Recycling Vs. Landfills

Cost

• Landfills cost more on average due to costs to buy land as well as construction and maintenance costs
• Once a Landfill runs out of space, a new landfill is constructed costing more as well as transportation costs
• Recycling saves more money because it saves cost used toward future disposal
• Recycling cuts down on costs used in manufacturing because products are melted down and made into new materials

Helps Preserve Environment

• Recycling cuts down on manufacturing of new products leading to less waste produced
• Recycling prevents destruction of forests and natural resources
• Prevents massive amounts of water from being used to mine, refine, and manufacture products
• The EPA estimates that recycling one ton of paper saves 17 trees and 7,000 gallons of water
• Creating a landfill destroys forests and pollutes water and land

Energy Savings

• Recycling reduces energy used to manufacture new products
• When a product goes to the landfill, materials must be mined, harvested, or refined to replace it
• Recycling removes this step from the process
• Making an aluminum can from recycled materials requires only 5% of the energy used in creating a product from raw materials

CONCLUSION