Do you recycle? Learn the top 5 items and why

Number One: Aluminum Cans
Aluminum cans are not only the most frequently recycled product, but also the most profitable and the most energy efficient.  It's made from a bauxite ore, and when it's recycled, no new materials are introduced.  Cans can be recycled over and over without degrading.  Over two-thirds of all the aluminum produced is still in use today.

Recycling aluminum prevents the need to mine for ore to create new aluminum. It requires 4 tons of ore to create 1 ton of aluminum.

Recycling aluminum cans takes 95 percent less energy than creating new ones.

The energy it takes to produce one can could produce 20 recycled cans.

The energy saved from recycling one aluminum can could power a 100-watt light bulb for four hours or a television for three hours. 
For every case of soda or beer you chug and subsequently dump in the trash, you're essentially pouring an entire gallon of gasoline down the drain.

Number Two: Plastic
Plastic is downcycled, meaning that when it's recycled, it's used to create lesser value materials like fleece or lumber, but requires 70 percent less energy to recycle than to produce from virgin materials.  Did you know that plastic can only be recycled once.  So be mindful and recycle and re-use.

Number Three: Glass
Recycling glass is 33 percent more energy efficient (and cheaper) than starting fresh and involves no downcycling.  Also re-use these items if you have them laying around your house.

Number Four: Printer Cartridges
80 percent of the United State's waste ends up in China.  The idea of our ink cartridges sitting on the bottom of a Chinese river doesn't sound too good. If you can ensure that your recyclables are going to a reputable facility, then recycle them. Otherwise, if you toss out the occasional ink cartridge or make a few free throws into the wastebasket, you may not need to beat yourself up, but think about the future.  Plus, many places will fill your used cartridges for a fraction of the price it costs to purchase a new one.

Number Five: Paper
It takes 40 percent less energy to recycle paper than it does to produce it from virgin stock -- half as much when it's newspaper. Recycling paper also prevents it from lying in a landfill.  On the other hand, paper gradually degrades during the recycling process, so it can only be recycled a few times.