Keep Miami Beautiful: For Kids

Facts & Tips

Interesting Recycling Facts:

  •  Hotels will create 1.5 pounds of solid waste per day per room.
  • 1 ton of solid waste is equal to 3.5 cubic yards of solid waste.
  • Each person produces 3.5 pounds of solid waste per day.
  • One three foot stack of newspapers is equal to one tree, approximately 30 feet tall.
  • One three foot stack of newspaper weighs 100 pounds.
  • To make one ton of virgin paper uses 17 trees (3 2/3 acres of forest).
  • 62,860 trees must be cut to provide pulp for a single edition of the Sunday New York Times.
  • Recycling one aluminum can saves the energy equivalent to one cup of gasoline.
  • A steel mill can reduce its water pollution 76% and mining wastes 97% using scrap metal, such as steel cans, instead of iron ore.
  • In the summer, nearly one third of all summer waste handled by garbage haulers consists of grass clippings.
  • In the fall, leaves comprise as much as half of all waste generated by residents.
  • One dollar out of every $11 spent on groceries goes to pay for packaging.
  • 32% of all municipal waste is from packaging.

Each Year We Throw Away:

  • Enough aluminum to rebuild the entire American Airlines air fleet 71 times.
  • Enough steel to reconstruct Manhattan.
  • Enough wood and paper to heat 5 million homes for 200 years.
  • One third of all of the food we buy.

Here's how you can help.

  •  Be sure your trash goes in the trash can, not just near it.
  • Pick up after yourself at a picnic or a fast-food restaurant.
  • Do your part to help pick up trash around your home and school.
  • Never throw anything from a car or truck.
  • Always set an example by not littering, no matter where you are.

Coloring Pages