Blog & Social

On the DIY Network series Garage Gold, cameras follow along as Kraig Bantle and his family manage their business: Garage Brothers. For years, this Raleigh-based company has helped Triangle community members clean out their garages, attics, and storage units...for free. So what's the catch? The Bantle family earns a living by selling, recycling, or donating the unwanted items they've cleaned out - one person's trash really is another's treasure!


Members of the Garage Brothers team will appear at the Raleigh Home Show on Saturday and Sunday to share behind-the-scenes insights - plus they'll have a pop-up sale at the show, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting Southlight Health.

With spring on its way, now is the perfect time to take a page from the Garage Brothers' book and consider making recycling part of your spring cleaning process. Here are some fun recycling facts from the Garage Brothers' website.

Recycling Facts

• The average American throws away 3.5 pounds of trash per day.
• The average American uses 650 pounds of paper per year.
• One ton of paper from recycled pulp saves 17 trees, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 7,000 gallons of water, 4,200 kWh (enough to heat a home for half a year), 390 gallons of oil, and prevents 60 pounds of air pollution.
• Producing recycled white paper creates 74% less air pollution, 35% less water pollution, and 75% less processed energy than producing paper from virgin fibers.
• Recycling one ton of cardboard saves over 9 cubic yards of landfill space.
• The number of landfills in operation in 1978 was 14,000; in 1988 it was 7,924; in 2001 it was 1,858; in 2006 it was 1,754.
• Recycling one ton of newspaper saves 15 trees.
• Every ton of newspaper recycled saves 4,100 kWh or enough energy to power a TV for 31 hours.
• Recycling a soda can saves 96% of the energy used to make a can from ore and produces 95% less air pollution and 97% less water pollution.
• One gallon of oil, when reprocessed, can generate enough energy to meet the electricity needs of a home for half a day.
• The plastic used in one toner cartridge contains about a half quart of oil.

Don't miss the Garage Brothers team at the Raleigh Home Show. The home and garden event of the season takes over the Raleigh Convention Center February 13 - 15, 2015. Don't have tickets yet? Buy them ahead of time to get the best deals and avoid box office lines - right now you can get 2-for-1 tickets on Facebook.

FEBRUARY 13 - 15, 2015.
RALEIGH CONVENTION CENTER