$65 Billion Industry in 2006
50,000 Employees
150 Million tons of scrap materials recycled annually including:
81.4 Million tons of iron and steel
53.5 Million tons of paper
4.5 million tons of Aluminum
1.8 million tons of Copper
1.4 million tons of Stainless Steel
1.4 million tons of Lead
459,000 tons of Zinc
3.5 million tons of Glass
957,500 tons of Plastic (bottles)
750,000 tons of Electronics
111 million Tires
Specification-grade scrap is a
raw material feedstock for U.S.
manufacturing:
2 out of 3 pounds of steel made
in the U.S. is manufactured using
ferrous scrap.
60% of the metals and alloys
produced in the U.S. are made
from nonferrous scrap
More than 50% of the U.S. paper
industry's needs are met through the
use of scrap paper with nearly 200 U.S.
paper mills using only recycled paper
33% of U.S. aluminum supply comes
from recycled materials.
Recent independent research
shows there is enough material
to meet domestic manufacturers’
demand for recycled materials for
the foreseeable future.
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Reduces greenhouse gas
emissions by requiring significantly
less energy to manufacture
products from recyclables than
virgin ore and by avoiding
landfilling.
Energy saved using
recycled materials
vs. virgin ore:
95% for aluminum
85% for copper
80% for plastic
74% for iron and steel
64% for paper
Conserves natural resources.
Recycling one ton of:
Paper saves 17 trees, 79 gallons of
oil, 7000 gallons of water, and 3.3
cubic yards of landfill.
Steel conserves 2500 lbs. of iron
ore, 1400 lbs. of coal and 120 lbs.
of limestone.
Aluminum conserves up to 8 tons
bauxite ore and 14 megawatt hours
of electricity.
Diverts 150 million tons of
materials away from landfills.
Cleaner air and water from safely
removing potentially hazardous
materials and keeping them out
of landfills.
Mercury switches removed from
older automobiles.
Lead recovered from computer
monitors.
Various harmful chemicals safely
recycled from electronics.
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