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Report messy trash or trash out early to the Allentown Health Bureau at 610-437-7759. |
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Recycling is the collection,
processing and incorporation of materials into new products. The recycling
logo, with the three chasing arrows, portrays "closed loop recycling"
whereby materials like aluminum, glass and steel are recycled back into
themselves again and again.
Americans
generate approximately 5 pounds of trash, per person, per day.
The less trash (and recyclable items) we send to landfills, the better!
Allentown's
trash goes to a landfill. Today's "sanitary" landfills are better
than the old town dumps which polluted the land and water. Landfills are
lined with clay and plastic and have systems to remove runoff and toxic
liquids. Once a landfill is full, it is capped with a plastic liner. Air
and water cannot reach the trash, and as a result, there is little decomposition
of trash in most landfills.
Despite the improvement
over dumps, landfills are not an ideal disposal solution. Landfills use
irreplaceable land, emit air and water pollutants, and may someday leak.
They are very large and expensive to build and operate.
Also, according to
the EPA,
landfills are the single source of methane gas, a greenhouse gas, which
contributes to global warming and climate change.
Reduce,
Reuse, Recycle!
Recycling Saves
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scarce
and irreplaceable natural resources. |
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energy.
Recycling paper reduces energy usage by 50% and by 95% for aluminum. |
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the
environment by reducing air and water pollution caused by mining,
logging, manufacturing and landfilling. |
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landfill
space reducing the need for more landfills. |
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trash
collection and disposal costs of $90 - $120 per ton. |
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