Why Recycle?

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Why Should We Recycle?

I chose to name this lens "Why Recycle" because it is a question that a lot of folks ask.  Why take the time to recycle old newspapers, tin cans, plastic bottles, etc.?  What do I get out of it?

 Well, I hope to answer these questions as well as give tips, tricks, and ideas on how you can expand your thinking about what recycling encompasses. 

A lot of people have the perception that people who recycle are sandal wearing, dirt munching, tree hugging druids.  I hope to dispel that myth and any others that might pop up.

This lens was chosen as Lens of the Day! 

I was honored to be chosen as Lens of the Day in the Spring of 2007!

Recycling takes time, why should I bother? 

Is time the greatest barrier to recycling?

Time For Recycling
"Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely." - Auguste Rodin

A lot of things in life that are worth doing take time. For instance, it is easy for us to donate money to a certain cause or charity instead of our time. Time is an extremely precious commodity.

Some folks complain that they have to sort their recyclables. Those of us that currently do not have curbside pickup have to drive to the local Recycling Center and drop off our recyclables. Others just plain don't like handling "trash."

It sure is easy and it saves a bit of time to just dump everything in the trash bin. No sorting or rinsing required.

Would you rather do what is easy, or what is right?

Plastics are a petroleum based product. We all know what affect the rising oil prices have on us in regards to gasoline. Plastic products take hundreds of years to decompose.

Example:
The plastic milk jug that you used to pour the milk on your cereal this morning will take 400 years to decompose if you throw it in your trash.

However, if you take the few minutes (versus 400 years in a landfill) to rinse and recycle, that used milk jug could become part of your child's new playground equipment, a park bench, or the handrail on someone's deck.

By the way - this website shows 35+ uses for milk jugs.

It just makes ¢ents!
Recycling makes products available at lower prices because it lowers the production costs.

If time is money and recycling can save you money in the future, then aren't you being compensated (beyond the good feelings) for your recycling efforts after all?

Just my $.02

Organize your Recyclables with a Recycle Bin 

Richell 3-Bin Recycling Tower

Amazon Price: $57.21 (as of 07/12/2009)Buy Now

This is a great way to store your recyclable items. Since it is a stacking tower it won't take up much floor space. This way you can have everything sorted too.

It sure beats tossing everything in a cardboard box and then having to sort it when it's recycling day.

Cool Pictures of Recycling Projects 

HardDriveWindchimes - 1.jpg by oskay

Completed wind chimes, set made 1999-2000. Still healthy!

Finished macaroni rainstick by fibra

Rainstick originelly comes form South American indians. They used tu fill sun dr...

Our two homebuilt recumbents by xddorox

These are two homebuilt recumbent bikes that I built from old bicycles. The one ...

Recycle Air - Plant a Tree 

One tree produces enough oxygen each year to support 2 people. Can you imagine what would happen if everyone planted just one tree each year?

Pretty Cool.

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Quick Recycling Links 

Find out more about recycling and check out some of these cool recycling-themed websites.
Make a slingshot from recycled materials
Neat how to from the Instructables website. Shows you how to make a slingshot out of stuff you can find at home.
Make bowls from recycled magazines
Excellent tutorial on how you can make bowls from magazines. I don't think you will be eating cereal out of them anytime soon, but they would make great containers for candy, fruit, or whatever else you can think of.
Make a Seatbelt Purse
Take an old seatbelt (obviously not one you will still be in need of) and turn it into a purse. Definitely, a one-of-a-kind item.
Gigoit
Gigoit (Garbage In Garbage Out) is a place where you can give away your unwanted items and look for cool stuff that other people no longer want.

The MAKE Blog 

Make Magazine has an excellent blog that showcases people who recycle everyday items and create something new.

Charles Z. Guan and the LOLrioKart
GoCollege has an excellent interview with Charles Z. Guan, maker of the LOLrioKart:

Piloting the ka...
Flying furniture
These are some fascinating uses for airplane components from MotoArt.

Blow your friends away with t...
DIY fireworks in action
I made some fireworks on the 4th of July from the TurboPyro kit I received. The text, photos and in-...
Maker Shed weekly wrap-up
We added a few more kits to the Maker Shed this week, including the Wee Blinky by Dale Wheat. We car...
How-To: Reclaim your hijacked search bar
The other morning, I clicked on an upgrade button for Winamp. Generally, I like the program, it seem...

Recycle themed books on Amazon.com 

Amazon.com has a plethora of books on varying topics of recycling. Here are just a few of some of the numerous excellent resources that are available out there.

Make: The First Year (4 vol. set)

LOVE this series! I now have a box that I fill up with stuff that no longer works. I scavenge otherwise worthless junk to build different projects from this magazine.

Amazon Price: (as of 07/12/2009) Buy Now

MAKE: Technology on Your Time

Amazon Price: $34.95 (as of 07/12/2009) Buy Now

Why you should recycle ink cartridges 

There are numerous reasons for recycling ink cartridges (and laser toner too). You can earn money. You help prevent adding more trash to landfills. You can also purchase remanufactured ink cartridges and save a bunch of money.
Find out about Ink Cartridge Recycling
Blue Streak Ink also accepts ink cartridges for recycling. You can sign up yourself, church group or other organization and receive $2-$4 off for each accepted cartridge you send in.

Did you know that of the 200+ million cartridges sold each year in the U.S. that only about 10% are recycled? That is unacceptable.

Reusable Canvas Tote Bags For Your Groceries 

I think Walmart has a location at the front of their store where you can bring back your old plastic grocery bags for recycling. I am not sure about other stores, but if you use canvas bags you don't have to worry about it.

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Recycling Facts 

I received some recycling facts from our local recycling service with our most recent invoice. I found it rather interesting.

For each ton of paper we recycle we save:
17 trees
4100 kilowatts of energy
7000 gallons of water
3 cubic yards of landfill space
10 gallons of oil
60 pounds of air pollution

For every ton of plastic we recycle we save:
577 kilowatts of energy
685 gallons of oil
30 pounds of air pollution

For every ton of aluminum we recycle we save:
1663 gallons of oil
14,000 kilowatts of energy
10 cubic yards of landfill space

For every ton of glass we recycle we save:
42 kilowatts of energy
75 pounds of pollutants
5 gallons of oil
2 cubic yards of landfill space

For every ton of steel we recycle we save:
642 kilowatts of energy
76 gallons of oil
4 cubic yards of landfill space

Stuff to help you recycle 

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Compact Fluorescent Lighting 

These bulbs operate for a fraction of the cost of the incandescent light bulb. The technology has advanced enough that their lighting quality meets or exceeds that of the incandescent bulb.

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For More Information on Compact Fluorescent Lighting 

This lens covers the benefits of compact fluorescent lighting and features comparisons with the old standby - incandescent light bulbs.

Should we recycle? 

Tell me what you think.

Here is where you have your chance to weigh in on the debate of recycling. Do you recycle? Should we recycle? How can recycling benefit us all? Tell me what you think.

paperfacets wrote...

I get a good feeling just using my carry in tote at the grocery store. I pretend I am shopping in a French village when I walk out. The box person puts way more in those totes than in the plastic bags. It took me a couple of months to not forget them and get into the routine. So everyone don't give up on the idea.

ReplyPosted November 27, 2008

Mortira wrote...

Thank you for this great lens! Recycling is such an important activity - it really should be mandatory! With landfill space filling up, it's a wonder that governments don't do more to help people manage their trash quota. 5 stars and a 'roll!

ReplyPosted September 10, 2008

lisadh wrote...

The recycling facts are great. Maybe they'll make others realize the benefits of recycling. Nice job!

ReplyPosted September 03, 2008

MyZeroWaste wrote...

Hey :) This is a great lens. You have talked about the most important fundamental thing we need to understand about recycling - the *WHY* we need to do it.
Many people don't do it because they don't understand the importance of it. I think your lens will help them make positive choices; even if it's to recycle just one more thing :)

ReplyPosted June 18, 2008

eccles1 wrote...

I think you are right we need to recycle
great lens

ReplyPosted May 08, 2008

 
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