Taking care of ourselves & our planet

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Recycle Every Day! - Recycling

The third idea Wallace suggests in her book Recycle Every Day! is to recycle. For me, this is one of the easiest things to do to make a huge difference. In our kitchen, we have a separate bin just for recyclables located right beside the trash bin. From the young age of 2, both of my kids have participated in our efforts to recycle everything we can. To this day, if they have a question about whether something can be recycled, we discuss and educate our kids.

I know it may take a bit of time to learn what all can be recycled, but I believe a little investment of time to acquire the knowledge has a big payoff. I always keep a "cheat sheet" beside our bins so I can refer to it quickly to find the answer to a questionable item.

So, I know there are still skeptics out there who believe they can't make a difference or don't want to make the effort but I hope these simple facts can shed some light and motivate everyone to recycle every day!!!

Here are some interesting facts about plastic milk jugs:

1 lb of recycled milk jugs = the energy equivalent of 3,000 AAA batteries
1 lb of recycled milk jugs = the electricity needed to power a TV for 3 whole weeks
1 lb of recycled milk jugs = the electricity needed to keep your laptop up and running for a month

Recycling Facts:

*Every 90 days a recycled aluminum can makes its way back on the shelf as something useful.
*80-100 years: that's the lifespan of an aluminum can that gets tossed into the trash instead of a recycling bin.
*700 years: that's how long a trashed plastic bottle will sit in a landfill taking up space and refusing to degrade.
*1 Million Years: Put a glass bottle in a landfill and that's how long it'll sit there doing nothing.

Products Made from Recycled Bottles and Cans:

PLASTIC
T-shirts: Fourteen 20 oz. plastic bottles yield enough fiber for an extra large T-shirt.
Carpet: It takes fourteen 20 oz. plastic bottles to make one square foot of carpet.
Fleece Sweater: It takes sixty-three 20 oz. plastic bottles to make a sweater.
Jacket Fiberfill: Fourteen 20 oz. plastic bottles yield enough fiberfill for a ski jacket.
Sleeping Bag Fiberfill: It takes eighty-five 20 oz. plastic bottles to make enough fiberfill for a sleeping bag.

GLASS
Glassware
New glass containers
Decorative home décor
Fiberglass Insulation
Tile

ALUMINUM
Picture frames
Decorative home décor: Bowls, vases, etc.
Baseball bats

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,

Nothing is going to get better. It's not."

~ Dr. Seuss, from The Lorax

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