I have been involved in recycling programs through Green Teams at my schools where I taught as an elementary school teacher for decades. Our school won awards and commendation for our work in recycling and waste reduction. It’s important to me. Recycling and waste reduction is a passion and a lifestyle.
Over thirty years, I have watched the progress of recycling programs, moving from small collections of specified waste to larger, more diverse collections, as municipalities and regions got on board with being ‘green.’ I have also noticed the regression of recycling programs as municipalities have tried to deal with massive amounts of recycled items, including plastics. It’s coming to an impasse where the amounts just aren’t financially feasible anymore for recycling plants to find markets for their recycled resources. More and more, supposedly recycled materials are going into landfill sites as many users recycle poorly and recycling plants have to deal with sorting improper disposal of mixed materials in blue and green bins. Plastic has become the biggest polluter as we watch our oceans and landfill sites fill up with these products that take hundreds of years to break down. Social media has flooded us with pictures of miles of floating plastic seas in our oceans and dead and dying whales, birds and other aquatic animals that have been affected by plastics in their habitats.
We need to remember that REDUCE has always been the first of the 3 R’s – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. We need to reduce the amount of plastic we use. We also need to come up with packaging and merchandise that uses materials that can break down in a reasonable amount of time.
We need some new R’s in our lives.
REGULATE – Don’t allow manufacturers to use and sell merchandise that is wrapped in heavy amounts of plastic. Create laws that prohibit it, the same way we have created laws for greenhouse emissions and hazardous waste disposal, all done in the name of safety for us and longevity for a healthy planet. As a consumer, I will still buy your product. I just need tomatoes. I don’t need the heavy plastic bin that they come in. I just need batteries. I don’t need the heavy plastic packaging that surrounds them.
RECOVERY – Manufacturers and industries can take back their waste from their products that they sell to us and make new products from the waste. One of the biggest companies that I know that do this is The Beer Store, Ontario. They sell their bottles and cans full of beer to us by including a refundable deposit on each container. When we return the empties, we get that money back. They also take back the cardboard from their boxes and packaging. You can read about the whole process on this link. https://torontoist.com/2013/04/what-happens-to-beer-bottles-when-you-return-them-to-the-beer-store/. The Beer Store maximizes the value of their waste.
REFUSE – As a consumer, find more ways to reduce your own personal level of waste. Buy second-hand clothing, use cloth bags, refill your water bottle and coffee cup. Try to buy products that are wrapped in smaller amounts of packaging or buy products that use packaging that breaks down more readily. Let’s lower our waste levels and buy merchandise and products that have the least negative effect on our Earth.
REPURPOSE – Be creative in finding ways to reuse or transform the regular use of objects in our life into new ways. A friend from Trinidad told me tin and/or aluminum cans are used to make lanterns, art or other uses. They are rarely thrown out. I have seen outdoor furniture made from recycled plastics.
RESEARCH – Put money and time and study into ways to lower our impact on our planet. We have to find new ways of dealing with our waste.
REFLECT – Teach our children to value their natural world. Keep circulating information that puts the betterment of our planet at the forefront. Think about your own personal way you relate to the planet and all that is in it. Greed leads to consumerism and high levels of waste as we buy more and more and more.
Be RESPONSIBLE for your impact on the planet. Let your thoughts and concerns be shown through action. Do something to help. Do something to reduce your own footprint on the Earth.
RESPECT our planet. Let’s RESCUE and REVIVE our beautiful blue ball and RESTORE it to its natural state of wonder.