This section of the Palmer Township web site is devoted to the proper disposal of municipal waste and recyclables by residents and businesses. These procedures and policies meet the regulations developed by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. These procedures and policies have been developed by the Environmental Steering Committee and approved by the Board of Supervisors. In an article in the August 4, 2008 Business Week titled Cash For Trash the author writes about the money saving of energy that is tied to recyclables. "As the prices of oil and raw materials rise, recycled products become more attractive. Consider that 8% of global oil production is siphoned off to make plastic each year. Recycled plastic, however, requires 80% less energy to produce. Recycled aluminum burns up 95% less energy. Recycled iron and steel use 74% less, while paper requires 64% less. The money piles up quickly: one ton of recycled aluminum saves an average of $700 in electricity. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that if the recycling rate were to increase by just five points, to 35%, this would save the equivalent of almost 2 billion gallons of gasoline annually." Therefore, recycling can not only save space in landfills, thus saving money, but can also be a very large player in saving energy allowing our country to move a little closer to energy independence versus energy dependence. So working harder to bring the percent of recycling up we can do our part in making this happen. The Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania publishes a number of papers and fact sheets pertaining to recycling of many types of materials. This site can answer many questions on recycling and it is suggest the you visit the site to see what is available. There are a number of interesting reports that have been published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Municipal Solid Waste and Recycling. These reports include:
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