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Helping your community and your environment by recycling
Reduce - Create less Waste
The R’s are placed in an order of hierarchy. Reducing being the most important. During the past 35 years, the amount of waste each person creates has almost doubled from 2.7 to 4.6 pounds per day. The most effective way to stop this trend is by preventing waste in the first place.
As consumers, it is our responsibility to make sure that garbage we bought is placed in the recycle bin or garbage can.
We need to make that effort to develop a "recycling habit".
Reuse - Use it again
It is easy to forget about the trash that is picked up from your house. What we tend to forget is every piece of waste generated ends up at the landfill.
Over 3,000 tons of garbage is buried in the Salt Lake Valley Landfill every day. In 50 years our landfill will be at capacity. There is not another site for a landfill in Salt Lake County.
Waste that can be recycled should be separated out, so it can be made into something new, not buried wasting valuable energy and landfill space. Every person can and should make a difference by recycling!
Recycle - One product is broken down to make a new product
Close the Loop
1st Arrow: Collection - Don't send recyclables to the landfill.
2nd Arrow: Manufacturing - Using recycled materials instead of virgin raw materials.
3rd Arrow: Buying products with recycled content
How to Tell if You are Buying Recycled
How will you know if you are buying products containing recycled content? Just read the packaged label! The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued guidelines for reducing misleading use of environmental terms in product advertising and labeling. "Recyclable", "recycled content", and "recycled" all describe products that have been reused, reconditioned or remanufactured.
RECYCLING IS ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY
Positive effects on our Natural Resources
By making the products from recycled materials instead of virgin materials, we reduce the need to cut down trees, drill for oil, and dig for minerals.
 Saves Landfill Space
When the materials that you recycle are made into new products, they don’t go into landfills or incinerators, so scarce landfill space is conserved.
Conservation of valuable Energy
It usually takes less energy to make recycled products: for example, it takes 95% less energy to recycle aluminum than to make it from bauxite ore.
 Keeps Air, Water and Soil clean
In most cases, making products from recycled material creates less air pollution and water pollution than making products from virgin materials.
 It is OUR Environment
By recycling, we can feel good about helping to protect our Earth for future generations.
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