WHY RECYCLE ? Every ton of paper recycled saves 17 trees, 7000 gallons of water 4,100 kilowatts of electricity and frees up 3.3 cubic yards of space in our landfills. Americans throw away enough office and writing paper annually to build a wall 12 feet high stretching from Los Angeles to New York. Every day American businesses generate enough paper to circle the Earth 20 times. Every year each American household receives an average of 1.5 tree's growth of bulk mail advertising — commonly known as "junk mail." Recycling reduces the amount of environmental degradation and saves resources. Recycling conserves natural resources including forest lands reducing the need for mining and drilling activities disrupting habitats. Recycling reduces the amount of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere. Recycling uses less energy than processing virgin materials, thereby reducing the amount of carbon dioxide released from burning coal, oil and natural gas. Recycling produces more jobs by benefiting local governments through waste management and encourages businesses to become innovative in product manufacturing and design using recycled materials.