ABOUT SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL

Safety & Environmental
It’s important to recycle metal – A few fun facts!

• It takes a lot less energy to melt down waste metal and recycle it than it does to produce new metal.
• Using recycled metal reduces CO2 emissions and air pollution.
• Less water is used and less water is polluted.
• Reduces the need to mine the raw materials required to make the metal such as Iron ore for Steel, Nickel for Stainless Steel and Alumina and Bauxite for Aluminum.
• Reduces the amount of metal going to landfill as despite a growing awareness of the value in recycling metal, a lot of household metal waste from cans is still ending up in landfill sites.
• Recycling metal is big business and although household waste makes up a small percentage of the total amount of metal recycled, it still makes an important contribution so it is important to recycle those cans as any metal ending up in landfill is simply a waste of valuable resources.

Here are some averages for how long it takes certain products to biodegrade in the earth:

• Plastic soda bottles: 1 million years.
• Glass: 1 million years.
• Aluminum cans: 50 to 200 years.
• Paper: 1 to 5 months.
• Disposable diaper: 500 years.
• Batteries: 100 years.

What are the benefits of recycling?

• Conserves natural resources such as wood, water and minerals.
• Saves energy because less energy is used to manufacture brand new products.
• Produces less greenhouse gases because industries burn fewer fossil fuels.
• Recycling programs cost less than waste disposal programs.
• You can receive money for turning in certain recyclable products.
• Recycling centers create 4 jobs for every 1 job in the waste disposal industry.
• Recycling programs keep 70 tons of waste from being deposited into landfills every year.
• Prevents the destruction of natural habitats.
• Decreases soil erosion associated with mining and logging.