Have you ever driven by what looks like a small mountain and noticed it didn’t look quite natural? If so, you were probably passing a landfill. A landfill is a massive pile of garbage that is buried underground. If not designed and maintained properly, it can leak toxic materials into the local water supply and pollute the soil. Even if it is well maintained, it still takes up valuable land space that could be used for parks, property, or just plain old nature. Besides, does anyone really want to live near a garbage dump?

So, we know that the trash you throw away eventually ends up buried somewhere in the Las Vegas area. Besides that, are there any other problems?

Disposing of a recyclable material wastes a resource that could have been used to make something else. For example, if a plastic bottle is thrown in the trash, it will not only go into a landfill, but new materials will then be required to make a new plastic bottle. As plastic is made from petroleum, a non-renewable resource must be used to make any new plastics instead of using bottles that should have been recycled.

Similarly, other recyclable materials can be used to make new products instead of using fresh resources. Paper is one such material. For example, if you read a local newspaper tomorrow and recycle it, 73 percent of it will be usable for a new paper product. By using 1 ton of recycled paper as opposed to cutting down trees, processors are able to save 4 barrels of oil, use 58 percent less water, and use 40 percent less energy.

Additionally, recycling has economic benefits. Although recycling was once seen as an economic drain, it actually brings in much more money than is costs.  Studies show that recycling generates up to 3 times as much revenue per ton as dumping garbage in a landfill and nearly 6 times as many jobs. Recycling generates $236 billion in revenue and costs $37 billion in payroll annually. While there are other costs, the remaining $199 billion should more than cover all of those.

We now know that recycling is good for the environment and the economy. How can you go about recycling?

Unless you are a new resident, you probably already know that recycled materials are collected bi-weekly in Las Vegas. You can put your cans and plastic bottles in your red basket, paper products in your white basket, glass bottles in your blue basket, and cardboard products should be placed next to your baskets. If you have materials that are not collected curbside, we here at Re-New Recycling will help you with those. We accept metal products (brass, copper, appliances, and more), electronics (computers, monitors, and more), and a host of other products. After you bring us your recyclable materials, you’ll walk away with some cash. You can find more about what we recycle here. Just remember, whether you are putting materials out by the curb or taking them to us, doing so is a great benefit to Las Vegas’ environment and economy!