Those bins you set out by the curb once a week, along with other recycling efforts nationwide, help to generate about 757,000 jobs, according to the EPA, which has crunched the numbers to show the value of recycling. In 2007 (the agency used the most recent census data for its study), those jobs accounted for $36.6 billion in wages and $6.7 billion in tax revenues. That equates to 1.57 jobs for every 1,000 tons of materials recycled.
The national recycling rate has more than quadrupled from 7 to 34 percent since 1976, and the slogan Reduce, Reuse, Recycle has become a well-used phrase in American life. Recycling bins are now common in homes, schools and work places; restaurants are composting their food waste and businesses are working with communities to offer consumers reuse and recycling opportunities.