Over the past seven years, i've never thrown newspapers away, but I save them and take them to the recycling center, with all my other "stuff" about 3-4 times a year. Every time, I go to the recycling center, I see others at the center dropping off their cans, bottles, glass, cardboard, etc. It gives a person a good feeling, that others care about the environment and about future generations.
(From the Albuquerque Journal/Nov-2007)
"It's all about changing thinking. "A lot of people want to do the right thing, but don't take the second step," says Jennifer Scaaco, of Keep Rio Rancho Beautiful coordinator. She says "the challenge is to educate residents, without making them feel like recycling is being forced on them!" The national average for recycling is 32 percent, according to E. Gifford Stack, Manager for Solid Waste Bureau of the New Mexico Environment Department.
Here are a few reasons why it's important to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste. (Source: National Recycling Coalition)
* American companies rely on recycling programs to provide raw materials to make new products.
* Recycling in the United States is a $236 billion a year industry that employees 1.1 million workers.
* The average American disgards 7.5 pounds of garbage every day, most of which goes into landfills.
* Recycling requires far less energy; uses fewer natural resources; and keeps waste from piling up in landfills.
* Recycling offers signifacant energy savings over manufacturing with virgin materials.
* Recycling preserves existing landfill space.
* Recycling reduces green-house gas emissions, which cuts down on global warming.
* Making goods from recycled material generates less water pollution than manufacturing virgin materials.
* Using recycled materials reduces the need to damage forests, wetlands, rivers, and other places important to wildlfe.
* Recycling and buying recycled products create a demand for more recycled products, which helps the economy. Additional benefits of recycling. (Source; miasonbisson.com)
* Recycling a ton of aluminum cans saves 95% energy required to make the same amount of aluminum cans from a virgin source; saves 14,000 KWH of energy; 40 gallons of oil; saves 10 cubic yards of landfill space.
* Recycling a ton of plastic saves 42KWH of energy; 5 gallons of oil; 7.5 pounds of air pollutants from being released; 2 cubic yards of
landfill space.
* Recycling a ton of paper saves 4,100 KWH of energy; 5 gallons of oil; 60 pounds of air pollutants from being released; 70,000 gallons of water; 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space.
* Recycling a ton of glass saves 42KWH of energy; 5 gallons of oil; 7.5 pounds of air pollutants from being released; 2 cubic yards of landfill space.
All of us should be environmentalists, and leave the world a better place than we found it, for our children and grand-children. For me, it's the right thing to do!
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