Recycling Alaska

Why Recycle?

1. Recycling conserves our valuable natural resources.
2. Recycling saves energy.
3. Recycling saves clean air and clean water.
4. Recycling saves landfill space.

Each ton of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4,000 kilowatts of energy and 7,000 gallons of water!

Making recycled paper instead of new paper uses 64 percent less energy and uses 58 percent less water.

One tree can filter up to 60 pounds of pollutants from the air each year. More than 1/3 of all fiber used to make paper comes from recycled paper. Only 1 percent of the world's water supply is usable; 97 percent is in the ocean and 2 percent is frozen. It takes a 15-year-old tree to produce 700 grocery bags.

Where does the trash go? When you throw something "away", it doesn't go away! Trash is either burned, buried, recycled or dumped into rivers and oceans.

Disposable diapers last centuries in landfills. An average baby will go through 8,000 of them!

Recycling a stack of newspapers just 3 feet high can save one tree.

Waste paper is collected, sorted, baled and transported to a paper recycling plant. You can help by sorting paper and keeping it dry and out of the sun (water and sunlight make it harder to remove ink).

At the paper factory, used paper is mixed with water in a huge blender called a "hydrapulper," which mixes the paper with water, pulling inks away from the paper fibers and separating the fibers themselves. De-inking chemicals are sometimes also added.

The pulp mixture passes through several different-sized screens, which separate the paper fibers from paper clips, staples and other contaminants.

In most cases, the clean pulp is then mixed with some new wood pulp to make the recycled paper stronger. Recycled paper fibers get shorter the more often they are recycled. Most fibers can be recycled! The clean pulp is pressed into sheets, dried, finished and placed onto rolls.

Old newspapers can become new newspapers.

Old corrugated boxes can become new corrugated boxes.

Old printing and writing paper can become new printing and writing paper, wrapping paper, and paper used for magazines, books and brochures.

Old scrap paper of all kinds can be used to make new paper towels and tissues, egg cartons, fruit trays and flower pots.

Old grocery bags can become new mail wrappings for magazines and catalogs, new dog food bags as well as new grocery bags.

Old toy boxes or shoe boxes can become new cereal and soap boxes, soft drink cartons and pizza boxes.