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Economic Benefits of Recycling According to the National Recycling Coalition, the largest national nonprofit organization with members that span all aspects of waste reduction, reuse and recycling in North America, recycling in the U.S. is a $236 billion a year industry. More than 56,000 recycling anal reuse enterprises employ 1..1 million workers nationwide. ln. Minnesota alone, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency reports that the recycling industry creates 8,700 jobs directly but it is also responsible indirectly (as the "ripple effect") for an additional 1.9,000 jobs. The industry brings in $93 million in state tax revenue and creates $3.48 billion in gross estinl.ated econonl.ic activity every year? The recycling industry provides green jobs which stimulate economic growth while caring Eor the environment. Eureka Recycling has created over 100 qualiry green collar jobs in the Twin. Cities. Every employee of Eureka Recycling earns a living wage while making it possible for all of us to live a greener lifestyle in our community. As a Twin Cities company, Eureka Recycling reinvests all. of its proceeds back into the local economy of this cornrnuniry. Since 2001, we have given nearly five million dollars to the communities we serve and continue to set the standard in Minnesota Eor giving back revenue from the sale of recyclable materials. The Environmental Benefits of Roseville's Recycling Program in 2408 'There are many ..ways to calculate th.e benef is of recycling. To better explain these benefits in commonly understood terms, government agencies, research scientists and economists have created several "calculators" to translate the amounts of recycled materials collected and processed into equivalent positive societal and environmental benefits. Most recently, it has become irr~perative to measure waste reduction (and all our activities) in terms of its impact on climate change: This allows us to speak in a common language, understand the nnpact of our choices, and help us prioritize the personal and policy actions that we take. Many cities around the country work with the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) to quantify and now register the climate change impacts o£ their city. It is also important to calculate the carbon impact of waste reduction as the global effort continues to enact a carbon "cap and trade" system. In addition to climate change mitigation, there are other environmental benefits to recycling, including saving energy and protecting air quality, water qualiry, natural resources, natural beauty, habitat and hur~rian health. Some of these human health benefits are quantified in the Jeffrey Morris Calculator below. The benefits of recycling and composting In 2008, Eureka Recycling completed the report Recydin~, Cornpostirip and Greef~zlaouse Gas Reductivrrs in Minnesota to calculate and explain the significant reductions in greenhouse gases through a zero waste approach. (See Appendix F) "Recydi~iq, coi~zpostrtag, artd producer respnnsiGilrty are po~r~erf~d tools to reduce t~~rzste af~ld Therefore, ourgreefllaousegas errarssioaas. Spea~Fcal2y ira Mrtxaresota, rediacirzq our waste leas a Areerzlaoiise has reductror~r rynpact egarivalerrt to sl~~uttifig dorur~ 20°/o of our