GOLD For every ounce of gold mined in the US, 25000 pounds of waste are generated. The bulk of that waste is contaminated with cyanide, a highly toxic chemical that continues to leach arsenic, mercury, lead, cadmium and other heavy metals into the ground long after the mine is closed. Sulfites common to gold ore are exposed to water and bacteria which acidify ground water forming sulphuric acid. These waste piles can reach 300 feet high and extend 1.5 mile across. In addition, mercury in the form of methyl mercury is released into the air as a result of the mining operation. Ten pounds of gold generates 4 pounds of airborne mercury and 3.6 million pounds of cyanide contaminated waste not to mention the energy required to mine & process that much ore.


eWASTE Recycling one million laptops saves the energy equivalent to the electricity used by 3,657 US homes in a year. One metric ton of circuit boards can contain 40 to 800 times the concentrations of gold ore mined in the US and 30-40 times the concentration of copper ore mined in the US. Computers, consumer electronics, cell phones all have a number of different metals in them which can be recycled. For example, for every 1,000 cell phones we recycle, 35 pounds of copper, 11 Troy Ounces of silver, 1.1 Troy Ounces of gold, and .5 Troy Onces of palladium can be recovered. Recovering these metals has a huge impact on the amount of raw materials extracted from the earth.


ALUMINUM Recycling aluminum saves 95% of the energy needed to produce new aluminum from raw materials. The energy saved from recycling one ton of aluminum is equal to the amount of electricity the average home uses in 10 years. An aluminum can is unique in that it is recycled, turned into a new can and back on a store shelf within 60 days. Over 50% of the aluminum cans produced are recycled. Twenty recycled cans can be made with the energy needed to produce one can using virgin ore, not to mention the residual waste from processing that ore and the impact that waste has on the environment. Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to keep a 100-watt bulb burning for almost four hours or run your television for three hours. Tossing away an aluminum can wastes as much energy as pouring out half of that can's volume of gasoline, that's roughly 18 cents at todays gas prices.


STEEL The steel industry's annual recycling saves the equivalent energy to electrically power about 18 million households for a year. Every time a ton of steel is recycled, 2500 pounds of iron ore, 1000 pounds of coal and 40 pounds of limestone is preserved as well as the energy, environmental and human toll required by those mining operations. Making new steel products from recycled steel instead of virgin ore reduces water use by 40%, water pollution by 76%, air pollution by 86%, and mining wastes by 97%. The energy saved by recycling one pound of steel will light a 60 watt light bulb for more than 24 hours. The steel recycled by Windfield reduces energy consumption by the equivelant of 1,500 Megawatts per week!


COPPER Almost half of US copper production uses recycled copper. Re-refining recycled copper requires only 10% of the energy that is used to refine copper ore. Copper ore tailings and processes introduce sulphur dioxide and excessive dust and waste into the environment. Recycling copper generates neither.


GLASS It is estimated that glass takes in excess of 4,000 years to degrade in a landfill. The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can run a 100-watt light bulb for four hours. It also causes 20% less air pollution and 50% less water pollution than when a new bottle is made from raw materials. Mining and transporting raw materials for glass produces about 385 pounds of waste for every ton of glass that is made. If recycled glass is substituted for half of the raw materials, the waste is cut by more than 80%. Glass found in monitors and TV's contains lead, as much as 4 pounds each. Although costly, it is important for the environment that this glass is properly recycled.


PAPER 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! Paper products make up approximately 40 percent of our trash. Every day Americans recover about 40 percent of the paper we use. Paper products use up at least 35 percent of the world's annual commercial wood harvest. More than 1/3 of all fiber used to make paper comes from recycled paper.


PLASTIC Recycling a single plastic bottle can conserve enough energy to light a 60W bulb for up to six hours. It takes about 450 years for one plastic bottle to break down in the ground! It takes about 25 recycled plastic drinks bottles to make one fleece jacket. Recycling one ton of soda and water bottles saves 7.4 cubic yards of landfill space. PET bottles are made into fiberfill, carpets, clothing, automotive parts and industrial strapping, sheet and film. BATTRIES A car battery contains 18 pounds of lead and one pound of sulfuric acid. Approximately 90% are recycled yet as much as 186,000 tons of lead-acid batteries are discarded in the trash. Household batteries contribute many potentially hazardous compounds to the municipal solid waste stream, including zinc, lead, nickel, alkalines, manganese, cadmium, silver, and mercury. In 1989, 621.2 tons of household batteries were disposed of in the US.