Why is recycling important?

Recycling creates a more resilient economy for local businesses and residents, provides opportunities for innovation and creates a brighter, safer future for all of us, including our kids.

Recycling conserves natural resources like timber and minerals and reduces the amount of energy required to create goods. More efficient processes help to also reduce greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to adverse health impacts from air pollution and human-caused climate change.

Recycling also creates well-paying jobs in recycling and manufacturing industries.

In 2016, over 70% of landfilled materials in Franklin County could have been recycled and had a potential value of $41 million. On average, 500-600 full semi-trucks of materials are landfilled a day in Franklin County with over half of this coming from the commercial sector (businesses and multi-family housing). That means almost 400 full trucks worth of material could have been recycled.

Show All Answers

1. What's accepted for recycling?
2. What's not accepted for recycling?
3. Why can't I bag my recyclables?
4. Why is it important to flatten cardboard boxes before placing them in my container?
5. How do I recycle in my community?
6. I live in an apartment, condo or other multi-family housing unit and don't have curbside. Where can I recycle?
7. What happens during the recycling process?
8. How does a recycling facility work?
9. What's our county's recycling rate?
10. Why is recycling important?
11. I recycle everything, even if I'm not sure if it's accepted. Is this okay?
12. How do I recycle items not accepted?
13. What do I do with my yard waste?
14. How do I recycle plastic bags?
15. Is there anywhere I can recycle #5 plastics?
16. What does a recycling symbol on a product mean?
17. What do the numbers of plastics mean?
18. Why aren't napkins, paper towels, or tissues accepted for recycling?
19. Why aren't coffee cups accepted?
20. Why isn't Styrofoam accepted?
21. What do I do with prescription drugs?
22. When are pizza boxes not accepted?
23. How can I report illegal dumping and littering?
24. Why are aluminum and steel cans accepted but other metals aren't?
25. Why are beverage/food cartons accepted?
26. What's made from recycled plastic bottles?
27. What's made from recycled aluminum cans?
28. What's made from recycled glass?
29. What's made from recycled cartons?
30. I've heard of a circular economy, but what exactly does that mean?
31. I want to reduce and reuse! What should I do?
32. Why are recycling and landfill bins sometimes emptied into the same container?
33. Why are recyclables not sorted out at the landfill?