Saturday, June 20, 2009

Plastic Power!

Okay, everyone's been on a major "Go Green" kick this week on the blog and for the past few years in the rest of the world. That's great. No, seriously it's GREAT!

The only thing is- what can one person do all by themselves? What can you accomplish by putting your empty soda can or water bottle in that special green container? What's the power of your plastic?
RECYCLING:
1 aluminum can
will save enough energy to power a 100-watt light bulb for 20 hours, a computer for 3 hours, or a tv for 2 hours. That same can might return to the grocer's as a new and filled can in 90 days or less after the recycling process.
1 1-Liter soda bottle is enough plastic to make a ruler for next school year.
5 to 11 1-Gallon milk jugs is enough to make a frisbee.
14 20-ounce greens soda bottles can make an extra-large t-shirt.
85 20-ounce soda bottles will make enough material to fill a sleeping bag.
96 1-Gallon milk jugs can make a 6 ft long piece of 2x4 lumber.
125 aluminum cans will save enough energy to power the average home for an entire day!
1000 1-Gallon milk jugs is enough material for a park bench.
1200 plastic bottles is enough for a 200 lb. railroad tie.
12000 plastic bottles is enough for a boat! See below...
1 ton of plastic can save 1-2 thousand gallons of gas and 7.4 cubic yards in a landfill!

What else can your plastic do for you? A Mr. De Rothschild is building an entire boat out of empty bottles! This year, he is going to try and sail it from California to Australia. Check out the Plastiki here!

What's the value of your glass and your paper? Visit the Bergen County (NJ) Utility Authority.
And just where does that bottle go to be made into all this cool stuff?
For more statistics check out Earth911.

Iris
enter Sam's Space now!
Read Just One of the Guys and find out how the band uses its water! On sale now!

2 comments:

Norm Cowie said...

Did you know there is a plastic island in the Pacific, about the size of the state of Texas? It's from the litter that washes into the sea from California and Japan and gets caught in the trade current vortex.

Seriously. Google it.

Norm

http://fangplace.blogspot.com

Ophelia Julien said...

I'm glad to know that all the stuff I put into my little blue bins get used for something good.

(Norm, it figures you'd know about the island. Do you know how many pairs of fangs can be made from one 2-liter bottle?)