RECYCLING MYTH #2: There is plenty of landfill space, so why bother. Also, landfills are safe disposal options.

Here is the National Recycling Coalition response:
- Recycling's true value comes from preventing pollution and saving natural resources and energy, not landfill space.

- Recycling is largely responsible for averting the landfill crises.

- The number of landfills in the United States is steadily decreasing - from 8,000 in 1988 to 1,858 in 2001. The capacity, however, has remained relatively constant. New landfills are much larger than in the past.

- Landfills can be major sources of groundwater pollution. For example, leachate from solid waste landfills is similar in composition to that of hazardous waste landfills.

- Municipal solid waste landfills are the largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States, accounting for about 34% of these emissions, which are a potent cause of global warming.