RecycleMania Climate Impacts

The 58.6 million pounds of material recycled during RecycleMania 2008 prevented greenhouse gas emissions of 25,342 metric tons of carbon equivalent (MTCE) from entering the atmosphere. This equates to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions that is approximately equivalent to:

• 15,439 passenger cars not driven for one year


• 9,568,241 gallons of gasoline


• 196,038 barrels of oil


• 11,165 household electricity use for one year (number of households)


• 588 acres of forest preserved from deforestation


• 2,161,441 tree seedlings grown for 10 years

For more background information on the climate/waste connection and how these equivalencies are calculated, visit the Climate Campaign section of the WasteWise Web site.