Did you know?
- • If people around the world used as much stuff as we do in the United States, we’d need three to five times more space on earth to put it all.
- • Glass stays the same color after it has been recycled.
- • In recycling, very powerful magnets are used to separate
the different kinds of metals.
- • Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run your
TV for two hours.
- • The recycling symbol doesn’t mean Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle! It means Collect, Re-manufacture (make new products), and Re-Buy (purchase products made from recycled materials).
Simply speaking, solid waste, or garbage, is anything that has been thrown out, and it needs to be controlled so that it doesn’t hurt us or the environment. We can help protect natural resources by managing our creation of waste by reducing, reusing, and recycling.
The most important thing is to reduce the amount of waste you create. If you can buy and use less stuff, that will help the environment. Buy only what you need and use what you buy! Buy high-quality products that will last longer. You can also buy brands with less packaging, so there will be less to throw away. Buying in bulk and in concentrates also reduces the amount of waste we make.
Reusing helps control waste. Reusable items like tote bags, lunch boxes, plates, silverware, and water bottles, helps reduce or eliminate waste that would otherwise have been made by using disposables. You can also reuse items in a different way – like saving a glass jelly jar to store leftover food. Remember, some people’s trash is other people’s treasure! If you have items like books, toys, or clothes that you’ve outgrown, you can give away or sell them to people who could use them. Instead of throwing away torn clothing or broken toys, try sewing or fixing them so they’ll last longer and you can avoid buying new replacements.
Recycling begins when you collect items (like aluminum cans, plastic bottles), that can be remade into the same product or new products. The newspaper that your parents read might become coloring books. Your T-shirt, sneakers, or fleece jacket might be made from recycled plastic bottles! Recycling saves natural resources and lots of energy. It also reduces air pollution, helps landfills last longer, and can even reduce the need to build roads in wilderness areas. When you go shopping, remember to buy items made from recycled materials, to close the recycling loop.
How can you help manage waste?
- • Be gentle on your backpack so you can use it again next year, and the year after.
- • Choose reusable water bottles and lunch boxes/bags.
- • Participate in family and school recycling programs by storing recyclables until they can be collected or delivered.
- • Buy things like school supplies and clothing made from recycled materials.
- • Avoid using disposable paper plates and plastic forks, spoons, and knives.
- • When giving gifts, give tickets to the movies or a show instead of more stuff.
Imagine that there was no more space for landfills and that you had to use your own backyard to dig a hole and store your trash. Would this change your recycling habits and the products that you use? Can you think of recyclable items you would use more and ways you could reduce the amount of trash that you would put in your backyard landfill?