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FYI
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In 1997, 130 Texas cities operated curbside recycling programs for approximately
1.5 million households, or an estimated 2.5 million people.
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Source: TNRCC, Municipal Solid Waste Management in Texas: Status
Report [April 1997], 14.
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Thousands of communities in the United States have municipal recycling
programs, and studies of selected cities have shown that these programs have significantly reduced solid waste management costs.* Additionally,
many industries and businesses are finding it to their economic advantage to rely on recycled materials. For most industries, the use of recovered or
secondary materials produces less waste and pollution than using virgin feed stock.
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FYI
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The Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act defines recycling as a "process through which
materials that have served their intended use or are scrapped, discarded, used, surplus, or obsolete are collected, separated, or processed and returned to use in
the form of raw materials in the production of new products."
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Source: Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act, Texas Health and Safety
Code.
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Moreover, the use of secondary feed stock in place of virgin materials can
reduce energy consumption. For example, using recycled paper in place of virgin pulp can decrease energy consumption by 23 to 74 percent.*
Reducing wastes and using recovered materials also conserves natural resources. Studies conducted by Argonne National Labs, the Department of
Energy, the Sound Resource Management Group, Franklin Associates, and the Tellus Institute found that "recycling-based systems provide substantial
environmental advantages over virgin materials systems: because material collected for recycling has already been refined and processed, it requires
less energy, produces fewer common air and water pollutants, and generates substantially less solid waste."*
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FYI
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For local recycling and household hazardous waste centers call Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality at 1-800-Cleanup or check the website: www.1800Cleanup.org
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|
The recycling industry in Texas in 1997 employed approximately 20,000 people in more than 400 firms. More
than $2.8 billion in value is added annually to the state's economy through the upgrading or processing of recycled materials.* iNationally, the recycling
industry employed 1.1million people in 2001, grossing $236 billion in annual sales.*
According to recycling experts, a successful statewide recycling program requires a balance among three components:
collection of recyclables, processing and infrastructure, and market demand for recycled materials.* Each type of waste
material has a different recycling potential.
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ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS
FROM RECYCLING
|
|
|
BENEFIT AS % REDUCTION OF
|
ALUMINUM
|
STEEL
|
PAPER
|
GLASS
|
|
Energy Use
|
90-97
|
47-74
|
23-74
|
4-32
|
|
Air Pollution
|
95
|
85
|
74
|
20
|
|
Water Pollution
|
97
|
76
|
35
|
|
|
Mining Waste
|
|
97
|
|
80
|
|
Water Use
|
|
40
|
58
|
50
|
|
Source: Robert Cowles Letcher and Mary T. Shell,
"Source Separation and Citizen Recycling,"
The Solid Waste Handbook, ed. William D. Robinson
(New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1986).
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