One of the easiest and most effective ways for each of us to do our part is to recycle.
Recycling conserves natural resources. It reduces wastes sent to the landfill and it cuts down on the amount of pollution on air, land and water. It seems so easy and it is. Up to 75% of the waste we generate in our homes is recyclable. But right now, less than 35% of it is actually being recycled, so we can do a better job.
If you recycle already, good for you. We have got some tips to show you how you can do an even better job. If you do not recycle at home, now is the time to get started.
Let us start with making it easy. Most of us keep our recycling bins outside, which is not always convenient. You can put smaller containers throughout your home to serve as a smaller recycling bin. You can reuse an old box or another old trash can. That way, everything from paperboard boxes to shampoo bottles makes it to the bigger bin. These things may seem too little to bother with but they really add up.
Plastics are everywhere, but not all plastic is recyclable. Look for the little number on the bottom and know which ones are accepted where you live. You can check our Earth 911 recycling link on the homepage to find out which ones you can and cannot recycle where you live.
Recycling aluminum and glass is an obvious one. But did you know that it can be made into other cans and bottles over and over again? Besides saving natural resources, it requires much less energy to make these containers out of recycled material than virgin material.
And try to think outside of the box for paper recycling. It is the number one thing filling up our landfills. All those magazines you have around the house can go right into the recycling bin, so can junk mail, telephone books, and here is a big one. All packaging and cardboard boxes can be recycled as long as they do not have any food residue on it.
So do your part everyday and recycle. It is the easiest way for each one of us to preserve our planet’s natural resources and keep tons of pollution out of our air, land and water everyday.
Do your part
Presented by Charlotte Mecklenburg
Storm Water services
Transcription by:
Scribe4you Transcription Services