Week 1 - RECYCLING

Can you believe that the average American is responsible for about 4.3 pounds of garbage per day? Do the math for just one week and it's not comforting! Do the math for over a lifetime, and the amount is staggering! Put in these terms we can see why recycling came about, but ask the average person why we recycle and the general answer is: to keep our landfills from filling up thereby using more and more of our land for garbage dumps. I have found the answer to this question to be a little more complex.

We are asked to recycle for a variety of reasons, such as:

1. Saving virgin resources (like trees and mining the earth) that would be used to make new products.
2. Preventing environmental problems in landfills like ground water contamination.
3. Saving energy when using recycled materials rather than virgin materials in manufacturing, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
4. Preventing pollution.
5. Creating jobs. The recycling industry is a growing one.
6. Saving families money in those area where garbage pick-up fees, are based on how much garbage you have.

Now for the complex part, many of these reasons have been refuted on the grounds that they are not industry specific. You can follow this link, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Recycling_criticism&oldid=118955910 if you would like to read more about the criticisms of recycling. Having read the criticisms, I still think recycling is worthwhile.

That being said, I've never done it! We live outside of town and we do not have curb side pick-up (we don't even have curbs). I've always thought of it as an inconvenience. However, I have to say, I can easily drive by the Recycling Center each week as I have to go into town anyway. So, I went online and searched for our Recycling Center's website. It provided me with information on what they accept, how I should prepare it and the Center's hours.

Next, my kids and I picked up some inexpensive 5 gallon buckets and we've started collecting. I get a little excited with each item we put in - I know, I know, that's going to wear off!

My cost for 4 buckets was less than $8.00. I had to purchase another larger container at about $3.50 because I seem to have a lot of plastic. That's okay; I may need a few more. To date my total cost is $11.50 and just a little extra time to rinse things out.

Here is a link that will help you find recycling services of all kinds in your area: http://earth911.org

This was an easy one! Everyone should do this! If you don't, check into it!

I'll talk to you next week.