With the 40th anniversary of Earth Day right around the corner, there is not a better time to inspire awareness and respect for the earth’s environment than now. Earth Day will be celebrated on Thursday, April 22 and is always a great way to reach out and educate individuals on what they can do to help the environment. One of the easier, more common ways to help out is to simply recycle.
A majority of the population probably realizes that recycling things is good and helps the environment. If so many people are aware of this fact, then why aren’t more of us recycling? Finding time to do something that is not necessary seems to never be a priority for some people.
In this country alone, we use 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour. Why not recycle? Why not buy a reusable water bottle and get your water from filtered tap or the water cooler at work? If we recycled just one-tenth of newspapers, we could save about 25 million trees a year. Recycling is a great way to help protect the environment, and honestly, it will not take up much time; only a few minutes a day can make a big difference.
The first thing you can do is start collecting your plastic bottles, cans and glass. Some communities will pick up your recycling for you every week, so it really does not take much time at all. You can also save any cardboard you have along with your newspapers — they can be collected on a weekly or biweekly basis. Even if you stop buying so much junk, you can make a difference. If you start shopping smarter and reduce the amount of plastic you buy, you will already reduce the amount of garbage you produce. Buy in bulk, that way you can reduce the amount of packaging that just gets tossed out.
Another great idea: Don’t forget to reuse! Paper, plastic, glass and cans are not the only things that should avoid landfills. You can reuse food scraps for composting materials. Donate old clothes to shelters or thrift stores. You should make it a habit to carry your own reusable bags to local stores, and try to keep a mug on you for coffee or water at work rather than using foam cups.
Most cities recycle aluminum, steel, newspapers, glass, cardboard and even leaf waste. Every other week they will pick up your recyclables for you — all you have to do is take your recyclables to the curb. There are also drop-off sites that are located throughout towns and cities. Although not as convenient as a pickup service, it’s still great to provide the community with a place to take recyclables.
Taking small steps is important when it comes to saving our environment. When communities come together and individuals do their part, you will begin to see the quality of life in the area get better. There are great advantages when it comes to recycling. It helps to limit the amount of glass, paper and plastic that must be produced. Recycling ultimately keeps less garbage in landfills because it’s being reused. Recycling also can add more jobs to the community and in general make people environmentally aware.
If we can all come together and do our part, we can help the economy and the environment. For more information on recycling locally, go to the Pennsylvania Recycling Page: www.dep.state.pa.us, and click on “waste.”
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