LOOK WHAT YOU DID! 
Every ton of paper products recycled spares 17 trees from being cut down to make new paper products
Together we recycled 1,907 tons of paper allowing 32,419 trees to remain standing and continue the important environmental work trees are designed to do.
We give little thought to the truth that without our trees, this planet would not be able to support life! Here are some of the amazing gifts trees provide:
- Trees produce oxygen. One mature leafy tree will produce as much oxygen as 10 people inhale in a year.
- Trees absorb and lock away carbon dioxide in its wood, roots, and leaves.
- Trees cleanse the air by absorbing pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon dioxide.
- Trees also absorb chemicals and other pollutants from our soil, storing them away or actually changing them into less harmful forms.
- Trees filter, store or digest pollutants from water.
- Storm runoff is reduced due to tree and plant roots binding the soil. Their leaves also help break fhte force of wind and rain on the soil.
Did you know tropical forests contain about 50% of the known species in the world? There are living things that science hasn't even discovered yet!
Did you also know that 50% of the world's medicines come from the plant kingdom? 70% of the 3,000 plants identified as active against cancer cells are found in the rainforest. Yet we are losing our rainforests at a rate of 1.5 acres every second!
We can play a large part in protecting our trees and forests by recycling every paper product possible and purchasing items with recycled paper content.
For more information on how to recycle in the City of Athens click HERE. For information on recycling in Limestone County click HERE. You may also call the Recycling Hotline at 256-233-8000.