Recycling facts

Recycling facts at Malaysia

Malaysia households produced 25 million tonnes of waste in 2007/08, of which 17% was collected for recycling. This figure is still quite low compared to some of our neighboring countries, some recycling over 50% of their waste. There is still a great deal of waste which could be recycled that ends up in landfill sites which is harmful to the environment.

Recycling is an excellent way of saving energy and conserving the environment. Did you know that:

• 1 recycled tin can would save enough energy to power a television for 3 hours.
• 1 recycled glass bottle would save enough energy to power a computer for 25 minutes.
• 1 recycled plastic bottle would save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for 3 hours.
• 70% less energy is required to recycle paper compared with making it from raw materials. 

Aluminum
• Recycling one aluminum beverage can saves enough energy to run a 100-watt bulb for 20 hours, a
   computer for 3 hours or a TV for 2 hours.
• The aluminum beverage can returns to the grocer's shelf as a new, filled can in as little as 90 days after
   collection, remelting, rolling, manufacturing and distribution.
• An average of 113,204 aluminum cans are recycled every minute of everyday.
• 37 barrels of oil saves by recycling one ton of aluminum.
• Energy to power one home for 1 day saves from recycling 125 aluminum cans.
Glass
• For a glass bottle to breakdown in a landfill it takes approximately 1 million years.
• Most bottles and jars contain at least 25% recycled glass.
• For every ton of glass recycled. Glass containers save 9 gallons of fuel (oil).

Paper
• 1 ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees about 35 feet tall. Recycling 1 stack of newspapers 6 feet tall saves
   the life of one 35 feet tree.
• More than 500,000 trees can be saved each week if every Sunday newspaper is recycled. For every
   household that recycles its daily newspaper, 5 trees are spared every year. It would take 465 trees to
   provide you with a lifetime supply of paper..

Plastic
•  Plastics to break down in landfill requires 100 to 400 years.
•  Producing new plastic from recycled material uses only 2/3 of the   energy required to manufacture it from
   raw materials.
•  Only 1 is needed to carry the same number of plastic grocery bags   for every 7 trucks needed to deliver
    paper grocery bags to the store.
•  Recycling 1 ton of plastic can save 1-2 thousand gallons of gas.

Steel
• The energy used to produce recycling tin and steel from raw   materials, saves between 60-74% of the
   energy.
• 1 ton of recycled steel saves the energy equivalent of 3.6 barrels of oil, and 1.49 tons of iron more over the
   production of new steel.
• You can make 20 cans out of recycled material with the same amount of energy it takes to make 1 new
   one.

Batteries
• Recycled battery acid is done by converting it to sodium sulfate for laundry detergent, glass and textile
   manufacturing.

General
•  Per day 4 pounds of garbage are being thrown away by an average   person.
•  The most common item found in our trash is paper.
•  1/3 of our trash are used in our product packaging.
•  The third largest municipal government expense after police   protection and education is solid waste.
•  850 lbs. a year of recycling home waste such as newsprint,   cardboard, glass and metal can reduce
   carbon dioxide emissions.  


Source : abumama.com.my