Southport Magazine

Doing your part is simple; here’s how

Doing your part to help the environment is easy. Now some people go full speed, installing solar panels, composting toilets, wind generators and electric cars! YES! That is great. But some of us might not have the resources to make such huge leaps. What can the average person do ? Well here are some great tips from treehugger.com.

First things first, a little R & R & R
The aphorism is so tired it almost might seem like “reduce, reuse, recycle” should go without saying. Most of us have only really heard the last third of the phrase, and they’re ranked in order of importance, but there are several steps we should consider before recycling. Reducing the amount that we consume, and shifting our consumption to well-designed products and services, is the first step. Finding constructive uses for “waste” materials is next. If it’s broken, fix it don’t replace it! If you can, return it to the producer (especially electronics). Or better yet – don’t buy any packaged goods! Tossing it in the blue bin should be last. (The garbage can is not on the list, for good reason.) Through a balance of these three principles you can easily see your landfill-destined waste dwindle fast. A good example of recycling is setting your empty water bottles in the bin on the curb. But by using a water filter and reusable container you can reduce or completely eliminate your need for disposable plastic bottles.

Know what you can and can’t recycle
Read up on the recycling rules for your area and make sure you don’t send anything in that can’t be processed. Each city has its own specifics, so try to follow those guidelines as best you can. But it can be more complicated than that. There’s real recycling, and there’s green-washed recycling and knowing the difference can help you avoid encouraging companies from ‘fake feel-good’ recycling. For example, Illy, the coffee company, began a capsule recycling program for its disposable coffee pods. The reality is that the ‘recycling program’ ships the capsules to another part of the country (hello carbon emissions!) and then downcycles the capsules to the lowest possible level. Their advertisements might make customers feel better about dumping capsules, but we know the truth behind the scheme, and it’s not recycling at its best.

Buy recycled
The essence of recycling is the cyclical movement of materials through the system, eliminating waste and the need to extract more virgin materials. Supporting recycling means feeding this loop by not only recycling, but also supporting recycled products. We can now find high recycled content in everything from printer paper to office chairs. But make sure you know the difference between recyclable and recycled.

Encourage an artist
If you know someone interested in making art from recycled materials, offer to provide supplies. Many school children need items like paper towel tubes for art projects. Older artists use everything from rubber bands to oven doors. If you know someone who teaches art classes, suggest that an emphasis be put on making art from trash. While you’re at it, remind them to use recycled paper and biodegradable, earth-friendly glues, paints, and pencils whenever possible. See below for inspiration and groups that connect artists and students with useful “trash.”Don’t forget, you can get your creativity on and re-purpose your recycled materials too!
Recycle your water
If you’re a homeowner, consider rearranging your plumbing so that rainwater or wastewater from your shower and tub is used to flush your toilet. If you have a garden, water it with leftover bathwater or dishwashing water (as long as you use a biodegradable soap). For more on water recycling see How to Go Green: Water.
Recycle your greenery
William McDonough and Michael Braungart, authors of the groundbreaking Cradle to Cradle, envision so-called “waste” divided into two categories: technical nutrients and biological nutrients. Biological nutrients are those that, at the end of their useful life, can safely and readily decompose and return to the soil. Composting is one of the simplest and most effective recycling methods. Both your garden cuttings and your green kitchen waste can go into an outdoor or indoor composter (with or without entertaining a population of worms). If you don’t have a garden yourself, find neighbors or a community garden that can make use of your soil. Composting food scraps will mean your regular kitchen wastebasket fills up more slowly and also won’t smell. Hotter, more active compost heaps can also consume tougher stuff like newspaper and paper napkins. After Christmas, many cities also have programs for turning your tree into mulch.

Recycle your robots
Electronics recycling is becoming more common in many urban areas, battery recycling is ubiquitous (rechargeable batteries are ecologically sounder, but even they wear out after a while), and there are a number of non-profit organizations that will take computer parts and turn them into working computers for others. Companies like Ebay have also developed programs to help your electronics find new homes. Other groups will gladly recycle your cell phone or give it to a senior citizen, as even without a contract it can still make emergency calls. If you have a major appliance that doesn’t work and you’d rather replace it than try to fix it, offer it to local repair shops, trade schools, or hobbyists to tinker with. Many cities now offer hazardous waste recycling days when they will take not only hazardous waste, but electronics.
Anticipate recycling
In addition to buying recycled goods, keep a keen eye out for recyclable goods. Whenever you purchase something packaged, think about how you can reuse the packaging, return it to a shipping store for reuse, or try to otherwise recycle it. If you get something likely to run down or wear out over time, such as an electronic component, give preference to the model that can be easily upgraded or cannibalized for parts so that you don’t have to junk the whole thing if one part breaks. Products that are impossibly fused together are often called “monstrous hybrids” and are, while often cheaper up front, frequently unfixable and unrecyclable.
If you don’t love something, let it go
Lots of charities welcome your donations. Groups like Freecycle and Recycler’s Exchange exist to help you get rid of useful objects that you just don’t want to make use of. If you’re in a Craigslist city, make use of the “free stuff” section. Give away clothes that don’t fit, the boxes you used in your last house move, or scented soaps that don’t appeal to your sensibilities. Make it a rule in your house that nothing useable goes in the trash until you’ve given the community a fair shot at it.
Doing your part, however small it may seen, can add up to big results.
Some interesting facts from the Waste Management of California:

Recycling Facts & Tips
In a lifetime the average American will throw away 600 times the amount of his or her adult weight in garbage. For example, a 150 pound adult will leave a trash legacy of 90,000 pounds.

Recycling Makes Sense
Recycling is an important component of protecting the environment and helping our local communities. Recycling helps conserve resources and energy, preserves valuable landfill space and supports a healthy environment.

ALUMINUM RECYCLING

Recycling one ton of aluminum:
Saves 14,000 kWh of energy
Saves 39.6 barrels (1,663 gallons) of oil
Saves 237.6 million Btu’s of energy
Saves 10 cubic yards of landfill space

Aluminum Recycling Tips
Prepare aluminum cans for recycling by either crushing the cans to save space or leaving them uncrushed.
Cans that are rinsed out will have little or no odor and are less likely to attract bugs.

CARDBOARD RECYCLING
Recycling one ton of cardboard:
Saves 390 kWh of energy
Saves 1.1 barrels (46 gallons) of oil
Saves 6.6 million Btu’s of energy

Cardboard Recycling Tips
Prepare cardboard for recycling by removing all other materials in the box such as plastic wrap, polystyrene peanuts and other packing materials.
Break down cardboard boxes to save storage space. Try to keep cardboard dry and free from food waste. Cardboard can get wet and still be recycled, but is more difficult to carry due to the added weight of the water.
GLASS RECYCLING

Recycling one ton of glass:
Saves 42 kWh of energy
Saves 0.12 barrels (5 gallons) of oil
Saves 714,286 Btu’s of energy
Saves 2 cubic yards of landfill space
Saves 7.5 pounds of air pollutants from being released

Glass Recycling Tips
Prepare glass containers for recycling by rinsing out with water.
Labels on glass containers do not have to be removed because they are removed during the crushing process and/or burned off during the melting process.
Avoid breaking the glass and mixing broken colors together as this may make the glass unacceptable for recycling.
PAPER RECYCLING

Recycling one ton of paper:
Saves 4,100 kWh of energy
Saves 9 barrels (380 gallons) of oil
Saves 54 million Btu’s of energy
Saves 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space
Saves 60 pounds of air pollutants being released
Saves 7,000 gallons of water
Saves 17 trees