Or nearly 1.3 million gallons of fuel oil.
Those and other statistics point to the savings brought about by the nearly 12,000 residences and others participating in Bountiful’s recycling program through April.
The total amount of recycled materials came to 3,377 tons, says spokesperson Susan Hayward with Waste Management, which has contracted with the City of Bountiful to provide the service.
Here are some other statistics she provided that illustrate the difference recycling can make:
• 14,316,047 equivalent KW hours of electricity, or enough for annual energy needs of 1,190 homes.
• 10,131 cubic yards of landfill airspace, enough airspace to meet the annual disposal needs of a community of 12,000 Americans (who typically produce more garbage than many other nations).
• 1,251,026 gallons of oil, representing 29,700 barrels of No. 2 fuel oil, which provides enough energy to heat and cool more than 6,100 homes for one year.
• 64,848 gallons of gasoline, or enough gas for Americans to drive more than 1.8 million miles.
• 18,914,000 gallons of water, representing enough fresh water to meet the daily fresh water needs of more than 250,000 Americans.
• Those nearly 46,000 trees represents enough saved resources to produce more than 580 million sheets of newspaper.
“There is tons and tons of refuse that is now being recycled,” said Bountiful Mayor Joe Johnson. “The main thing is, we reuse material that we would otherwise send to the landfill. This lengthens the life of our landfill.
“At some time in our lives it might be closed, but if we can save another 10 or 15 years, that’s absolutely worth it. That’s a good thing,” he said.
“I worried about it initially, struggled with (the concept of) mandatory recycling. But the thing I like about mandatory is everybody has garbage, so why shouldn’t everyone do it?”
The mayor added that his recycling bin is always full to overflowing when he takes it to the curb for the every-other-week pickup.
Prior to introduction of the mandatory program in December of 2008, giant recycling bins were available at the city’s 200 West streets and sanitation facility.
Recycling bins continue to be in place at the Bountiful Landfill. They can be used to recycle such items as carpet pads, metal and steel and aluminum, among other things.
A previous voluntary recycling program had drawn only limited response and, due to high cost because of relatively low users, it was discontinued.
The mandatory program costs property owners $3.05 a month.
City officials discussed recycling for several years, off and on, before action was taken in the spring and summer of 2008. Initially, an “opt out” program was considered, where people would let city officials know if they did not want to participate.
But officials feared there would not be enough participation to keep costs relatively low.
Woods Cross was the first Davis County city to implement recycling. Centerville and Farmington have since started programs, as well. West Bountiful will begin recycling July 1.
Wasatch Integrated Waste Management District, meanwhile, unveiled its new recycling center adjacent to its Layton headquarters, 1997 E. 3500 North on June 1.
tbusselberg@davisclipper.com
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