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Facts & Tips
In 2006, Californians alone threw over 8 billion bottles and cans in the trash instead of the recycling bin. Here are some recycling facts and tips to help you think twice before trashing your recyclable beverage containers.
Recycling Facts:
- An average California household throws away over 34 pounds of plastic water and soda bottles each year.
- Every 90 days a recycled aluminum can makes its way back on the shelf as something useful.
- 80-100 years - that's the lifespan of an aluminum can that gets tossed into the trash instead of a recycling bin.
- 700 years - that's how long a trashed plastic bottle will sit in a landfill taking up space and refusing to degrade.
- 1 Million Years - Put a glass bottle in a landfill and that's how long it'll sit there doing nothing. Recycle it and it can live forever.
Products Made from Recycled Bottles and Cans:
- Plastic - recycled material products made from Plastic Bottles:
- T-shirts: Fourteen 20 oz. plastic bottles yield enough fiber for an extra large T-shirt.
- Carpet: It takes 14 20 oz. plastic bottles to make one square foot of carpet.
- Fleece Sweater: It takes 63 20 oz. plastic bottles to make a sweater.
- Jacket Fiberfill: Fourteen 20 oz. plastic bottles yield enough fiberfill for a ski jacket.
- Sleeping Bag Fiberfill: It takes 85 20 oz. plastic bottles to make enough fiberfill for a sleeping bag.
- Glass - recycled material products made from Glass Bottles:
- Glassware
- New glass containers
- Decorative home decor
- Fiberglass Insulation
- Tile
- Aluminum - recycled material products made from Aluminum Cans:
- Picture frames
- Decorative home decor: Bowls, vases, etc.
- Baseball bats
Eight Steps to Starting an Office Recycling Program:
Help California Reduce Waste by Recycling at Work!
- Designate an Office "Recycling Coordinator": Select someone in the office to oversee your recycling program. Your recycling coordinator will be responsible for arranging collection of recyclables, encouraging employees to recycle and overall monitoring of the recycling program.
- Arrange for Collection: There are several options to consider for collection. You may contact your waste hauler to arrange collection, designate an employee to deliver your recyclables to the nearest recycling center or consider allowing your janitorial staff to keep the CRV in exchange for collecting the recyclables - a win/win scenario! For more information on finding the nearest recycling center, click here
- Get Recycling Bins: Buy new bins for multiple locations in your office, or transform some existing trash cans into recycling bins - now that's recycling! For more information on acquiring recycling bins, click here for a sample list of recycling bin vendors or call 1-800-RECYCLE.
- Identify CRV Recyclable Beverage Containers: Educate your employees on the various beverage containers in the CRV (California Refund Value) program. From water bottles to iced tea, sports drinks and soda containers, let your employees know what they can recycle. For a list of beverage containers included in the CRV program, click here .
- Location, Location, Location: To generate maximum participation, be sure to place recycling bins at each workstation or office, as well as in central areas such as lunchrooms, lounges and office machine rooms.
- Make it Easy - Label the Bins: Clearly label every recycling bin to indicate EXACTLY what items go in the bin, e.g., "Aluminum Cans." Most aluminum, glass and plastic beverage containers can be recycled and redeemed for cash at any certified recycling center.
- Kick-Off the Recycling Program: Announce your new office recycling program through an event or a series of internal emails leading up to the kick-off.
- Keep Up the Enthusiasm: Create employee recycling incentive programs to keep the momentum going. Here are some simple ideas to keep your employees engaged in recycling:
- Reward yourselves for recycling. Use funds from redeemed beverage containers to fund a quarterly office party or "coffee break."
- Recognize employees who reduce the company's waste - "Recycler of the Month."
- Let your customers know - distribute new waste reduction and recycling tips to spread the recycling message.
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