Environmentally Friendly Facts

• In 2011, the City of Fargo diverted over 81,000 tons of material from entering the City Landfill by recycling. 
• In 2011, the City of Fargo recycled over 90,000 pounds of phone books. 
• Over 82 tons of electronics waste was collected and recycled by the City of Fargo in 2011. 
• One MATBUS full of people removes up to 50 cars from the road; that’s a line of cars approximately four city blocks long.
• Since 2002, Traffic Engineering has replaced over 6,500 incandescent traffic signal light bulbs with LED traffic signal lights. These bulbs last longer and require less electricity and save the city an estimated $30,000 per year.
• In 2011, over 1,900 new street trees were planted in Fargo.
• In 2011, 13,900 fluorescent bulbs were collected by the City of Fargo.  This translates into approximately 162 grams of mercury.  A recent study shows that 1 gram of  Mercury is enough to contaminate a 20 acre lake. 
• By choosing to ride the bus, 50 people can save at least 32 gallons of gas in just one day!
• MATBUS added two hybrid fixed route buses and two hybrid paratransit buses in 2011. MATBUS plans on adding three more hybrid diesel-electric buses in 2012.
• In 2011, the Household hazardous waste facility was used by almost 7,000 households.