20 Reasons Why You Should Start Recycling

Recycling is fun and full of benefits for creating a greener world. It’s easy to do, and it’s one minor change in your routine that can help to change the world for the better.

At Wheels For Wishes, we practice recycling every day, with every donation we take in. Our vehicle donation program accepts donated cars, trucks, SUVs, RVs, motorcycles, or boats, and helps turn them into wishes for local children. Earned proceeds from auctioning or recycling automobiles benefit Make-A-Wish. Not only does a donated vehicle help to grant a wish for a local child, but a donated automobile can also be recycled and reused to create new vehicles.

Recycling is fun, so switch up your daily routine and start sorting your recyclables. During your spring cleaning and organizing, consider starting your recycling routine with a car donation to Wheels For Wishes, benefiting Make-A-Wish.

Facts About Recycling:

1. Steel is the most recycled material in America. Each day, approximately 100 million steel cans are used. When you recycle one ton of steel, you can save 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 50 pounds of limestone, and 1,000 pounds of coal.¹

2. Every minute, around 105,784 cans are recycled around the nation. Every minute, 350,000 new aluminum cans are produced!²

3. Recycled cans can make it back onto store shelves in as little as 60 days.²

4. Aluminum cans can be recycled over and over again. There is no limit as to how many times aluminum cans can be recycled.²

5. Aluminum cans are the most valuable recyclables for curbside recyclable programs. Beverage containers make up for less than 20 percent of items recycled and they generate up to 70 percent of the total scrap value. Recycle more aluminum cans!²

6. Four six packs of aluminum cans can hold a 4,000-pound aluminum-bodied sedan!²

7. When you recycle one aluminum can, you can save enough energy to run a television for three straight hours.²

8. Each day, around 80,000,000 Hershey’s Kisses are wrapped. This aluminum wrap is also recyclable!²

9. Aside from beverage cans, other types of aluminum can also be recycled, such as siding, gutters, storm window frames, and lawn furniture.³

10. Your vehicle donation saves oil. The vehicle recycling industry contributes to saving approximately 85 million barrels of oil each year! When vehicles are recycled, the oil is retracted and reused.³

11. The average American uses seven trees per year in paper, wood, and other products that are made from trees. This amounts to around 2-billion trees per year!³

12. Approximately 1 billion trees worth of paper are thrown away every year.³

13. When you recycle one ton of paper, air pollution is decreased by 60 pounds!³

14. The average American uses 2,500,000 plastic bottles every hour, and most of them are thrown away rather than recycled.³

15. When you recycle PET plastic, you can help build new vehicle parts. Recycled PET is used to make new grills, truck liners, bumpers, fan shrouds, seats, and wheel liners.³

16. Your recycled glass containers can end up back on store shelves in just 30 days!³

17. The average person generates over four pounds of trash every day. This adds up to almost a ton of trash per person each year. ³

18. Around 75 percent of all waste is recyclable, but we only recycle about 30 percent of it.³

19. Even though the United States only makes up for 4 percent of the world’s population, it is the No. 1 producer of garbage.³

20. Plastic bags are easier to recycle than paper bags. However, you can always ditch both and use your reusable bag instead!³

Donate Your Car To Wheels For Wishes, Benefiting Your Local Make-A-Wish

After learning how beneficial recycling is, do you have plans to recycle now? We hope so! Recycling saves time, money, and space, and it also saves lives. When you recycle a car with Wheels For Wishes, benefiting Make-A-Wish, it can be just what a child with a critical illness needs to feel hope, strength, and joy once again.

To donate a car to Wheels For Wishes, please call 1-855-278-9474 or fill out our easy online vehicle donation form. You won’t regret it, and it will help steer you in the right direction to living a greener, more eco-friendly life. Donate a car today!