Statistically, over the last years the interest for recycling and everything related to it has rushed over the countries of the world and also statistically their evolution in this area has become more and more obvious for one reason and another.
Statistic, Facts and Figures about Waste Recycling Activities
544,000 trees saved if every household in the United States replaced just one roll of virgin fiber paper towels (70 sheets) with 100% recycled ones.
20 million tons of electronic waste thrown away each year. One top of scrap from discarded computers contains more gold than can be produced from 17 tons of gold ore.
315kg amount of CO2 not released into the atmosphere each time a metric ton of glass is used to create new glass products.
$160 billion value of the global recycling industry that employs over 1.5 million people.
79 million tons amount of waste material diverted away from disposal in 2005 through recycling and composting.
5% fraction of the energy it takes to recycle aluminium versus mining and refining new aluminium.
9 cubic yards amount of landfill space saved by recycling one ton of cardboard.
51.5% percentage of the paper consumed in that was recovered for recycling in 2005.
98% percentage of glass bottles in Denmark that are refillable. 98% of those are returned by consumers for reuse.
Top 5 Recycling Countries
Switzerland: 52%
Austria: 49.7%
Germany: 48%
Netherlands: 46%
Norway: 40%
Global Face of Recycling
India
- In Dharavi, India, many people make a living by creating their own recycling factories. It is estimated that the self-made recycling industry employs roughly 200,000 people. It’s not merely taking care of waste, but a way of life and a source of income.
- India recycles roughly 40% of their e-waste a year.
Europe
- Austria takes the cake by recycling roughly 60% of its waste.
- The United Kingdom recycles roughly 17.7% of its waste. Ireland, Italy and Portugal are around the same percentage.
Japan and China
- The citizens of China who diligently-collect recyclables off the street are numbered around 2.5 million people. These scrap collectors earn the equivalent of $150 a month which is roughly half of what a cab driver earns in that country in the same time frame.
- It is estimated that 20% of the countries waste is disposed of improperly in China.
- In Japan, recycling is a $360 billion dollar industry.
- Beijing has built the world’s largest recycling facility and continues to install recycling bins.
- Beijing hopes to increase their recycling rate from 10% to 80% by 2010.
South American
- In Brazil, nearly 500 cooperatives employ approximately 500,000 recycling collectors. This is $3 billion industry.
- Fifth percent of the 140,000 tons of trash generated daily in Brazil is recycled.
- Chile opened its 1st electronic scrap recycling facility in 2005.
Africa
- The Glass Recycling Company has partnered with the government and glass manufacturers in South Africa in an attempt to increase the current glass recycling rate. This partnership increased cycling rated from 148,000 tons to 183,000 tons of glass recycling in roughly a year and a half.