The recycling industry accounts for more than 20,000 private-sector jobs in Texas in the processing and end-market facilities adding $2.8 billion to the Texas economy annually.
Recycling waste materials supports about six times as many waste-related jobs as there would be if the same materials were treated as trash.
Americans dump 180 million tons of garbage annually — more than 40% of which is paper. High-grade printing, copying, and writing paper is the largest single component in a landfill.
Americans throw away enough office and writing paper annually to build a wall 12 feet high stretching from Los Angeles to New York.
Every day American businesses generate enough paper to circle the Earth 20 times.
Recycling 13,600 tons of paper accounts for the saving of 231,200 trees, 44,880 cubic yards of landfill space, and 95,200,000 million gallons of water.
At least 38.9% of the U.S. waste stream is paper.
Making one ton of recycled paper uses only about 60% of the energy needed to make a ton of virgin paper.
Americans throw out about 85% of the office paper we use.
Every ton of recycled office paper saves 380 gallons of oil.
U.S. businesses throw away 21 million tons of paper every year, the equivalent of 175 pounds per office worker.
The construction costs of a paper mill designed to use waste paper is 50 to 80% less than the cost of a mill using new pulp.
During World War II when raw materials were scarce, 33% of all paper was recycled. After the war, this number decreased sharply.