Reasons to Recycle

Every two weeks Massachusetts residents and businesses throw away enough recyclable paper to fill Fenway Park.... In a year we throw away 1.5 million tons of paper which costs us a staggering $100 million.  Recycling paper provides significant environmental benefits.  Want to reduce global warming? Recycle!  It’s a small, easy step that makes a big difference.

What does 1.5 million tons of paper look like?
Imagine a major league ballpark – filled to overflowing with a mound of paper 250 yards high.Horrifying, isn’t it? Yet that’s how much paper we waste in our Commonwealth.

Why is all this paper going in the trash, at great cost to our municipal budgets and environment?

It isn’t just newspapers anymore...
Maybe people don’t realize that almost every scrap of paper can be recycled. Or maybe people think it takes too much effort, they aren’t organized or it doesn’t matter. A good rule of thumb is “If you can rip it, you can recycle it!”

Recycling & Climate Change

Recycling paper and reducing waste slows global warming by conserving natural resources, saving energy and preventing pollution. As a result of recycling all types of products in 2006, Massachusetts is estimated to have¹:

• Reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 2.4 million metric tons of carbon equivalent (MTCE)² per year
• Saved nearly 100 trillion BTUs of energy, equivalent to the annual energy consumption of 17 million barrels of oil or nearly 803 million gallons of gasoline
• Saved nearly 1.8 million tons of iron ore, coal, and limestone and 474,000 tons of sand, soda ash and feldspar.

Looking for more on how recycling paper can reduce global warming, visit 

• US EPA’s General Information on the Link between Solid Waste and Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
• MassRecycle’s Why Should I Recycle?
• Produce local community results at Northeast Recycling Council (NERC)’s Environmental Benefits Calculator

What could we save if we recycled a million tons of the paper that we throw away in Massachusetts?
Each year, we throw away 1.5 million tons of paper in Massachusetts. What would it mean to our environment if we recycled just two-thirds of that paper instead? Using the Northeast Recycling Council’s Environmental Benefits Calculator, MassRecycle found that recycling 1 million tons of paper could

• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 930,000 metric tons of carbon equivalents (MTCE) (or over 3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents).
• Save a total of 22 trillion BTUs of energy.

What do the nearly 22 trillion BTUs of energy that we would save each year translate to?

• The amount of energy required to power 212,000 homes for one year in Massachusetts,
• The equivalent of 3.8 million barrels of oil,
• 177 million gallons of gas, or
• removing 318,000 average passenger cars off the road (or 1.6 million tons of car emissions).

What could I save in one year's time by recycling two bags of paper per week?

• The equivalent of nine trees³,
• Nearly 11.5 million BTUs of energy which equates to 92 gallons of gasoline,1
• Roughly 1 MTCEs (greenhouse gas emissions), and
• Two cubic yards of landfill space.1

Conserves Resources

Massachusetts's recycling conserves natural resources: Recycling is an important strategy in conserving the world's scarce natural resources.  Recycling reduces the need for landfills and other disposal facilities, thereby allowing local lands to be used in more environmentally preferable ways.  And, by substituting recoverable paper materials for the use of trees, recycling reduces the pressure to expand forestry production.  In fact, Massachusetts recycled 1,244,877 tons of all types of paper in 2006 and thus saved 4.1 million cubic yards of landfill space in Massachusetts.

According to Paper Industry Association Council⁴,

• Nearly 80 percent of America's paper mills use recovered fiber to make some or all of their products. Approximately 140 mills use recovered paper exclusively.
• By 2012, the paper industry hopes to recover 60 percent of the paper Americans consume

Recycling Paper Saves Money

When we throw away 1.5 million tons of paper at a cost of $100 million - we might as well be shredding money!

We face incredible costs to municipal budgets and the environment when we throw away paper. We wouldn’t throw dollar bills in the trash, but that’s what we’re doing when we throw away paper.

Communities pay an average of $75 for each ton of trash that they incinerate or send to the landfill. With rising costs stretching municipal budgets thin, shouldn’t we be putting our tax dollars to better use?

Recycled Paper is Worth Money!
Paper is a valuable commodity. Paper mills in New England and around the world are eager to buy used paper – all kinds of paper -- and give it new life. Paper mills are currently paying as much for paper as it costs to throw it away.

The Newark Group, Recycled Fibers Divisions operates a paper mill in Fitchburg that makes game boxes, cereal boxes, pizza boxes and book covers made out of recycled paper.

Jobs created by the recycling industry – from the collectors and processors to manufacturers – add significantly to the Massachusetts economy:

• 1,437 Recycling and Reuse Establishments Operate in Massachusetts, creating...
• 19,445 Jobs in Recycling and Reuse Establishments, producing...
• $3.5 Billion in Annual Sales Receipts, distributing...
• $577 Million in Annual Payroll.

Money Savings Calculator

Click here to see how much your community could save by recycling more paper!