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Learn about
Plastics |
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General facts about plastics
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Fact: Without plastics, 400 percent more material by weight and
200 percent more material; by volume would be needed to make packaging, while
the volume of packaging would more than double.
Fact: For every seven trucks needed to deliver paper grocery bags
to the store - only one truck is needed to carry the same number of plastic
grocery bags!
Fact: Plastic lumber, made with recycled plastic, holds nails and
screws better than wood, is virtually maintenance free and lasts for 50 years!
Fact: Foam polystyrene containers take 30 percent less total
energy to make than paperboard containers.
Fact: The number of plastics recycling businesses has nearly
tripled over the past several years, with more than 1,700 businesses handling
and reclaiming post-consumer plastics.
Fact: Between 1990 and 1996 the amount of waste going into
landfills declined by more than 17 percent (by weight).
Fact: By using plastic in packaging, American product
manufacturers save enough energy each year to power a city of 1 million homes
for three and a half years.
Fact: We are recycling more than ever before. With an average
recycling rate of 27 percent, and over 60 percent for some materials.
Fact: Today, over 12,000 communities provide recycling services to
184 million people.
Fact: The post consumer plastics recycling industry provides jobs
for more than 52,000 American workers.
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