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Our Litter & Its Decomposition Time:

Glass Bottles/Jars 1,000,000 years
Aluminum Cans 80-100 years
Rubber Boot Soles 50-80 years
Leather Items up to 50 years
Nylon Material 30-40 years
Plastic Bags/Disposable Diapers 10-20 years
Plastic Coated Paper 5 years
Wool Cap 1-5 years
Cigarette Butts 1-5 years
Orange and Banana Peels 2-5 weeks
Newspaper 2-4 weeks
(47)

An average American uses 8 times the natural resources of the average
world citizen and produces 5 times the air pollution of the average
world citizen. (60)

The world's forests are being destroyed at the rate of 1 acre per
second. Every 16 minutes, a forest the size of New York's Central Park
is destroyed. Every day, a forest the size of Philadelphia (74,000
acres) is lost, and every year, an area the size of Pennsylvania (27
million acres) is ruined. (12, 60)

To date, scientists have named 1.4 million species plants and animals,
but estimate that between 5-30 million share our planet. Tropical rain
forests, which are home to about half of all the Earth's plant and
animal species, are being destroyed at the rate of 100 acres per
minute. (56)

Rechargeable batteries cost more than disposable batteries, but they
save money in the long run because they can be recharged up to 1,000
times! If you take care of them, they can last up to 10 years! (41)

In the United States, about 1.5 million tons of used automotive
(lead-acid) batteries are generated annually and about 96% of
automotive batteries are recycled each year. (62)

Sixty percent of the world's lead supply comes from recycled car
batteries. (21)

Audits conducted by students in Brown University's environmental
studies program show that the school can save more than $40,000 a year
just by replacing the incandescent bulbs in exit signs with fluorescent
bulbs, Installing low-flow shower heads in dormitories would save
another $44,000. (32)

In 1993, a curbside bin of recyclables was worth $46 per ton. In 1995,
a curbside bin of recyclables was worth $165 per ton - an increase of
259%. (29)

We pay more for food packaging than we pay the American farmer for
growing food. (54)

The 64-store Purity Supreme supermarket chain in Bedford, MA, has
opened "green checkout lanes" that are open only to customers who bring
their own bags to the store. (35)

In a supervised project, Boulder County, Colorado dumped over 5,000 old
Christmas trees on the bottoms of nearby lakes. Sound strange? It's an
ecological benefit, the trees shelter fish and attract bugs for them to
eat. (21)

In a long-term research program at the State University of New York at
Stony Brook, ash fabricated into concrete blocks is being used for
artificial reefs. (4)

1991 study by Carnegie Mellon predicted that 25 million personal
computers would be landfilled worldwide by 1995, and this number would
increase to 150 million--enough to fill an acre-wide hole three and a
half mites deep-by the year 2005. (42)

At about $500 million, the cost of building an incinerator is three
times that of recycling facilities that can handle the same amount of
trash. (66)