Rethink Your Waste!
Did you know that the average American throws away 4.5 pounds of trash a day? Imagine a hole the size of a football field, including the end zones. If we bury all of the trash we produce in just one year in the U.S., that hole would be 100 miles deep! Every year we fill enough garbage trucks to form a line that would stretch from the earth, halfway to the moon. About half of what people throw away can be recycled or composted.
Plastic
The United States goes through 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour and only 1 out of 4 is recycled. Enough plastic bottles are thrown away each year in the United States to circle the earth four times. Recycled plastic can be made into a new Frisbee, picnic table, or carpet. It even might end up as a pair of UNDERWEAR!!
What You Can Do: Carry a reusable water bottle. The water is free, it tastes great, and there is nothing to throw away. Propose a ban on bottled water at your school.
Glass
Glass can be recycled and reused over and over again…forever. It never wears out. Recycling one glass bottle saves enough electricity to power a computer for 30 minutes.
What You Can Do: Find out how your school disposes of its used light bulbs which need to be handled separately from other trash and recycling due to their mercury content. Proper recycling of CFLs and other fluorescent bulbs allows the reuse of the glass, metals and other materials that make up fluorescent lights. Virtually all components of a fluorescent bulb can be recycled.
Paper
Each person in the United States uses 2 pine trees worth of paper every year. Luckily, much of our paper comes from recycled paper, not directly from trees anymore. Office paper and newspapers can be recycled into paper egg cartons, cereal boxes, insulation, ceiling tiles, and more newspapers.
What You Can Do: Encourage paper conservation at your school by printing/copying only when necessary and using both sides of the piece of paper. Give a special award to a teacher who has a paperless classroom. Write a proposal for the school to use the money saved from decreased paper consumption to purchase paper with a higher recycled paper fiber content.
Aluminum
Did you know that when you recycle an aluminum soda can, it can be melted down, made into a new can, and put back on the store shelf in SIX WEEKS? And, it takes 95% LESS energy to produce cans from recycled aluminum. Recycled aluminum can be made into an airplane, a car, or more soda cans. In America, 1,500 aluminum cans are recycled every second.
What You Can Do: Do a survey of the recycling bins at your school. If you don't have enough, hold a can drive to raise money to get more.
Steel
Steel cans are recycled into new steel products including structural steel, bolts and nuts, coat hangers, and more steel cans. Did you know that Americans throw away enough steel every year to build all the new cars made in America?
What You Can Do: Find out if your school kitchen recycles all of its food cans.
Clothes and Shoes
Americans buy 2,300,000 pairs of shoes a day. Just because you outgrow your favorite jeans and sneakers doesn’t mean you need to throw them away.
What You Can Do: Hold a clothing swap at your school. Collect and donate unwanted clothes and shoes to a non-profit organization.
Be a Green Shopper
If more people became environmental shoppers, the amount of trash could be reduced by as much as 45 percent. Recycling is a continuous loop that works only if the collected materials are turned into products, bought and used again. Buying products made from recycled materials supports the markets for these products and keeps the cycle going. Buy products with less packaging to reduce unnecessary waste. And when you go shopping, don't forget your reusable bag.
Green School Tip Ask about your school's environmental purchasing policy. If you don't have one, help to write one. Sell reusable shopping bags as a fundraiser for your environmental club.
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Rethink Your Waste!