Visualizing Environmental Science

The top half

shows recycling

of a specific part

of the U.S. solid

waste stream.

Each set of bars shows the recycling in

millions of tons for 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990,

2000, and 2010.

The bottom half

shows the amount

that is incinerated

or disposed of in

a landfill.

Paper and

paperboard

Yard

trimmings

Food

scraps Plastics

Glass

Iron, steel

and nickel

AluminumOther

Metals

Wood Textiles

Rubber

and

leather Other

40

20

60

20

40

Recycled

(millions of tons)

Incinerated or landfill

(millions of tons)

GlassGlass

bottles

AluminumAluminum

cans

EneEneEneEnE

rgyrgyrgygyrgg

coco cococo

nsusunsunsunsu

mptmptmptmptmp

ionionionionnion

(th(th

ousous

andand

ki kilocloc

aloalo

rierie

ss))

55

100

155

200

255

300

Used once

Recycled

Adapted from T. Zeller, Jr., “Recycling: The Big Picture,”National Geographic (January 2008); EPA Solid WasteFacts, 2010.

Based on data from Argonne National Laboratory.

Frances Roberts/Alamy Shari Lewis/©AP/Wide World Photos

a. Recycling of Solid Waste. By far more paper is

recycled than any other part of the solid waste stream.

Note that recycling of paper has increased dramatically;

most of this paper is exported to other countries.

b. Recycling Glass.

A bin of green glass

has been sorted and

crushed at a recycling

plant. Separating the

different colors of

glass in a cost-effective

manner is challenging.

Note in part a that

the amount of glass

recycling has not

increased significantly

since 1990. c. Recycling Aluminum. Bales of crushed aluminum

beverage cans are ready for processing. A typical

aluminum can contains about 40 percent recycled

aluminum. The amount of aluminum recycling is

declining because of the increased use of plastic

beverage containers.

d. Energy and Recycling. Comparison

of energy required to manufacture glass

bottles and aluminum cans that are

either used once or recycled.

Environmental InSight ✓✓THE PLANNER

Recycling in the United States

UÊ Figure 16.9

Interpreting Data

Which material do you

think has the greatest

potential for recycling?

Why? How many tons of

it were recycled in 2010?

407