Research Final: Cleaning Up: Lets Recycle!

“Cleaning Up: Lets Recycle!”

by: Kimberlyn Sheldon

ENGLISH 213

FINAL

We, as the caretakers of our earth, must take seriously these three simple words: reduce, reuse, recycle. Many people believe that these three vital steps to improving our living and our world, are neither important nor very successful. What is reducing, reusing, and recycling exactly? Well to begin reducing, simply means to make less the amount of disposable products used in everyday life. This does not necessarily have to be a very dramatic change, all it takes to contribute to the silent movement is gradual and a clear decision to make an effort to become more aware of the waste produced by yourself. Reusing is a pretty self-descriptive word. People can make use of things that are made to reuse, things like sturdy grocery bags that would replace plastic ones. Plastic bags can even be reused for numerous jobs around the house, or in stores. The last “R” in the environmentally friendly steps, is recycle. Recycling is made easy for many people in cities and suburbs. There are many facilities that take recyclable trash, and some places even offer money for things like cans and plastic bottles. Some neighborhoods have programs that allow you to separate waste from recyclable items. The recycle-friendly trash is picked up weekly, this is probably the most convenient way to live a “green” life. For people, like myself, who live in secluded areas that have very little or even no existing recycling projects available, a simpler version of recycling could be used. This could be reusing items in creative and useful ways, this would help you save money and become more efficient. Although many people think that it does not matter if they do not reduce, reuse, and recycle they are wrong because, reusing items such as water bottles save money, recycling waste saves the environment, such as trees, and the world will be a little bit less polluted and degraded.

Many Americans today feel that their own lives are much too hectic to be bothered with silly things such as recycling.They do not see the overall positive impact their contributions, no matter how small, to the green movement could have on our environment and country. In some areas of the country recycling would cost more and use more energy than creating a new product. Other towns and villages do not even provide the equipment, or resources necessary to begin a recycling program. Many people are not informed of the ways creating a huge amount of waste has on the world around them. Trees are cut down, cities are littered with stray garbage, and our oceans are filled with waste that contaminates sea life. Too much waste is being distributed in our world, every effort to clean it up counts.

Mortality rates go up along with the pollution rates. The highest mortality levels occur when the hottest, but not the most polluted, air mass is present in each city (Smoyer 1.) In 2009, Americans generated about 243 million tons of trash and recycled and composted 82 million tons of this material, equivalent to a 33.8 percent recycling rate (Municipal Solid Waste Generation 1.) Although statistics show that the amount of people recycling is becoming higher and higher, there are still dramatic changes that need to happen in order for this country to become more environmentally friendly. The average person creates 4.5 pounds of trash per day, and over 1.5 tons of waste per year (Greenwaste.) The EPA states that 75% of waste is recyclable, but only about 30% of that waste is actually recycled. According to Greenwaste,

In 2004, 55 billion aluminum cans were landfilled, littered or incinerated, that’s 9 billion more than were wasted in 2000. This is enough cans to fill the Empire State Building twenty times. It is also a quantity equivalent to the annual production of three to four major primary aluminum smelters.

These statistics are both disturbing, and sad. Together, as a country, the people of The United States should invest more time and money into reducing, reusing, and recycling. There are lots of ways to change the statistics to more positive ones. Finding ways to recycle is as easy as typing “recycling” into the Google search engine and clicking “enter”.

There are many organizations today that dedicate all their time and money to utilizing the three Rs: reduce, reuse, and recycle. It is as simple as searching on Google, or Bing to find hundreds of worthy causes that go towards making our world cleaner. Most websites accept donations to help fund their causes, others give you the option of creating an account with them. After the account is made, the person is able to send in recyclable items, some sites even accept waste that was previously non-recyclable. The action of reusing non-recyclable waste, is called “up-cycling”. Terracycle.net is one example of a website organization that will accept waste for upcycling. The website sells recycled and upcycled products, accepts waste, and accepts donations that go toward projects run by the organization.

Now days there are even ways for teenagers and kids to get involved in living the green life. Many schools have different trash bins for recyclable items and waste. Parents and teachers could also get together to begin a recycling program in their school, this would allow both students and their parents to make a difference.

For people wanting to get rid of large items such as, wood, drywall, roofing, concrete etc., www.lautenbachrecycling.com is the perfect place. The website takes large items out of your hands and recycles them. People are able to drop off the items at their sites, or send them in. All the projects are listed on the site and it is easy to contact the organization. Projects like this allow all people to recycle. There are so many ways to help our environment, no one can have an excuse not to get involved.

There are lots of ways to utilize the three Rs, some examples would be: using a water filter system in the place of store bought bottles of water, reducing the amount of disposable items you buy daily, and even purchasing merchandise that is completely made of recycled items. There are lots of websites that offer tips and even a quick and simple way to get rid of waste in a healthy way. Many of these sites require a membership, which is relatively easy to set up. This would be a great way for rural Alaskans, like myself, to contribute to the cleaning and conserving of our world and resources. People living in the city have much more recycling opportunities, even the car that a person chooses to drive can have a positive impact. Putting the car away and pulling out the bicycle and helmet would not only help clean up our air, it would also help with getting in shape and creating a healthier life. There are numerous options that allow everyday citizens to take part in the global movement towards a better world.

Reusing everyday items may be the most important of the “Three Rs.” There are many ways to reuse everyday items that helps save money and save wildlife. Things such as plastic store bags can be used as trash bags for small garbage cans. Seeds from fruits and vegetables can be planted in order to grow food right in the comfort of home. Things such as unwanted pens and pencils can be donated to local schools. Clothes are easily reused by donating them to a charity. Everyday people have endless options when it comes to living “green.” Search new ideas through Google, ask a friend or start a recycling/reusing group of your own!

No person can make the excuse that they simply cannot take part in a cleaner world. Even people living in tiny villages are able to make the smallest contribution, such as picking up trash they see on the ground and getting more people to help. Picking up the litter does not cost any money, and it prevents wildlife from trying to consume this trash, not to mention the earth looks a lot prettier litter free. If everyone does their part to reduce the amount of waste they produce, reuse handy items they might throw away, and recycle waste, the world will become a much better place. The oceans will be cleaner, whales decontaminated, fish healthy, and trees will thrive. If you think you cannot, will not, or are not able to help with a cleaner earth, you are very mistaken.

Works Cited:

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Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2009. (2009). EPA.Received

from http://www.epa.gov/

Smoyer, K. E., Kalkstein, L. S., Greene, J. S. and Ye, H. (2000), The impacts of weather and pollution on human mortality in Birmingham, Alabama and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. International Journal of Climatology, 20: 881–897. doi: 10.1002/1097-0088(20000630)20:83.0.CO;2-V

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