Little bits of recycling information can be found in many places. Here is a sample from links on the Green Manitoba website.
- Seventy percent of ‘garbage’ from homes can be recycled or composted.
- Recycled plastic is used in pillows, comforters, sleeping bags, scrub pads, grill covers and road bed and pond liners.
- Recycling five 2 litre bottles makes enough polyester for a square yard of carpet. Two 2 litre bottles makes enough polyester fibre for a ball cap.
- Thirty five percent of the world demand for aluminium is met with recycled materials.
- Recycling one aluminium can saves 95% of the energy used to make a new one from raw ore.
- Seventy-five percent of all aluminium produced since 1888 is still used today.
- Recycled tires are made into blasting mats and a variety of other things.
- Recycling one metric ton (tonne) of plastic bottles saved 3.8 barrels of oil.
- Recycling one tonne of paper saves 17 trees, 7,000 gallons of water and 3.5 cubic metres of landfill space.
- One half a kilogram of newspaper can be recycled into six cereal boxes, six egg cartons or 2,000 sheets of writing paper.
- Making steel from new iron ore can use 50 percent more water than making it from recycled steel.
More information and links are available at www.greenmanitoba.ca under the recycling tab. A-Z Recycling Guide includes information on some unusual items. The Industry stewardship programs section has links to a variety of programs.
Green Manitoba is a special operating agency of the Manitoba government dedicated to creating a cleaner and greener Manitoba. It provides programs and information related to waste reduction.