We are running out of places to dispose trash. Recycling reduces the need for landfill space. The average New Yorker throws out appox. 6.5 pounds of trash each day, which amounts to 1.2 tons per person per year. Not too long ago, there were nearly 1,600 landfills in New York: 1990's appox. 250-100 were expected to be in use. 

Energy supplies are diminishing and costs are rising. Using recyclables in manufacturing requires less energy. Recycling paper, glass & metal helps save energy. To make -1- ton of aluminum from bauxite ore requires 65,749 kilowatt hrs. of electricity. To produce -1- ton from recycled materials requires only 5,742 kilowatt hrs... ....an energy savings of 92%. Similar, tho less dramatic, energy savings are associated with using other recycled materials in place of virgin materials. Trash can also be burned to produce heat & electricity. 

Trash disposal costs keep climbing. Recycling could reduce trash disposal costs. Trash disposal costs nationally are climbing to appox. $6 billion. Since half of what we throw away is recyclable, if enough households in a community recycle, refuse disposal costs could be reduced. Less solid waste means fewer trips to the landfills, less wear & tear on trucks, & reducing tipping fees now paid by many municipalities to dump @ landfills. 

Natural resources are being depleted: Recycling reduces air & water pollution & litter, protecting family health & the environment.