There are 24 eco-friendly choices you can make in this category.

Carpool to a greener planet

Carpooling with friends and co-workers saves 790 lbs. of carbon dioxide and hundreds of dollars per year in fuel costs.

Two degrees of savings

Turning your heater thermostat down just two degrees in winter and up two degrees in the summer will save 2000 lbs of carbon dioxide and $98 per year!

Insulate your water heater

By keeping your water heater insulated could save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $40 per year.

Recycling produces less of 27 different types of pollutants...

...when compared with using virgin materials, in manufacturing products and disposing wastes.

Recycling Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions in three ways...

Reducing emissions from energy consumption. Manufacturing goods from recycled materials requires less energy than producing goods from virgin materials. When less energy is needed, fewer fossil fuels are burned and less carbon dioxide is emitted to the a

But wait, there's more!

Americans use 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour!

Half of all the polyester carpet manufactured in the U.S. is made from recycled plastic bottles. It takes five two-liter plastic bottles to make one square foot of carpet.

Recycled HDPE (#2) bottles are used to make more bottles (36%), pipe (19%), lawn/garden items (11%), and lumber (8%).

Recycled PET (#1) bottles are used to make fiber (58%), strapping (13%), and containers (17%)

Nationwide, 6% of all discarded plastic was recycled in 2000

21% of all discarded plastic bottles were recycled

Of all the old clothing donated for recycling and re-use...

44% ends up as second-hand clothing (typically sold to third world countries), 20% is used to make wiping and polishing cloths, and the rest is used to make other fiber products.

Nationwide, 29% of discarded textiles were recycled in 2000

Each American disposes about 35 pounds of old clothing and other textiles each year. 10 pounds per person is recycled.

Every glass bottle recycled saves enough energy to light a 100 watt light bulb for four hours

Nationwide, 38% of all glass bottles were recycled in 2000

Nationwide, 62% of all aluminum cans were recycled in 2000

Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a television, or operate a computer for three hours

Every ton of steel recycled saves 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,400 pounds of coal, and 120 pounds of limestone

Enough steel cans were recycled in 2000 to build 20 Golden Gate Bridges.

Nationwide, 64% of all steel was recycled in 2000

58% of all steel cans were recycled, 84% of all discarded appliances were recycled, and 95% of all junk automobiles were recycled.

Americans throw away enough office and writing paper each year to build a wall twelve-feet high stretching from New York City to Los Angeles

Every day, enough paper is recycled in the United States to fill a 15-mile long train of boxcars

In a lifetime, the average American will throw away 600 times his or her adult weight in garbage

This means that each adult will leave a legacy of as much as 100,000 pounds of trash for his or her children.

Nationwide, 48% of all paper was recycled in 2000

71% of old newspapers were recycled; 75% of old corrugated boxes were recycled; and 41% of all office paper was recycled.

Americans comprise only 5% of the world’s population, but we consume 25% of the world's resources