Recycling is an important way for individuals and businesses to reduce the negative impact of the waste they produce.
Every time you recycle, it supports the many companies and employees doing this important work.
Trash is more expensive than Recycling. In Teton Valley, recycling only costs around $20 per ton vs $100 per ton for landfill-bound waste.
Over the next ten years, recycling represents a multi-million dollar savings opportunity for Teton Valley.
Recycling operations create 5x as many jobs as normal waste operations.
Making products with recycled material slows the depletion of non-renewable resources such as metal, oil and natural gas, and reduces the encroachment of new mining and drilling operations.
It is generally takes significantly less energy to make products with recycled materials than virgin materials. Benefits of reduced energy consumption include reduced costs and reduced dependence on foreign suppliers.
Because most energy is generated by burning fossil fuels, using less energy means generating less water and air pollution--especially the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. Recycling also reduces other forms of pollution as well: Runoff from mining operations and farms, soil erosion and the toxic chemicals released when raw materials are processed.
Everything that goes into a landfill stays there, taking up space. As waste breaks down—which can take hundreds of years—it releases the greenhouse gas methane and can emit many toxic pollutants into our water table.