Recycling | Green Mother

Written By: Michelle, The Green-Mother

I had a good laugh this morning. Today was recycling day. As I rolled the big blue bin down the driveway last night, I noticed it was full. I also observed that the smaller recycling bin was also full. Hanging around the garage was more boxes that also needed to be recycled. Was the recycling truck even going to pick all this up?I had gone way over the limit of what the city allows us to recycle weekly. In our home, I am well known as the recycling supervisor. Just about everything that can be recycled gets recycled. I have even picked objects out of the garbage and transferred them to the recycling bin. The boys have also been taught to recycle, and they do a wonderful job.

Luck was on my side this morning. The man driving the big green truck saw me coming down the driveway with more objects to recycle. First, he dumped the big bin in his truck with the big claw attached to his truck. After he completed that, he motioned me to dump all my other stuff into the big bin. He allowed me to recycle again. I have to admit, I was pleased with myself. Two like minded souls I thought. I waved and smiled at him as he drove off.

Why recycle? There are so many good reasons to do so:

- Recycling conserves resources. For example, it reduces the consumption of natural resources. Trees are used to make paper. Fossil fuels are used to make plastic, and metals are extracted through strip mining. Did you know that producing aluminum from scrap instead of bauxite cuts energy and air pollution by 95 percent? Another interesting fact is making paper from discards instead of trees not only saves forests, it reduces the energy used by up to three quarters and requires less than half as much water.

Source of Information:

http://www.edmonton.ca/for_residents/garbage_recycling/why-recycle.aspx

- By recycling, waste is being reduced. Landfill space is conserved when you recycle; 20 per cent of waste from houses and apartments is diverted from the landfill through the City’s recycling programs.

- Recycling creates employment. Many companies are directly involved in processing recyclable materials or in making new products containing recycled material.

I hope I have convinced you to recycle. It’s easy, and family members can participate. It really does do the planet good.

Tags: recycling

Category: Green Living