Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

National Recycles Day is recognized on November 15th and the perfect opportunity to raise awareness to the many benefits of recycling. 

 

While the concept of recycling can be dated back to centuries ago, there are clear environmental and economic impacts when recycling today. 

 

In 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released significant findings on the economic benefits of the recycling industry with an update to the national Recycling Economic Information (REI) Study. The study found that in a single year, recycling and reuse activities in the United States accounted for, 681,000 jobs, $37.8 billion in wages and $5.5 billion in tax revenues. This equates to 1.17 jobs for every 1,000 tons of materials recycled.

 

In addition to the economic incentives of recycling, it also works to reduce land, air, and water pollution that contribute to environmental degradation. The potential environmental benefits of recycling include:
 

• Reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators
• Conserving natural resources such as timber, water, and minerals
• Preventing pollution by reducing the need to collect new raw materials
• Saving energy from further manufacturing production