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ARS's recovery of recyclable materials from the FLL waste stream has yielded many significant environmental and economic benefits. In this section we outline some of these benefits.

• It takes around 17 mature trees to produce 1 ton of paper fiber. ARS recycled 800 tons of paper in 2004, which translates to a savings of about 13,500 trees for the year and over160,000 trees since we began operations. Manufacturing 1 ton of paper from trees also requires 360 pounds of salt cake, 216 pounds of lime, and 76 pounds of soda ash. ARS has therefore avoided the need to use 260 tons of these other resources in 2004. Moreover, each ton of paper recycled saves about 7,000 gallons of water that would be needed to process tree pulp into paper fiber. This means ARS reduced demand for water by more than 5.5 million gallons last year, with associated reductions in the demand for chemicals needed to treat the water.
About 5 wood pallets can be produced from the typical tree. ARS recovered around 3,100 useable pallets in 2004 and distributed them for re-use. This translates to a savings of about 620 trees in 2004 and over 6,500 trees since we began operations. We also recovered a large number of badly damaged pallets and provided them for mulch production and other uses.
• Recycling 1 ton of aluminum prevents the need to mine about 4.4 tons of bauxite ore. ARS recycled 45.1 tons of aluminum in 2004, which translates to a reduction of roughly 200 tons of mined bauxite ore. Producing 1 ton of aluminum from bauxite also requires production of around 1,020 pounds of petroleum coke, 966 pounds of soda ash, and 238 pounds of lime. Thus, ARS has also helped avoid the need to produce 50 tons of these raw materials last year.
Recycling 1 ton of steel prevents the need for about 2,000 pounds of iron ore, 1,400 pounds of coal, 800 pounds of petroleum coke, and 450 pounds of lime. ARS recycled approximately 46 tons of steel at FLL in 2004. This translates to a savings of 46 tons of raw iron ore, 32 tons of coal, 18 tons of petroleum coke, and 10 tons of lime. These reductions in mining burden also reduced impacts to the land, air and water.
• Recycling 1 ton of glass saves around 1.2 tons of other resources, including 433 pounds of soda ash, 433 pounds of limestone, 1,330 pounds of sand, and 151 pounds of feldspar. In 2004, ARS recycled 50 tons of glass, thereby reducing the consumption of these mineral resources by a total of about 60 tons. This reduction in mining, in turn, reduced impacts to the environment.

• Recycling 1 ton of paper saves the same amount of energy as is provided by about 200 gallons of crude oil -- enough to heat the average U.S. house for months. ARS recovered 800 tons of paper materials in 2004. This translates to a savings of approximately 160,000 gallons of oil.
Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV set for several hours. Recycling 1 ton of aluminum saves the equivalent in energy of approximately 1,350 gallons of oil - the total energy used by a typical home over two years. ARS recycled 45.1 tons of aluminum in 2004, which amounts to an energy savings equivalent to about 61,000 gallons of oil.
• Recycling 1 ton of steel saves the energy equivalent of about 100 gallons of oil. ARS recycled approximately 46 tons of steel at FLL in 2004. This translates to an energy savings equivalent to about 4,600 gallons of oil.
Plastics are made from oil. Recycling 1 ton of plastic saves the equivalent of roughly 500 gallons of oil. ARS recycled approximately 38 tons of plastics in 2004, thereby saving the equivalent of about 19,000 gallons of oil.
• Recycling 1 ton of glass saves the equivalent in energy of about 10 gallons of oil. ARS recycled about 60 tons of glass in 2004, translating to an energy savings of around 580 gallons of oil.

In total, ARS's recycling program has saved the nation enough energy in 2004 to reduce demand for oil by around 245,000 gallons. Moreover, since beginning operations in 1989, we have saved the energy equivalent of several million gallons of oil. Thus, ARS -- and the companies participating in our program -- are helping to reduce the U.S. dependence on foreign oil. This, in turn, helps keep fuel costs lower for the airlines and their passengers.

• Burning I ton of paper generates about 1,500 pounds of carbon dioxide gas and 60 pounds of other air pollutants. By diverting 800 tons of paper from the incinerator in 2004, ARS has prevented the emission of over 1.1 million pounds of carbon dioxide and around 48,000 pounds of other air pollutants. At the same time, the 14,150 trees saved by ARS's recycling of paper and pallets will absorb over 200,000 pounds of CO2 from the atmosphere, filter tons of other pollutants from the air, and give off over 2 million pounds of oxygen. Manufacturing I ton of paper from tree pulp also generates around 84 pounds of air pollutants, 36 pounds of water pollutants, and 176 pounds of solid wastes. Thus, in 2004 ARS helped prevent around 67,000 pounds of paper manufacturing air pollutants, as well as 170,000 pounds of liquid and solid waste pollutants.
By diverting 80 tons of pallets from the incinerator in 2004, ARS prevented the emission of 116,000 pounds of carbon dioxide and several tons of other air pollutants.
• Recycling aluminum generates 95% less air pollution and 97% less water pollution than producing aluminum from bauxite ore. In fact, making 1 ton of aluminum from bauxite gives off around 2,900 pounds of carbon dioxide and 81 pounds of other air pollutants. By recycling 45.1 tons of aluminum in 2004, ARS reduced CO2 emissions by approximately 131,000 pounds and also eliminated 3,660 pounds of other air pollutants, including sulfur dioxide. In addition, making 1 ton of aluminum from bauxite requires the treatment and disposal of 3,290 pounds of red mud and 290 pounds of other solid wastes. Accordingly, ARS helped avoid the generation of over 160,000 pounds of these other waste products in 2004.
Compared to producing steel from raw iron ore, recycling steel reduces air pollution by about 86% and reduces water pollution by around 76%. In particular, producing 1 ton of steel from raw iron ore produces around 538 pounds of solid wastes and 42 pounds of air pollutants. ARS recycled 46 tons of steel in 2004, thereby eliminating the generation of 24,500 pounds of solid wastes and 2,000 pounds of air pollution.
• Each ton of glass produced from raw materials generates about 384 pounds of mining waste and 8 pounds of air pollutants. By recycling 50 tons of glass in 2004, ARS has helped prevent the production of over 20,000 pounds of mining waste and over 450 pounds of air pollutants.
Burning 1 gallon of oil gives off about 20 pounds of CO2 gas. ARS's recycling program reduced the need for energy equivalent to the burning of 245,000 gallons of oil in 2004. This translates to a reduction of about 4.9 million pounds of CO2 emissions over the year.

These various "hidden benefits" of the ARS program in 2004 are summarized in Table 1 below. It must be kept in mind, however, that these figures only reflect a portion of the overall environmental benefits made possible by the ARS program; the total benefits are actually greater than indicated in Table 1. For instance, we ignored the reduction in dioxins and other toxic pollutants that would have been generated from incinerating all the plastics we removed from the waste stream in 2004. Similarly, although we accounted for saving 5.5 million gallons of water that would have been required to produce 800 tons of paper from tree pulp, we ignored the energy that would have been required to treat and pump this water, the CO2 emissions associated with that energy burden, and the chemicals that would have been needed for water treatment, We also ignored the tons of hazardous waste ash that would have been generated by incinerating the 2.2 million pounds of natural resources we extracted from the waste stream. Nevertheless, the figures presented in Table 2 reveal a domino effect whereby a reduction in the demand for raw natural resources -- made possible by recycling -- results in a cascade of other significant environmental benefits. Table 2 contains projections of some of the cumulative environmental benefits provided by the ARS recycling program at FLL since we began operations in 1989.

TABLE 1: ESTIMATED ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF THE ARS PROGRAM IN 2004

TABLE 2: ESTIMATED CUMULATIVE BENEFITS OF THE ARS PROGRAM 1989-2004