fun facts

• The United States annually processes nearly 300 billion lbs. of scrap material — the weight of more than 85 million cars.

•Each year, recycling aluminum cans in the U.S. saves enough energy to fuel more than one million vehicles on the road for 12 months.

•The average North American light vehicle has 2,171 lbs. of steel, 377 lbs. of plastics, 355 lbs. of aluminum, 222 lbs. of rubber, 98 lbs. of glass, and 67 lbs. of copper and brass.

•Metal and glass can be recycled unlimited times. Paper can be recycled four to six times.

•In 2012, the U.S. scrap industry processed enough stainless steel scrap to produce more than 12,000 cloud gate sculptures located in Chicago’s Grant Park.

•The United States annually recycles enough copper to provide the copper content of more than 25,000 Statues of Liberty.

•A used aluminum can is recycled and back on the grocery shelf within just 60 days.

•The Gateway Arch in St. Louis used 900 tons of stainless steel in construction — at the time, more stainless steel than any project in history. Enough stainless steel is recycled in the United States each year to build nearly 1,500 Gateway Arches.

•In 2012, the amount of paper recovered for recycling averaged 325 lbs. for each man, woman, and child in the United States.

•The United States recycled enough gold in 2012 to, if beaten into a thin sheet, cover an area of 44 square miles — more than half the size of Washington, DC.

•The United States annually recycles enough ferrous scrap, by weight, to build more than 900 Golden Gate Bridges — a bridge stretching nearly 9,000 feet.

Source: The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (ISRI)