A Recycling Leader

Recology - A Recycling Leader
Materials of the waste stream are recycling opportunities. Recology's experience in recycling goes back to the turn of the century when garbage men, called "scavengers," actively sought out alternative uses for refuse. Today, Recology companies continue to emphasize recycling.

Numerous Operations
Recology and its subsidiary companies operate several materials recovery facilities in California and coordinate dozens of recycling programs recovering a great variety of materials. Recology opened the first materials recovery facility under California's AB 939 regulations. Recology recycling facilities serve as national models, and Recology constantly looks for ways to increase recycling.

Dozens of Programs
Individual subsidiaries run different recycling programs for the communities they serve. Recology entered the business of recycling with the goal of protecting the environment. Recycling reduces the consumption of virgin materials and also reduces the tonnage going to landfills. Recycling also saves energy costs and water usage.

Recycling Benefits
Between 17 and 31 trees are saved for every ton of 100 percent recycled paper we use according to the publication, Recycled Papers, The Essential Guide, a publication of MIT Press. However, the resource preservation impacts go far beyond preserving trees.

According to an EPA report to Congress, every ton of 100 percent recycled paper used results in savings of 4,102 kilowatt hours of energy and a savings of 7,000 gallons of water.

In addition, the National Solid Waste Management Association reports that every ton of recycled paper used saves 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space.

Saving landfill space is important to San Francisco because the City has a contract with the landfill it uses, defining how much space is available for San Francisco's non-recyclable garbage. Therefore, every cubic yard saved through recycling efforts means the City's landfill space will be reserved.

While people may not relate paper to air quality, the EPA reports that every ton of 100 percent recycled paper used keeps 60 pounds of air pollution out of our atmosphere.

Paper is not the only commodity that saves natural resources. All of the materials recycled as part of San Francisco's curbside program reduce consumption of virgin materials.

An independent research group specializing in solid waste and recycling issues, Franklin and Associates, Ltd., calculated the energy used to manufacture new products using newspaper, metal, glass and plastic containers collected in an average residential curbside recycling program. The study finds a large reduction in manufacturing energy when using recycled materials rather than virgin materials, and the same report also finds that curbside recycling results in a net reduction in 10 major categories of pollution.

However, it is important to remember that merely putting recyclable materials in our recycling bins won't result in these environmental benefits. As consumers, we have to close the loop by buying recycled products. Be sure to check the recycled content on all products you purchase.