There's a slogan used by many nature-themed companies that is some derivative of: "tread softly, leave only footprints." They are reminding their customers, and all of us, that we should protect the Earth we live on and the environment that we live in. That's all well and good, but there are very few of us that can leave ONLY footprints. As a product of the modern world that we live in, there are other byproducts. But, with a little effort, we can minimize the impact we are making on the world.
I think that if we start small, we've at least started, and we can build on that as we are able. With that in mind, my family and I have been a big recyclers for quite a while. We recycle as much as we can curbside (plastic, metal, etc). We recycle paper at my son's school just down the road so that they get a small stipend in return (we have a large paper recycle bin that I take every couple of weeks). We use other odds and ends for craft projects ourselves and/or donate items to the schools for them to use in their crafts. We even collect recycling from my church and parents in areas that don't have strong enough recycling efforts.
It didn't hit me until the other day, though, how much this recycling has helped though.
As a family of 5, according to some researchers, we'd be expected to generate nearly 200 pounds on average a week. I'm proud to say that at least from home, we're contributing only about 1-1/2 bags of trash a week -- in total! All the rest is recycled!
We collect cardboard in the kitchen compactor, glass, metal, plastic and batteries in the utility room containers, paper in the big container in the living room. We recycle the pop bottles and use rechargeable batteries. And the best part is that it's second nature. It doesn't take any more time or effort really. It makes us feel a little better that we're minimizing our impact.
There's still a lot more that we can do. We need to be better at buying recycled products. We need to educate some of our neighbors. We need to reduce our use. We need to encourage our cities and employers to do more to make it more convenient for people to participate in recycling. The more that we can do as individuals, the more individuals we can get to participate, the greater the impact we can have on making a lessor impact on our Big Blue Planet.
Are you doing your part?
I think that if we start small, we've at least started, and we can build on that as we are able. With that in mind, my family and I have been a big recyclers for quite a while. We recycle as much as we can curbside (plastic, metal, etc). We recycle paper at my son's school just down the road so that they get a small stipend in return (we have a large paper recycle bin that I take every couple of weeks). We use other odds and ends for craft projects ourselves and/or donate items to the schools for them to use in their crafts. We even collect recycling from my church and parents in areas that don't have strong enough recycling efforts.
It didn't hit me until the other day, though, how much this recycling has helped though.
As a family of 5, according to some researchers, we'd be expected to generate nearly 200 pounds on average a week. I'm proud to say that at least from home, we're contributing only about 1-1/2 bags of trash a week -- in total! All the rest is recycled!
We collect cardboard in the kitchen compactor, glass, metal, plastic and batteries in the utility room containers, paper in the big container in the living room. We recycle the pop bottles and use rechargeable batteries. And the best part is that it's second nature. It doesn't take any more time or effort really. It makes us feel a little better that we're minimizing our impact.
There's still a lot more that we can do. We need to be better at buying recycled products. We need to educate some of our neighbors. We need to reduce our use. We need to encourage our cities and employers to do more to make it more convenient for people to participate in recycling. The more that we can do as individuals, the more individuals we can get to participate, the greater the impact we can have on making a lessor impact on our Big Blue Planet.
Are you doing your part?
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