Get Your Recycle On
Wow, Americans generate 250 million tons of garbage each year, according to Keep America Beautiful. Since 1960, the amount of trash we generate has tripled, likely a product of a toss-away society. Recycling is one of the easiest and most effective ways to cut down on the trash going to the landfills.
Today is America Recycles Day, an effort by Keep America Beautiful to put the spotlight on recycling. Visit the website to take the Recycling Pledge to commit to more recycling and to share the importance of recycling with others.
If you think recycling your single plastic bottle or sheet of paper won’t make a difference, here are some stats that show every little bit helps:
– In 2008, 57.4 percent of all paper consumed in the U.S. was recycled — that’s 340 pounds for each man, woman and child in the country.
– Recycling aluminum saves 95 percent of the energy needed to produce new aluminum from raw materials.
– In 2003, 18 million scrap tires were converted into ground rubber and recycled into products.
Here are some other great resources to get you started recycling or to help you ramp up your efforts:
– Earth911.com — A website that will let you find recycling centers near your home, get educational resources for teaching others about recycling and helps you understand how various products are made and how they can be recycled.
– National Recycling Coalition — A national nonprofit group advocating for recycling. On the site you join to support their efforts nationally or find a local group to get involved with.
– Green Goes Simple – A blog all about recycling with lots of good articles ranging from saving money on electricity to green party planning.
Have you improved your recycling efforts? Are you doing more recycling?