In the 1960s, America’s volume of recycling was less than 7%, now at about 32-35% we’ve come a long way when it comes to keeping our planet green! Here’s a little history about America Recycles Day and some facts about paper recycling.

America Recycles Day (ARD) was originally created in Texas back in 1994 (as Texas Recycles Day) and was embraced immediately by the National Recycling Coalition in 1997. Bill Clinton signed it into being as a recognized national holiday in 1999.

The holiday promotes how we can effectively contribute to recycling and be more proactive recyclers. Each year there is a different theme for America Recycles Day; for example, in 2020 the focus was on how the individual can make a difference.

Here are some facts about paper recycling in the U.S.

The average American uses 650 pounds of paper each year - 100 million tons of wood could be saved each year if all that paper was recycled.

Recycling 1 ton (about 2,000 pounds) of paper saves 17 trees, 2 barrels of oil (enough to run the average car for 1,260 miles), 4,100 kilowatts of energy (enough power for the average home for 6 months), 3.2 cubic yards of landfill space and 60 pounds of pollution.
The 17 trees saved by recycling 1 ton of paper can absorb a total of 250 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the air each year. However, burning that same ton of paper would create 1,500 pounds of carbon dioxide.
If all of our newspapers were recycled, we could save about 250 million trees each year! If every American recycled just 1/10th of their newspapers, we could save about 25 million trees each year.

At Shred City we pride ourselves on being a green company. 100% of the paper we shred is recycled back into tissues, paper towels, and toilet paper. We believe in shredding not just to protect your information and identity but as a means to keep our planet healthy! Shred City shreds today for a greener tomorrow.

And while paper is our bread and butter don’t forget that we shred media and take E-Waste! Shredding media protects your digital information and recycles the pieces back into new parts. And your old E-Waste like monitors, keyboards, towers, etc. can also be repurposed!

What are you doing to play your part in keeping the Earth green? Comment below! Have any tips?

Contact us here if you want to schedule a shredding appointment or if you have any questions!

Sources:

“America Recycles Day” accessed 11.15.2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_Recycles_Day

“Recycling Facts and Figures” accessed 11.15.2022, https://www.sccmo.org/863/Recycling-Facts