AAVR Magazine

Going Green – Recycling: My Favorite R

In my last Going Green article I talked about simple ways to change your electrical habits to help the environment, and save you money. Today I want to talk about something that I have been hearing about since I was a little kid in elementary school, but only today really see people and companies following the rules. I am talking about Recycling.

Recycle

There are many things that we use every day that many of use just throw away, even though they can be recycled. The ironic part is that some products that we don’t recycle are ones that we are consuming to try and be healthy. I’m of course talking about water bottles. Bottled water has become huge in the past couple of years, and so has its impact on the environment. From the web site AllAboutWater.org:

According to a 2001 report of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), roughly 1.5 million tons of plastic are expended in the bottling of 89 billion liters of water each year.

That was in 2001, I can only imagine that the number has grown. Some companies are redesigning their bottles to use less plastic, but they are still using mind-blowing amounts of bottles. And what do I see all the time? People just throwing them in the garbage. At least soda bottles have the chance that someone is going to dig them out of the trash for the money, but not water bottles. Listen here people, drinking water is a great idea and is healthy, but let’s keep the planet healthy has well. At home, but your water bottles in the recycling bin, and at work, do the same thing. Encourage your friends and co-workers as well. And you can also try to stop buying bottled water. Go out and by a water bottle and a filter system. This saves production energy and waste material.

But wait, there are more than just plastic bottles to be recycled. In fact, every town that has a recycling program has a list of material that you can but in your plastic bin. Cans, bottles, newspapers, magazines, cardboard… well, these are the basics, but each town is different and they are always expanding, so be sure to check it out on a regular basis. I would recommend that once a year you should see what materials your town recycles. But wait, there is even more than what can go in that bin, and should definitely NOT go in the garbage. Things like batteries and electronics should not be thrown in your garbage. Instead, you can find places that will take these items. Many computer companies like Dell will actually take away your old computer for recycling when you buy a new one for a low fee. Some electronics and office stores will take your batteries, which if thrown in the landfill will leak their acid and then that will end up back in our drinking water. And if you are in a small office, there are companies that will come and pick up your electronic waste.

Of course, all the recycling in the world doesn’t mean anything if you don’t start supporting recycled products. Consider purchasing recycled paper for your printer and your kids school note books. In the home purchase paper goods made from recycled paper products. In our house we have started using toilet paper made from recycled material from Seventh Generation. Consider for a second that when you buy toilet paper, you are buying a product made from trees that were cut down with the sole purpose of wiping your but. Think about that for a minute… Now doesn’t it seem silly to have a product made from trees to just wipe your but and then go down the drain? Instead, but Seventh Generation toilet paper, and at least the toilet paper was a newspaper, or someone’s college essay before it wiped your but.

Even though it may have been a buzz word in school growing up, today it is becoming a serious business. Recycling isn’t just good for the environment, but it’s also good for the economy. An entire industry has been created around recycling and there are several others that now depend on recycled goods. Please don’t let recycling stop, but help to make it grow. The resources on this planet are limited and we need to take care of good old mother earth.

Bookmark to: