THE PROBLEM
The US only recycles about 9% of our plastic materials
which is significantly less than China (25%) and Europe (30%)
This means that 91% of that material eventually ends up in our Landfills or the Ocean.
ONCE IN THE OCEAN
IT IS ESTIMATED THAT
8 MILLION TONS
OF PLASTIC ENTER OUR OCEAN
EVERY YEAR
WHERE OCEAN CURRENTS
TAKE THE PLASTIC TO 1 of 5 OCEAN GYRES
THE PLASTICS BREAK INTO MICROPLASTICS
AND OVER TIME
WHICH ARE
EATEN BY FISH AND OTHER MARINE ANIMALS
AND EVENTUALLY
END UP ON OUR DINNER PLATES FOR US TO EAT
THE SOLUTION
RECYCLING BY THE NUMBERS
Recycling facilities can generate 7-10 more jobs compared to landfills and waste-to-energy plants.
It takes 22 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of virgin plastic, however it only takes 2/3 of a gallon to recycle 1 pound of plastic.
Producing 1 Ton of recycled plastic saves 5,774 Kwh of energy, compared to 1 Ton of Virgin plastic.
Recycling 1 ton of plastic saves 1.5 tons of CO2 Emission compared to producing 1 ton of virgin plastic.
More than 1,600 different businesses in the U.S. use post-consumer recycled plastic.
As recycling collection, sorting, and processing improves, these numbers will also improve! The hope is to create a system where we continuously recycle plastic products, reducing the need to make virgin plastics. Recycling not only helps conserve natural resources, but also protects the health of creatures living on this planet, including us!
SOME RECYCLING RESOURCES!
CarbonLITE Recycling
Walmart Recycling Playbook
Kids' Recycling Guide
42,000
GALLONS OF WATER
That's like flushing your toilet 26,250 times in a day!
5,774
KwH OF ENERGY
That can power the average home for 6 months!
1.5
TONS OF CO2 EMISSIONS
That's 3 flights from Los Angeles to New York and back!
THE FUTURE
IT TAKES ALL OF US
It starts by using
and
to produce plastic products like bottles and packages.
It starts with us developing better, more efficient methods
to collect, sort, and reprocess plastic.
