Recycling is a way that people can give new life to things they used. When companies use recycled materials in their products that they make, it helps to conserve natural resources and reduce waste in landfills.
Here are a couple of facts from DoSomething.org, which is a site that I used while in school. DoSomething.org is a website, which is a global movement for millions of young people making positive change, online and off!
On the site they list 11 facts in hopes that when a person learns something, then they would Do Something! Here are the facts:
- The average person generates over 4 pounds of trash every day and about 1.5 tons of solid waste per year.
- Americans make more than 200 million tons of garbage each year, enough to fill Busch Stadium from top to bottom twice a day. Next time you’re at a sporting event or tailgate, host a trash-free tailgate using only recyclable materials.
- The EPA estimates that 75 percent of the American waste stream is recyclable, but we only recycle about 30 percent of it.
- We generate 21.5 million tons of food waste each year. If we composted that food, it would reduce the same amount of greenhouse gas as taking 2 million cars off the road.
- Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to listen to a full album on your iPod. Recycling 100 cans could light your bedroom for two whole weeks.
- The Container Recycling Institute (CRI) estimates that the 36 billion aluminum cans landfilled last year had a scrap value of more than $600 million.
- Americans throw away about 28 billion bottles and jars every year.
- Over 87 percent of Americans have access to curbside or drop-off paper recycling programs.
- In 2009, Americans threw away almost 9 million tons of glass. That could fill enough tractor trailers to stretch from NYC to LA (and back!).
- In 2010, paper recycling had increased over 89% since 1990.
- A glass container can go from a recycling bin to a store shelf in as few as 30 days.
On Nov. 15, we will observer America Recycles Day, which is a Keep America Beautiful national initiative. In Liberty County, Keep Liberty Beautiful staff and board members will participate in activities in local schools and business.
You too can participate by taking the #BeRecycled pledge. Commit to reducing, reusing, and recycling on Nov. 15, and throughout the year! You can also start getting ready for our November Recycle It! Fairs on Nov. 23. You can recycle your household hazards waste at one of three locations, Liberty County Health Department, Liberty County Community Complex in Midway, and Walthourville City Hall.
If you have any questions or want to get involved please contact us at Keep Liberty Beautiful by phone: (912) 880-4888 or by email: klcb@libertycountyga.com. Remember you can still volunteer for Rivers Alive on Oct. 26, 2019, by signing up at www.signupgenius.com, search for klcb@libertycountyga.com.
Karen Bell is executive director of Keep Liberty Beautiful.