Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Recycling




I have been reading up on Glass recycling and learning how I can be a better recycler. This site was very helpful. It has tons of facts and a glass recycler locator to help you find out where you can recycle your containers.
One thing I did to encourage myself to be a better recycler in general was to create a sign for my garbage can that says "Landfill" with a picture of a man rumaging through a HUGE landfill. It helps me realize that every time I go to throw something "away" it's really not going "away" at all, it's going to a landfill for decades, perhaps centuries to come. I then become more aware of what I am doing and I am mindful to the fact that I am making a choice between sending things to a landfill or recycling it. I really don't like crapping on future generations and the earth itself by sending things to the landfill and so I think twice before I just toss things out. Right next to my garbage is my recycling bin. I have a contest with myself to see if I can recycle most of what I consume.
Of course my first step though is to REDUCE my consumption. I try real hard to produce as little garbage as possible, but it involves thinking ahead. I stopped using plastic bags for the most part and now either take along a reusable bag or don't use a bag at all. This seems to drive the store clerks crazy. They do the same to me. For instance; I go to the store and get ONE item and the clerk tries to put it in a bag, and I say, "I don't need a bag" and they say, "are you sure?" all the while looking at me like I am crazy! Who is the crazy one here? Who needs a bag for one item!!??
I figured out I can carry about five or six items pretty easily. Try it! Start saying NO to plastic bags! Especially when you don't need one!!

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