April’s Blog ;)

Heyyy

Assuming that we have to write two environmental blog posts this week, I decided to do this one on recycling. I’m going to tell you about the three R’s!

First of all, what is recycling?

According to Dictionary.com, recycling is “to pass through a cycle again; repeat a process from the beginning.” Basically, it means to reuse something. For example, you could reuse a Gatorade bottle for a water bottle. That way, you wouldn’t have to throw away the Gatorade bottle and open a new bottle for water.

The Three R’s

What are the three R’s? Recycle, reduce, and reuse, of course. Let’s look at each of them…

Recycle…

Here are some random facts about recycling:

- Recycling 1 ton of paper saves 17 trees and 7,000 gallons of water.

- Recycling one aluminum can saves enough electricity to run a TV for 3 hours.

- Recycling one glass bottle or jar saves enough electricity to light a 100-watt bulb for four hours.

- Recycling one ton of plastic saves the equivalent of 1 000 - 2 000 gallons of gasoline.

- More than 30 million trees are cut down to produce a year’s supply of newspapers.

So basically, recycling means reusing something over. It also means using something over again to make something else. Some common things that are recycled are paper, glass, aluminum, and plastic. Almost everywhere has a place where you can take items like these to be recycled. Make sure you do this! It saves the planet!

Reduce…

What does it mean to reduce? Reduce means to cut back on the amount of things you use. For example, to reduce on using paper, you could write on the back instead of moving to a new piece. What else can you do to reduce?

Buy products that don’t have a lot of packaging.

Instead of buying something you’re not going to use very often, see if you can borrow it from someone you know.

Cars use up energy and cause pollution. Some ways to reduce the environmental damage caused by cars include carpooling with friends, walking, taking the bus, or riding your bike instead of driving.

Start a compost bin. Some people set aside a place in their yard where they can dispose of certain food and plant materials. Over time, the materials will break down through a natural process called decomposition. The compost is good for the soil in your yard and means that less garbage will go to the landfill.

You can reduce waste by using a computer! Many newspapers and magazines are online now. Instead of buying the paper versions, you can find them on the Internet.

Save energy by turning off lights that you are not using.

Save water by turning off the faucet while you brush your teeth.

Make sure you follow these easy guidelines to reduce in your life!

Reuse…

What does it mean to reuse? Reuse means to use something over again. Like I mentioned earlier, you could reuse a gatorade bottle for a water bottle instead of opening a new water bottle. What else can you do, though? Here are some quick facts:

Bring cloth sacks to the store with you instead of taking home new paper or plastic bags. You can use these sacks again and again. You’ll be saving some trees!

Plastic containers and reusable lunch bags are great ways to take your lunch to school without creating waste.

Coffee cans, shoe boxes, margarine containers, and other types of containers people throw away can be used to store things or can become fun arts and crafts projects.

Don’t throw out clothes, toys, furniture, and other things that you don’t want anymore. Somebody else can probably use them. You can bring them to a center that collects donations, give them to friends, or even have a yard sale.

Use all writing paper on both sides.

Use silverware and dishes instead of disposable plastic utensils and plates.

Store food in reusable plastic containers.

Please follow these easy steps to reuse more products!

Just a few last words…

Recycling is all fine and dandy, and I think that everyone should do it. I’m hoping that those tips I provided on this post help you and other people! If we follow those easy steps, then our planet should be much more healthier and cleaner. If one person can make such a difference by following those easy guidelines, then just imagine what six billion can do!

To learn more about recycling, click here, here, and here.

 The recycling symbol! =)

Aprilllllllll <3

(P.S. if this post isn’t very well formated I’m sorry, but I was having some trouble with learnerblogs!)