what will happen if we don’t recycle?

The impact of not recycling has the earth in a bit of trouble. Our levels of consumption create vast amounts of waste. The waste produced in the last half century is greater than the total of all years combined!

1. cans
   • it takes about 90 days to complete the recycle process from garbage back to the shelf
   • it takes over 500 years for a can to decompose
2. steel
   • just one pound of recycled steel saves one day of a single light bulb worth of energy
   • the world has enough  “old” steel to have a sustainable supply – if we recycled
3. paper
   • 70 to 90% less energy is required to recycle paper
   • it also produces over 70% less pollutants
   • paper makes up almost 50% of landfill ingredients
   • if 1 million people stopped their junk mail we could save 1.5 million trees
4. glass
   • recycling just one glass jar provides enough energy for 4 hours of  a lightbulb
   • it also saves 9 gallons of oil
   • recycling glass reduces air pollution by 20% & water pollution by 50%
5. plastic
   • plastic takes over 500 years to decompose
   • every hour (in the USA) 2.5 million plastic bottles are thrown in the garbage
6. general facts
   • 60% of the contents in the average household garbage container can be recycled
   • items in landfill generally do not decompose because they lack oxygen

discover what and where to recycle

There are programs for just about everything. When your municipality doesn’t offer a program sometimes the manufacturer does. If you want an easy way to find a recycling center go to earth911 and look it up by location or product.

what can you do to minimize your impact?

Well before you get to the recycle part of the equation try thinking about the other parts of the 3Rs:

1. Ask these questions to reduce your consumption
2. Make these changes for the biggest impact of waste reduction
3. Think of creative ways to reuse anything that you have
4. Find a new home for it instead of throwing it out
5. Stretch the life of everything and save money by repairing stuff

I hope you found the series on the 3Rs informative and refreshing. Maybe I reminded you of some simple things you can do that will make a big change. Maybe I inspired you to discover creative ways to reuse items. At the very least, I hope I encouraged you to make some simple changes and share them with your friends and community.

Continuing on our weekly themes for 2010, next week I will take a look at packaging – the main contributor to waste, landfill and toxins we create.

if you liked this post, take a gander at these ones!

• 7 reasons to recycle
• 12 Tips to Reduce Paper Consumption in the Office
• ask these questions to reduce your consumption
• stretch your money and repair things
• Stop Drinking Bottled Water