Personal Change

            Not until I started taking the Environmental and Sustainability studies class was I ever aware of how important recycling is. This class intrigued me to made me complete research and really changed my personal opinion on recycling. First of all, recycling is the simple act of modifying waste materials into new materials and objects. In 2013, The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates our average recycling rate to be 34.3%. Imagine if we could just get that up to 50% how much healthier our environment would be.

I have never recycled because my parents never taught me the importance of it. I also thought it was inconvenient because my house is not big enough to have an extra trashcan designated to recycling. After researching, I realized how important recycling really is.

First of all, recycling saves energy because the manufacturer does not have to produce something new from raw resources. Also, landfill population is growing dramatically and if we recycle this will reduce the need for more of them. According to Marck recycling, “On average, each person generates 4.38 pounds of waste per day. If all that waste goes to the trash – multiply it by 7.125 billion people on earth – that’s 31.2 billion pounds of waste in landfills every single day” (Marck 1). One of the most important reasons that changed my recycling lifestyle is if we do not recycle we are destroying animals habitats. Even if you recycle paper alone that will help conserve trees for animals. Lastly, recycling provides less carbon, which diminishes the amount of corrupting greenhouse gas omissions.

I am currently actively working on recycling because I know this simple act will help make the world a better place. I have been trying to recycle for about a month now and one of the biggest struggles is deciphering what kinds of bottle, plastic, and paper goes in recycling and what does not. Another struggle is my roommates getting mad that there is an extra trashcan in our kitchen taking up space. Despite the challenges, this is a change I will stick with because of the benefits the environment gains from this straightforward easy action.

If others are contemplating a similar change I encourage you to do it because you are making an impact on your territorial region as well as the global environment. One thing I am going to keep working on is the term reduce, reuse, and recycle because right now all I do is recycle. Therefore, reducing waste would aid with using natural resources wisely and using less of them to bypass waste. Reuse encourages people to reuse materials or give them to others who could use them too. These activities can be completed every day for a healthy environment. I hope you choose to recycle too!

Thanks,

Sydney Banks

dosomething.org. “Recycling “Fun Facts”.” What if Everyone Stopped Recycling? | Marck Recycling, www.marck.net/what-if-everyone-stopped-recycling/.

“5 Reasons Why People Don’t Recycle and 5 Reasons They Should | Care2 Healthy            Living.” Healthy Living, www.care2.com/greenliving/5-reasons-why-people-dont-      recycle-and-5-reasons-they-should.html.

“How to Explain the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Program to Children.” Green and Growing, 31          Oct. 2016, www.greenandgrowing.org/reduce-reuse-recycle-children/.

“Municipal Solid Waste.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency,   archive.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/web/html/.dosomething.org. “Recycling “Fun Facts”.” What if Everyone Stopped Recycling? | Marck       Recycling,        www.marck.net/what-if-everyone-stopped-recycling/.