Recycling By The Numbers The Truth About Recycling

Media Platforms Design Team>MATERIALALUMINUMPRODUCTS Drink cansRECYCLING RATEMedia Platforms Design Team1,440,000 tons Discarded/year45% is recycledENERGY SAVED BY RECYCLING 96%CARBON EMISSIONS PREVENTED 10 tons CO2/ton aluminumPRICE PER TON $1800-$2000BOTTOM LINEThe huge energy cost–and associated emissions–of producing virgin aluminum from bauxite makes recycling a no-brainer. Each empty can is currently worth about $0.03.>MATERIALGLASSPRODUCTS Bottles and jarsRECYCLING RATEMedia Platforms Design Team11,390,000 tonsDiscarded/year25% is recycledENERGY SAVED BY RECYCLING 21%CARBON EMISSIONS PREVENTED 0.34 tons CO2/ton glassPRICE PER TON $25-$40BOTTOM LINEThere’s only a marginal energy savings, and we’re not going to run out of sand. Reuse (with bottle deposits) may make more sense than recycling.>MATERIALNEWSPRINTPRODUCTS NewspaperRECYCLING RATEMedia Platforms Design Team12,360,000 tonsDiscarded/year25% is recycledENERGY SAVED BY RECYCLING 45%CARBON EMISSIONS PREVENTED 2.5 tons CO2/ton newsprintPRICE PER TON $90-$140BOTTOM LINEIt’s the hottest recycling market today, fueled by insatiable demand from China. The challenge will be to increase recycling rates for mixed paper.>MATERIALPOLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE (PET, NO. 1)PRODUCTS Soft-drink bottlesRECYCLING RATEMedia Platforms Design Team940,000 tonsDiscarded/year31% is recycledENERGY SAVED BY RECYCLING 76%CARBON EMISSIONS PREVENTED 1.7 tons CO2/ton plasticPRICE PER TON $360-$480BOTTOM LINEPET usually gets “downcycled” into lower-grade fibers, but it’s now possible to make it into new bottles. The price has doubled in the past two years; the market should continue to mature.>MATERIALPOLYSTYRENE (PS, NO. 6)PRODUCTS Yogurt containersRECYCLING RATEMedia Platforms Design Team1,460,000 tonsDiscarded/yearNegligible amount recycledENERGY SAVED BY RECYCLING 88%CARBON EMISSIONS PREVENTED 1.3 tons CO2/ton plasticPRICE PER TON $560BOTTOM LINEIt’s very hard to sort PS from other plastics, so few cities even try. But new infrared sorting technologies could help make PS recycling viable.