Question

A community reported the following recycling rates:

Aluminum cans 38 ton/yr
Corrugated cardboard 152 ton/yr
Glass 38 ton/yr
Magazines 232 ton/yr
PET plastic 45 ton/yr
Newspaper 335 ton/yr
(a) Find the annual energy savings for society created by this program.
(b) If energy is valued at $4.5 per million Btu, what is the annual dollar savings society would realize as a result of this recycling program?
(c) Find the equivalent greenhouse gas savings associated with these recycled materials assuming they would have all gone to a landfill if they hadn’t been recycled.
(d) If there is a carbon tax of $10 per metric ton of carbon dioxide, how much would this community save a year in carbon taxes?

Answer 1

part a

A ton of soda cans made with recycled aluminum saves an amazing 21,000 KWH

Recycling one ton of cardboard: Saves 390 kWh of energy

Recycling one ton of glass: Saves 42 kWh of energy

Recycling one ton of newsprint: Saves 601 kWh of energy

Recycling one ton of paper: Saves 4,100 kWh of energy

Recycling one ton of plastic: Saves 5,774 kWh energy

Toat energy saved= 38*21000 + 152*390 + 38*42 + 4100*232 + 45*5774 + 601*335

= 2271241 KWH per year is saved

part b

22712141 KWH = 7749.795975 million BTU

annual dollar saving = 7749.795975* 4.5 = 34874.082 dollar per year

part c

Glass Saves 7.5 pounds of air pollutants per ton from being released

magazine and newspaper Saves 60 pounds of air pollutants being released

Aluminum : 340 pounds of pollutants per ton

cardboard 7.2 pounds per ton of polluants

plastic : 75 punds per ton pollutants

toatal air pollutant saved = 38*340 + 152*7.2 + 75*75 + 7.5*38 + 60*567

= 53944.4 tons of pollutants

part d

tax saved = 10 * 53944.4 = 539444 dollars