conserves 66% of energy compared to manufacturing plastic items from raw materials. This is because recycled plastic requires less energy to process than raw materials. The Environmental Protection Agency's iWARM tool allows individuals to estimate the amount of energy saved by recycling common household items.
In 2014, over 89 million tons of municipal solid waste were recycled or composted in the United States, saving over 322,000 GWh of energy – enough to provide electricity to 30 million homes.
Recycling plastic also reduces the amount of energy and resources (such as water, petroleum, natural gas, and coal) needed to create other plastics. It keeps plastic out of landfills, saving landfill space.
Other materials, such as steel, tin, and aluminium, also save energy when recycled. Recycling steel and tin cans saves between 60 and 74% of the energy used to produce them from raw materials. Producing new aluminium from recycled material uses 95% less energy than manufacturing it from raw materials.
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Frequently asked questions
Recycling plastic saves 76% of the energy used to make plastic from raw materials.
Recycling plastic saves less energy than recycling aluminium, which requires 96% less energy to make from recycled cans than from raw materials. However, it saves more energy than recycling glass, which only saves 21% of the energy used to make glass from raw materials.
Recycling plastic saves more energy than not recycling it, as extracting and processing raw materials requires a lot of energy.
Recycling one ton of plastic saves 5,774 kilowatt-hours of energy.
