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Ready for some cold, hard facts about recycling? Well, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) …

• From 1950-2000, the U.S. population has almost doubled. But during that same period, the U.S. population’s demand for water has multiplied more than three times. The EPA estimates that Americans now use an average of 100 gallons of water each day. That amount is enough to fill 1,600 drinking glasses!

• Do you recycle paper? Well, here are a few incentives; one ton of recycled paper saves 17 mature trees, 7,000 gallons of water, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 2 barrels of oil, AND 4,100 kilowatt-hours of electricity. These savings can provide enough energy to power typical American homes for five months!

• Have you considered installing a drip irrigation system for your lawn and garden? These systems use 20-50% less water than conventional in-ground sprinkler systems. Plus, they’ve been shown to be more efficient than conventional sprinklers. That’s because no water is lost to wind, runoff, and evaporation.

• You may want to look into installing water-efficient appliances. The EPA has found that these devices could save the nation more than three trillion gallons of water. That’s the equivalent of more than $18 billion dollars per year!

The “Green Guilt” is Growing

As you can see, recycling has its benefits, for every man, woman and child across the country. Nevertheless, a great number of the American population has yet to jump on the recycling bandwagon.

But research shows that while we may not all be doing our part for the environment, that doesn’t mean we don’t feel bad about it. Actually, studies show that in 2008, more people – especially women –felt guiltier about their poor environmental efforts than in 2007. This study was conducted by the non-profit Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC). The survey involved 525 women and 481 men.

According to the findings, about 20% of the polled Americans stated that in 2007, they felt guilty about their recycling habits, vs. 2008’s 22% level of guilt. Actually, this higher level of guilt may be a good thing. You see, this may mean that increased “green” activities may be in effect.

For instance, in 2008, 41% of those surveyed said they recycled cell phones and 37% recycled rechargeable batteries. In 2007, these numbers were 31% and 29%, respectively. In addition, 89% stated that they recycled something in 2008, compared to 2007’s 87%.

The Children Are Our Future

Those surveyed said that their main reason for recycling was the children. This suggests that the American population now understands that their actions (good or bad) will have a long-term effect. The 2008 survey shows that “green guilt” is real, and people want to get involved.

However, experts caution that this guilt can only do so much. “Green guilt certainly works for some people, but I have a concern that guilt ultimately is going to turn off more people than anything else,” states Chip Giller, president and founder of the humor/environmental website Grist.org. “Consumerism and frankly battery recycling are only going to get us so far.” Eventually, the U.S. Government will need to get involved; they’ll really need to target major polluters.

The bottom line? Whether you recycle everything or only on special occasions, every little bit helps! If you want more information about recycling and what you can do to help the environment, visit DumpsterSource.com

SOURCE: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2008-05-07-green-guilt_N.htm