Commentary

In 2005, Americans recycled 32% of our garbage and saved 1,486 trillion btu’s of energy.  To get that much energy from gasoline, you would have to burn 12 billion gallons and produce 118 million tons of Co2 in the process. 

If we can increase our recycling rate up to 35% by 2008, the EPA estimates that we would save an additional 234 trillion btu’s of energy. 

Whenever we recycle, we are lowering our demand for natural resources.  In particular, recycling newspaper and mixed paper reduces the need to cut down Co2 absorbing trees.  Also, paper when thrown into a landfill, decomposes and produces methane which is 20 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than Co2.  So any recycled paper is great. 

Don’t just recycle the newspaper, recycle the mixed paper too: cereal boxes, cardboard milk cartons, cookie boxes, shipping boxes, paper towels, etc.. 

Aluminum is particularly energy intensive to produce.  The energy used to produce 1 aluminum can creates the same amount of Co2 as watching a TV in New York or California for 1 hour.  Keep that in mind the next time you are about to toss a can in the garbage.

More detail from the EPA:
http://www.epa.gov/msw/facts.htm
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/waste/downloads/Energy%20Savings.pdf