By now, your New Year's Resolutions may be forgotten, but it's not too late to make your recycling resolutions. Earth Day is the perfect time to begin or expand your recycling and your contribution to an environmentally friendly lifestyle.
Every day in America, each man, woman, and child generates
nearly four pounds of trash. That's over one trillion pounds of solid waste or
365 trillion pounds each year. It's a staggering statistic when you consider
the environmental effect that much garbage has on our fragile ecosystem.
Everyone has heard the three R's of environmental awareness:
Reduce, Recycle, and Reuse, but it's easy to forget their importance for the
health and safety of future generations. Unless an effort is made to improve
upon current behaviors, the future generations will bear the consequences of
today's environmental mismanagement.
- Resolve to step up your RECYCLING up a notch. If your curbside recycling service doesn't accept a particular item (like glass or cardboard), begin taking that item to the drop off facility in your area on your own.
- Resolve to REDUCE waste by purchasing more products packaged with post-consumer recycled materials. The higher the percentage listed on the package, the better.
- Resolve to REUSE everyday items whenever possible. Reach for reusable products such as cloth napkins, sponges, or dishcloths instead of paper towels. When you can't reuse, select paper towels and napkins made from recycled materials. You can even find toilet paper that falls into this category.
- Resolve to REDUCE packaging waste by purchasing more items in bulk. You should choose concentrated detergents and refillable soaps as such products often require less packaging, resulting in less energy to transport to the store and less plastic to recycle. You can also buy household items such as screws, nails, etc. from loose bins. And at the grocery store, choose produce that is not in prepackaged containers. Even better visit local farmers markets for fresh items direct from the source.
- Resolve to REDUCE household waste by creating crafts reusing something you might otherwise throw away. This fun activity gets your creative juices flowing, can reduce stress, and is a great way to spend some quality time with your family. Save and REUSE ribbons, tissue paper, gift boxes, and even wrapping paper. Cardboard boxes, colored scrap paper, egg cartons, and envelopes from junk mail are great materials for arts and crafts projects.
- Resolve to REUSE bags and containers. Although you may take your own canvas tote bags to the grocery store (some stores even give you a discount for doing this) to REDUCE waste, you may still wind up with some plastic or paper bags. Such bags make great trash bag and can liners for small areas such as bathrooms and bedrooms.
- Resolve to REDUCE energy usage by buying smart. Look for long-lasting, energy-saving appliances with the Energy Star label and electronic equipment with good warranties. Use rechargeable batteries and RECYCLE old batteries to help reduce garbage and keep toxic metals out of the environment.
- Resolve to encourage others to REDUCE, RECYCLE, and REUSE as well. Donate clothing to charity organizations or sell the items in consignment shops, fairs, bazaars, or tag sales. Also, share hand-me-down clothes with family members and neighbors.
These resolutions make seem small, but over time, they will
have a big impact!
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