Reuse , Reduce , Recycle

Hi guys ,
Here is that wonderful essay that I promised you all . I hope this essay will urge you to start recycling and make a difference .


Reuse, Reduce, Recycle




Do you ever wonder if recycling your trash is actually worth the effort? Well many people don't think it matters if you throw your household items in the recycling bin or the rubbish bin. It does make a difference. Recycling is critical for our planet if life as we know is to continue for centuries to come. Recycling not only can save the environment in which we live, we can actually earn money from this endeavor as well as strengthen the ties to our own communities.

First off when you put that one soda can in the refuse bin you are letting one more can go to the landfill. Thousands of landfills surround our lands, where millions of garbage trucks come and drop off their waste. Now you may be naive enough to think that the junk just magically goes away; no, it sits there for thousands and even millions of years. Think about this next time you are tempted to toss that can into the garbage: just one can takes eighty to one hundred years to decompose. Furthermore, plastic takes up to one thousand years to decompose and glass takes over one million years to break down! Not only can a plastic bottle save long years rotting in a landfill , but the environmental damage caused by emissions in producing a new bottle and the oil used to manufacture it will last for generations. While many people may debate that the earth will always stay pure, clean and regenerate itself, that point is not valid if not outright ridiculous . If we all keep polluting the earth with more and more garbage, the earth resources such as clean drinking water, will become spoiled and unclean. When you recycle you are making a difference and changing the environment for future generations to come. You can recycle discarded personal belongings, household items, glass, cardboard, plastic, cans, paper, and virtually everything you use in your daily life. Some may dispute that recycling is too much of an effort, it really isn’t. If you live in the city, you will have a refuse bin and a recycling bin. It takes one small change just putting it in another bin. While most people that live in rural county areas might have a more valid argument that recycling is a hassle, they too, have options to transport garbage into town. Perhaps the most popular excuse people use NOT to recycle goes like this: "Gee, I am only one person. What difference can I possibly make?" One plastic bag CAN and WILL make a difference and if we all help out, together we can substantially improve our environment. Every bit makes a difference. To illustrate this point, Stanford University saved the equivalent of 33,913 trees and the need for 636 tons of iron ore, coal, and limestone by just recycling items on their campus alone for one year. Did you know that it takes 75,000 trees every week to print the Sunday edition of the New York Times? Maybe next time you won't be careless and just dump your newspaper in the garbage can Plastic rings -the kind you see holding a six pack together- end up in our oceans literally strangling the sea life as well as birds. Animals perceive this trash to be food and ingest it with fatal consequences. Do your part. Save and recycle everything from food packaging to vehicles parts. The life it may save may be the wonderful creatures around us as well as our future generations.

Not only do you help the environment by recycling, but you can also make money along the way. Most recycling centers pay you money for your waste. You can be paid for your glass, plastic, metal, even old appliances. Over time this can add up to hundreds of dollars in your pocket annually. In addition, we need think reuse. All kinds of new items can be made with old, unwanted materials instead of just letting them sit around taking up space. You can make anything from purses made out of old, worn t-shirts to glass bottles made into snow globes. Also there are many functional items made from recycled junk such as bottle cap chairs and food wrapper purses. (see resources image 7 , 5, and 6 ) There is an endless list of things you can make and use in everyday life. By saving your milk cartons, plastic bags , paper bags , aluminum cans , etc. you can make fantastic creations for your home, gifts or simply breathe new life into something previously thought of as trash. Lastly, there is a growing amount of artists who make an honest living by turning trash into masterpieces. (see resources , image 8 and 9)These magicians of recycling create green creations wowing their viewers and urging more people to recycle.

Finally, by recycling you can bring your community together. Every little part of your community can help out and have fun. You can build new friendships and learn more about the different people in your community. By getting everyone involved, we will be one more step closer to having a trash free world .You can collect recyclables around your city and then use the income to build community parks, libraries, or whatever your town needs.

In conclusion, recycling is crucial if you want the environment to survive for many years to come. Do you really want to tell your grandchildren fifty years from now about how the world was before it was polluted with trash? We have to change our destructive ways before we irreparably ruin earth. Helping the environment, making money, and bringing communities together are important goals we all should strive toward. Whatever you do, remember every bit makes difference so reuse, reduce , and recycle!



Resources:



Blashfield, Jean F. and Black, Wallace B. Recycling Chicago, IL: Childrens Press, 1991



Dorion, Christiane. What If We Do Nothing? EARTH'S GARBAGE CRISIS Pleasantville, NY:

World Almanac Library, 2007



"Fun Recycling Facts." http://recyclingfacts.org/content/fun-recycling-facts



"How to Make Money Recycling. "

http://www.ehow.com/how_2163911_make-money-recycling.html



National Recycling Coalition. "Economic Recycling Benefits and Facts ." http://www.recycling-revolution.com/recycling-benefits.html



Images:



Duct tape prom outfits, Image 1

http://www.sodahead.com/fun/what-is-the-most-creative-use-for-duck-tape-that-you-can-come-up-with/question-573181/?page=4&link=ibaf&imgurl=http://couponmeister.com/blog/DuctTapeProm.jpg&q=duct%2Btape%2Bprom%2Bdress



Bike Arch, Image 2

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.infobarrel.com/media/image/9712.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.infobarrel.com/Top_10_Most_Amazing_and_Creative_Recycled_Art_Displays&usg=__xgbKMz9BI_oBh-AAwmaJeP-VUhY=&h=683&w=1024&sz=960&hl=en&start=114&zoom=1&tbnid=o0GbRw6ukl-l9M:&tbnh=167&tbnw=223&prev=/images%3Fq%3Drecyable%2Bart%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1596%26bih%3D687%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C2689&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=937&vpy=299&dur=93&hovh=183&hovw=275&tx=99&ty=95&ei=g7wOTZiYGJGesQPs8dCCCw&oei=MrwOTZXbIIW-sQOj0s2OCg&esq=4&page=6&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:114&biw=1596&bih=687



Balloon dress , Image 3

http://www.myinterestingfiles.com/images/2008/03/balloon_dresses_18.jpg





Recycled Magazine Mirror , Image 4

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://blog.stylehive.com/images/uploads/Recycled_Mirror.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.stylehive.com/blog/hot-product-recycled-magazine-mirror-from-trash-to-reflection-perfection&usg=__PeiksIG-vFwXsdaxrMsU39kuY-M=&h=564&w=396&sz=98&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=uJAjLmHwQly5EM:&tbnh=179&tbnw=110&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dfunctional%2Brecycled%2Bart%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26gbv%3D2%26biw%3D1053%26bih%3D458%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C149&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=615&vpy=66&dur=0&hovh=268&hovw=188&tx=78&ty=162&ei=9LkOTaSxNYL0tgOXsvmjAg&oei=z7gOTairNIymsQOXrdCYCg&esq=6&page=1&ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:10,s:0&biw=1053&bih=458



5 Innovative Chairs Made of Only Recycled Materials , Image 5



http://www.homedecorarcade.com/home-accessories/5-innovatice-chairs-recycled-materials/



Water bottle chair , Image 6

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/05/student-designs-chair-full-of-garbage.php



Food wrapper purses , Image 7

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.indigoarts.com/gallery_art/honduras_purse1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.indigoarts.com/store1_recycled66.html&usg=__Y27gsHD3n_lV8HNiSXfk8yejdHQ=&h=413&w=500&sz=74&hl=en&start=27&zoom=1&tbnid=MwE0FwOFWn5f7M:&tbnh=175&tbnw=237&prev=/images%3Fq%3Drecyable%2Bart%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1596%26bih%3D687%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=234&ei=rbwOTdf_LoXmsQPJ9L2vCg&oei=MrwOTZXbIIW-sQOj0s2OCg&esq=6&page=2&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:13,s:27&tx=153&ty=74



Drift Wood Horse Sculpture , Image 8

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.instablogsimages.com/images/2008/04/03/recycled-horse-1_7071.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/galloping-recycled-art-made-from-recycled-drift-wood/&h=360&w=550&sz=41&tbnid=q7EytIvWrtO9AM:&tbnh=87&tbnw=133&prev=/images%3Fq%3Drecycled%2Bartwork&zoom=1&q=recycled+artwork&hl=en&usg=__lovk-rDD_AIpI9Nm-SOd6bEy4IU=&sa=X&ei=ua0PTauUEpL2swO34O2iCg&ved=0CCkQ9QEwAQ



Recycled Dragon made out of cans and bags , Image 9

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCDzj_hNJ6akEngZnAZAd02bAauTsTKAKx70iHP47mwBc7gTKYEzpWnMwAROvlrk5RWdQMKhkLLpgvSSs1iawq_BXrW4y1Qzm2N6RUi6mdhFnf_G0-TysuduZXrncEzSSJcFSgonb7ueY/s320/recycled_dragon.jpg&imgrefurl=http://mamajoules.blogspot.com/2009_09_01_archive.html&usg=__k221NbFqvsMXeRf7Ls0OwdzVve4=&h=240&w=320&sz=28&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=aYiLM2Ml5B5kgM:&tbnh=125&tbnw=166&prev=/images%3Fq%3Drecycled%2Bdragon%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1W1TSNA_enUS396US396%26biw%3D1596%26bih%3D687%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=994&vpy=72&dur=140&hovh=192&hovw=256&tx=213&ty=91&ei=x64PTdyVLYjGsAPB2MiXCg&oei=x64PTdyVLYjGsAPB2MiXCg&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=32&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0