1. Take your lunch in reusable containers and reusable lunch sacks.
2. Store snacks and leftovers in re-usable containers instead of disposable containers.
3. Limit your use of paper towels and napkins by using cloth napkins at the dinner table.
4. Reuse the other side of the paper in your printer at work or at home before recycling or use it for notes and coloring paper for children.
5. Purchase item_revisions made from recycled material.
6. Use e-mail for correspondence and electronic filing of documents.
7. Reuse manila and Pendaflex folders by changing labels.
8. Make double-sided copies.
9. Eliminate fax cover sheets.
10. Start a recycling program in your community, church, school or apartment complex.
11. Most importantly, think about the garbage you generate, how you can REDUCE it, REUSE it and as a last resort, RECYCLE it!
12. Make sure you RECYCLE properly by rinsing item_revisions and disposing of them in the proper containers.
13. Help others to realize the importance of recycling for the future of the earth.

Waste Statistics You Should Know

Reprinted with permission from the article The Kingfisher, from Kitsap Audubon Society, March 2001

• For each bag of waste we take to the curbside, industry creates the equivalent of 71 bags.
• Product packaging accounts for 30% of volume and 50% of weight in our household waste.
• The American public throws away enough aluminum every 3 months to rebuild the entire U.S. commercial air fleet.
• It requires more than 500,000 trees to make the Sunday newspapers used by all Americans.
• $1 out of every $10 we spend on food pays for packaging (that’s more than goes to farmers!).
• It would take approximately one million years for a glass bottle to break down naturally.
• The average American generates 4.4 pounds of waste every day.
• It’s estimated that if all aerosol cans were recycled in North America, there would be enough steel to make 160,000 new cars.

Environmental FACTS and Creative Resolutions

Don’t Throw That Away!

By Sarah Segreti

In the United States alone, people throw out approximately 162 tons of garbage each year, enough to fill 1000 football fields piled thirty stories high3. One person uses two pine trees worth of paper each year2. The tin can your soup came in takes one hundred years to decompose in a landfill3 and Styrofoam cups, plates and boxes NEVER decompose2! By recycling and reusing we can reduce the amount of garbage we generate and help the environment. The term "recycling" means to separate, collect, process, market and ultimately use a material that would have been thrown away1. Everyday item_revisions such as aluminum cans, glass bottles, egg cartons, milk cartons, paper, and much, much more can be recycled to reduce the amount of waste we generate. There are many reasons to recycle. It reduces our reliance on landfills and incinerators, it protects our Earth and the environment, and it also conserves our natural resources1.

Recycling benefits our environment by reducing the risk of air and water pollution caused by manufacturing processes4. It can cut air pollution by about 75% and water pollution by 76%4. Recycling can also save natural resources such as iron ore, limestone and charcoal, and cut energy usage in half4. About 3% of America’s energy is used for packaging production alone4. Landfill space for our garbage is running out quickly, and mis-managed landfills create health risks to the public by polluting ground water and surrounding soil.

If everyone recycled paper, glass, aluminum cans, and other recyclable item_revisions in their garbage, trash output could be reduced by 25%3. Some ways you can help are by separating your trash into recyclable and non-recyclable item_revisions using recycling bins and cutting back on using disposable item_revisions like paper plates, cups and silverware. Use the "real" thing instead. Also, many item_revisions you throw away are not really garbage at all5. They can be reused for many purposes. This cuts back on trash, helps our environment, and saves you money in the process - a benefit for everyone! Here are some suggestions that can prove useful for you and your family5: Use the backside of old business cards as tags in filing cabinets, or cut up and use as dividers for binders. They can also be used as luggage tags.

FACT: Paper can be recycled up to seven times depending on how long the fibers are2.

An old coffee can makes a great bank. Cut a slit in the lid and place your extra change in it every night. You’ll be surprised how fast it adds up! A well-decorated coffee can looks great as a plant or flowerpot. An excellent rainy day activity for the kids! Brown paper bags from the grocery store can be used to cover textbooks or as wrapping paper. Kids can decorate them with rubber stamps, paint, markers or magazine cut-outs to add a personal touch to loved one’s gifts or their school books.

FACT: In 1998 Americans used enough Kraft (brown) paper for a person to take a brown bag lunch to school or work for 64 million years2.

Soup cans are just the right size for holding small things such as paperclips, thumbtacks, or rubber bands on your desk. Take to the garage or tool shed and they can hold nails, nuts and bolts. They can be decorated to match any décor! Egg cartons work well for potting seedlings inside when it is still too cold to plant outside. Save to reuse next spring after transplanting outside! Cut up used paper and use for grocery lists, or place by the phone for messages. Let kids color, draw or paint on blank sides of used paper, and print first drafts of documents on the reverse side of used computer paper.

FACT: For every ton of paper recycled, 17 trees are saved2!

Old film canisters are the perfect size for storing thumbtacks, rubber bands or paperclips in a purse or backpack. They are also a good size for mixing small amounts of paint. The old garden hose can become a sprinkler for the kids and double as a garden soaker hose when small holes are poked in it. With the top cut off, a milk carton can become a bird feeder. Just fill with seeds and hang from a tree by the handle. They can be decorated or hung as is. Kids will love decorating them and watching all the birds (and squirrels!) it attracts.

FACT: Packaging makes up one third of our trash2.

Use old laundry baskets to hold recyclables. It will be easier to transport to the recycling bin. That helps reduce trash two ways- the laundry basket and the recyclables! Plastic beverage bottles can be filled with water and frozen (leave enough room for expanding water!). Use for coolers on long trips or in a lunch when refrigeration isn’t accessible.

FACT: In one year Americans throw away enough plastic soda bottles that if placed end to end, would circle the Earth four times2.

With the amount of junk mail people receive, we never have to buy envelopes again! If you get an offer in the mail, but don’t respond, use the empty envelope enclosed. Just place your address label over the return address and a blank label over the mailing address for you to fill out. Old greeting cards make great post cards! Forget someone’s birthday or anniversary? Cut off the picture side (if it is blank on reverse) and address like a post card. You pay less postage and don’t have to run out to buy a card. Use cardboard boxes for under the bed storage. Candy boxes can be used to gift-wrap ties, scarves and gloves, or to store pens and pencils. With the top cut off, cereal boxes can hold magazines, letters or other paperwork to keep your desk organized.

FACT: Americans use enough cardboard each year to make a bale as big as a football field.

Remember- Recycling not only helps our environment, but can save you money as well! When you recycle everyone wins!

References

1. Second Time Around (2001). Retrieved April 23, 2001 from www.epa.gov
2. USM RECYCLES: Planting Seeds for a Better Tomorrow (1998). Retrieved April 23, 2001 from www.usm.maine.edu
3. Why Recycle? (2001). Retrieved April 23, 2001 from tqjunior.thinkquest.org
4. The Benefits of Recycling (1999). Retrieved April 23, 2001 www.dep.state.pa.us
5. Reduce Garbage, Eliminate Landfills (1998). Retrieved April 23, 2001 from www.geocites.com