15 Fun Facts About Recycling (Think before You Throw)

Recycling is like magic – turning one thing into another. 

Most of us know how recycling helps to reduce trash by reallocating the resources. However, there’s more to the story. 

The recycling industry not only offers environmental benefits but also generates jobs for millions of people every year. In fact, you can even pursue a career in recycling. 

Pretty amazing, huh? 

For those who haven’t tried already, recycling can be quite fun and fulfilling. All you need to do is think outside the trash to help the planet. 

Here are some fun recycling facts described using interesting and funny illustrations that will help you see waste in a new light:

Recycling one wine bottle saves enough energy to operate a 100-watt light bulb for three hours. 

Next time you enjoy some wine time, do not forget to recycle the empty bottle.

Each ton of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4000 kilowatts of energy, and 7000 gallons of water.

Think twice before throwing away that paper in the trash. It could literally save the world.

Every year, Americans throw away enough office paper to build a 12-foot high wall from Seattle to New York (a new wall every year).

We could call it the Great Wall of Trash.

Cars usually carry only one person in the U.S. There’s enough extra room in our 140 million cars that everyone in Western Europe could ride with us. 

That’s a little offbeat carpooling idea, don’t you think?

Every hour 2.5 million plastic bottles are thrown away in America.

It’s time to switch to reusable bottles, maybe?

Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to power a TV for 3 hours.

America can save 250,000,000 trees a year if we recycle all of the newspapers.

By recycling steel, we save enough energy every year to supply a decade’s worth of electricity to Los Angeles.

With 1000 plastic milk jugs, one can make a 6-foot-long plastic park bench.

It takes as few as 30 days for a glass container to go from a recycling bin back to a store shelf.

Glass and Aluminum materials can be recycled infinitely without any degradation in their quality.

By printing on recycled newsprint, each New York Times newspaper can save about 3.5 gallons of water.

Looks like the news holds water after all.

The first garbage incinerator in the United States was built in 1885 on Governor’s Island, New York.

An aluminum can that is thrown away today will still be an aluminum can 500 years from now.

How many recycled plastic soda bottles does it take to make: 

1 XL T-shirt – 5 bottles 

1 Ski jacket filler – 5 bottles 

1 Sweater – 27 bottles 

1 Sleeping bag – 35 bottles

Which recycling fact did you like the most? Do you have any interesting facts to share? 

We’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.