How Much Can We Save?

Anshul Kumar

I don't remember too much from elementary school (excluding my multiplication tables), but I do remember one thing: projects. So many fun projects with powerpoints and labs. But I also remember what almost all of our projects used: construction paper. The vanilla paper was almost always my go-to in elementary school. But a lot of the time, students would just tear a small piece of paper and throw the rest away. They didn't even recycle it. It's not completely their fault (we were in elementary school and just learning about recycling), but it got me thinking how much can be saved.

Paper is, of course, not the only thing that can be recycled. Cardboard, plastic bottles, cans, and glass can all be recycled. Many Americans currently rely heavily on the trash can. Anything they throw into it will just disappear and will never be seen again. But this is not true. The United States produces almost 30% of the world's garbage. It will come back to haunt us, and we need to start acting.



So how much can be saved? Almost half the garbage Americans throw out can be recycled. HALF. 1/2. 50%. A huge proportion of our trash can be alleviated if we just take a little bit of time out of our day to find out which items can be recycled. Recycling is an important service that is a privilege to have, but we aren't utilizing it to its potential.


What can we do to increase recycling? Are there better alternatives to reducing trash than recycling? Why is recycling so important?

Works Cited:
https://utahrecycles.org/get-the-facts/


Comments

Anonymous said…
To increase recycling we need to put more stress on recycling than throwing items in the trash. Personally I’m sometimes afraid to recycle because I don’t want to make a mistake in recycling something that shouldn’t be recycled. Maybe putting labels on what can be recycled and how to recycle it can help this issue. It’s overall easier to just go chuck something in the trash because even items that can be used for recycling can go in there. Also, you mentioned the colored paper for elementary kids and I feel as if we should switch to just buying recycled goods hopefully converting the entire nation making the non-recycled ones have to consider using recycled materials also. As the demand goes up sometimes prices do too and to combat the more “expensive” prices we must either make those prices normal by excluding the other prices or encourage more innovations making it easier to turn goods into recycled products therefore leading to prices to drop.
February 17, 2019 at 10:23 AM
Anonymous said…
I am definitely guilty of throwing away things that could be recycled because I'm not sure whether it is recyclable, or I'm just too lazy to clean it out. Pollution is one of the things that is destroying ecosystems and killing animals the fastest. If everyone took an extra second to look up recyclable materials or wash a bottle out, it would reduce landfill waste. When making the decision on trash or recycle, think about the effects it has on the world not just you.
February 18, 2019 at 12:03 PM
Anonymous said…
I think most of us are very guilty of throwing away recyclable items due to doubt of whether or not they are recyclable, myself included. However, this is a very dangerous and, at the end of the day, deadly trait due to the fact that the pollution we are building up will one day come back to haunt us. A good idea would be to label items recyclable or not. For me, that would be a huge life-saver and would definitely encourage and remind me to recycle the item at hand. I know it would also be a huge benefit for many other individuals like me that forget whether certain items are recyclable. This would also help the environment as it would lead to less pollution and would slow down the rate that pollution is growing at.
February 18, 2019 at 12:11 PM
Anonymous said…
We need to promote recycling more until it almost gets annoying because our current advertisement of recycling is clearly not working how we want. Due to how much habitat loss and pollution we’ve been causing, we need to act fast. Increasing recycling and educating people is only a small sample of what we can do now to start the climb of what I like to call the “recycling revolution.” We’re all guilty of throwing one plastic bottle in the trash and saying “oh its only one it wont hurt” but think about it; if 100 people said the same thing, that’s 100 bottles we just missplaced and are now irreusable. Everyone needs to be stricter on their recycling, then we can start tackling trash with ideas like bio-fuel.
February 19, 2019 at 8:37 AM
Anonymous said…
A better way to reduce trash is to use biodegradable material to make up the majority of our products. This would not only reduce the amount of trash in the enviornment, but would actually give back in an organic away. Although I agree that the concept of recycling is important, the reality of it is that it doesn’t work. Many people don’t understand what is and isn’t recyclable, and many factories don’t properly sort the trash/recyclable products. This causes the process to not efficiently work. The government should create enforceable laws regarding recycling and a system to educate the population regarding what is recyclable. Additionally, a better system should be implemented so that the trash can be properly sorted.
February 19, 2019 at 11:04 AM
Anonymous said…
I think we must inform students of recycling while doing these type of activities, use it as a platform to enforce it and give stickers to students who remember to recycle. I think through this reward system children will work hard to recycle and learn the importance. Also I think labels on what is should be recycled like in our class should be put up to educate people on what is recycled and what not too. Also schools with strict budgets limit the amount of paper a student takes I think that should be applicable to all the schools.
February 19, 2019 at 11:55 AM
Anonymous said…
Recycling is one of the best ways for you to have a positive impact on the world in which we live. Recycling is important to both the natural environment and us. We must act fast as the amount of waste we create is increasing all the time. Recycling is very important as waste has a huge negative impact on the natural environment. Harmful chemicals and greenhouse gasses are released from trash in landfill sites. Recycling helps to reduce the pollution caused by waste.Recycling reduces the need for raw materials so that the rain forests can be preserved. These are a few reasons of many on why we should recycle. I still don't understand why we don't recycle as much as we should. Our world will crumble if we cannot start to recycle properly and more often.
February 19, 2019 at 1:08 PM
Anonymous said…
At home, both my father and I try to recycle as much as we can. At this point, in terms of awareness I believe many people are conscious of the good that recycling can do for the Earth but rather need to be informed on how to properly recycle. Treatment plants for “recyclable” goods are often filled to the brim with trash or other items that simply cannot be recycled. This includes recyclable items that are just contaminated with waste, food or liquid. Although people have good intentions in recycling, it’ll do more good to know what is deemed recyclable by certain treatment plants as this will save time for workers, thus making recycling more efficient.
February 19, 2019 at 1:18 PM
Anonymous said…
I don't think that there is a true substitute for recycling. Recycling is a very efficient way to reduce trash, which will in turn help fight pollution and preserve various habitats. I think most people will be willing to recycle, if they just knew what exactly what materials can and can't be recycled. Younger kids, especially, should be educated in school about proper recycling methods, which will prepare them well for later in life. Since 50% of the trash we throw away is recyclable, there is a large opportunity to recycle which we must take advantage of.
February 19, 2019 at 2:36 PM
Anonymous said…
Mwe need to start educating not just elementary kids but everyone on how to recycle. By making recycling bens have lables photos of things that can be recycled this can help reassure many they are putting the right thing in the ben. We should start buying items in Biodegradable packages. If we use biodegradable goods even if things get sent to the landfills they will eventually come back to the earth easier than plastics and other non- degradable items. The influx of bying environment friendly iteams will help shoe big companies that is what the consumers want. We should broadcast to a larger audiences the fact that in many places you can even get paid for giving aluminum cans. Isnt it ironic how garbage bags are not biodegradable? Land fills are becoming horrendously large and are relasing toxin into the earth. One use plastic should be discharged at all costs. Cans and boxes should put ♻️ On their items to establish that they are recyclable.
February 19, 2019 at 3:35 PM
Anonymous said…
I think that recycling is super important considering how many people there are today as well as how countries are becoming so developed that more and more people have the money to create the demand for the items that create this trash. A good alternative to recycling is just not using the things that come with waste. For example, an easy way to do this is to not buy the pre cut fruit at the grocery store. What is the point? It is more expensive and always unripe. But the big factor is that it comes in containers that are in no way needed. Just go and buy the whole apple. You are capable of cutting it into slices yourself. Then we can eliminate that waste completely. Obviously, there are items that are less easy to go “no waste” with than pre cut fruit like cookies. What if you made your own cookies? But what if you just really really want some chips ahoy. Sometimes buying the bulk container, there is less packaging for the amount of food than the small packages. Treat yourself! Get the big size! If you are committed, it would be possible to go with virtually no waste from foods. However, sometimes you just have to use something that will be trash. Recycle! Not everything can be recycled, but what can should be!
February 19, 2019 at 5:58 PM
Anonymous said…
I believe a great solution to limiting paper waste is further education and encouragement of students to recycle in school. Because school is already a great learning environment, kids will take home what they learn about recycling and can apply it to their daily lives. If the school system can encourage more kids to recycle, a lot more paper and other recyclables can be reused. Apart from this solution, I also believe its good for companies to consider producing paper on a more obersvative scale. This means that companies will be aware of whether or not they are producing more than public demand and limit production when it isn’t needed.
February 20, 2019 at 10:47 AM
Anonymous said…
Firstly, people need to understand the importance of recycling in order to take initiative and contribute to recycling. For example, in my own household we take recycling, gardening, having a compost box, etc. seriously but it was not always like that. Our neighborhood did not always pick up recycling and when it did it was not often. Once the homeowners association gave houses recycling bins, people took initiative. Recycling’s importance has to be learned through implementation. Even though we learn about recycling in school and how to increase recycling, I feel as though a major solution to the problem would be reducing trash in the first place. This can be done through purchasing less packaged products overall or even eating healthier as healthier foods inherently have natural packaging or better packaging. In essence, recycling has importance and communities need to understand that and take action.
February 20, 2019 at 7:50 PM
Anonymous said…
It’s sad to hear that the US contributes to 30% of global trash, putting us above a lot of other countries as one of the leading producers of global waste. I think recycling has lost its important to many people because many people do not see it as a pressing issue anymore. Recycling is not seen as a significant issue, but it should be because global trash is just increasing day by day. I think a lot of the issue stems from our over packaging of items that could have biodegradable packaging or could not need packaging at all, like fruit and vegetables. When it is introduced in elementary school, kids grow up learning about how important it is to recycle, but forget about it as they enter adulthood. I think everyone should be more educated on this issue as there is a lot of overproduction and non renewable packaging that should be reduced. If companies and other corporations spread awareness of less packaging to promote sustainable practices, it will become of more importance to people who have forgotten about it.
February 21, 2019 at 7:05 AM
Anonymous said…
I don’t believe there is any alternative to recycling because it does in fact reduce the amount of waste. Ways we could improve the amount of recycling is probably start young in elementary school and have programs set up more to teach recycling. For example, they could make a more fun version of jag time and promote recycling as well as lunchtime recycling bins to teach the kids which packaging is reclyable, along with making a compost bin and teach the children what foods are compostable. Also, we could implement more requirement of technology as a way to lower the need for paper to be used. Next, we could also stop selling those fruits in packing such as the apples slices in Kids Meals at McDonald’s. They’re such a waste of energy to make so some kid to throw out the window. Just have the kids have a whole apple.
February 21, 2019 at 8:29 AM
Anonymous said…
To promote recycling we need parents to understand the importance so that they can show it to their kids. In order to do that we need to be more serious about this issue; we need to have more advertisements or presentations showing how recycling benefits our world and the negative effects if we don’t. The purpose of recycling is to to reduce the trash and reuse extra meterials. Conservation does offer a similar alternative to recycling but I believe that recycling, results in the greater benefits. Recycling is very important because the waste has a huge negative impact on our environment. Harmful chemicals and greenhouse gasses are released in landfill sites. Recycling helps to reduce the pollution caused by waste.
February 22, 2019 at 7:30 AM
Anonymous said…
We can definitely recycle much more and reduce trash. Because we do not see where the trash goes and it just disappears after we put it in the trash can, we do not realize how important and big of a deal it will create now and for the future. People always say to recycle this and recycle that but never actually enforces it. I believe that if schools, teacher, and parents teach children and emphasize how crucial recycling is, there will definitely be an increase in recycling and decrease in trash produced. Recycling is important for our environment and our future generations.
February 22, 2019 at 8:04 AM
Anonymous said…
I think that even in elementary school, we are taught the 3 R's. reduce, reuse and recycle. But how often are they put into place. Recycling has never seemed to be a big topic of discussion at school, and some teachers never even had recycle bins in their rooms! I think we need to start educating young minds from a young age, and teach them how to be more respectful to the environment, and the world that they live in.
February 23, 2019 at 6:57 AM
Anonymous said…
This issue seems so simple and something that is constantly being address, yet not enough change has been made to resolve it. Almost everyone, including myself, is aware of how dangerous our trash is for the environment, yet I find myself throwing recyclable waste in my trash bin on a daily basis. The reason is, of course, convenience. The solution to this issue is not only awareness, but simple ways of recycling. For example, at malls and airports and other places like that a recycling bin is rarely even an option, but I’ve noticed that in airports and even on the streets in Brazil there are always four bins next to each other. One if for trash, one for recyclable plastic, one is for recycleable paper, and the other is for organic material. Each bin gives examples of what goes in each and it makes recycling just as simple and convenient as using a trash can.
February 23, 2019 at 8:49 AM
Anonymous said…
Overproduction of trash is one of the biggest environmental problems plaguing Earth. Ironically, it also has a simple solution. Much of what we use today can be recycled, and there are practices that we can implement to reduce our trash output. So many of the things we use gets thrown away in the trash can out of convenience. Although it may take a little extra effort, we should take the time to check if we can recycle it and put it in recycling instead of the trash. Often, we don’t recycle because there is not enough room in the recycling can, or sometimes there isn’t even one around. We need to increase the number of recycling cans so that it isn’t as difficult to recycle things such as paper and plastic. Somethings can not be recycled, however, but we can also do our part to reduce our dependence on these items. Certain things, such as clothes, can be donated or handed down instead of being thrown away, so that we can reduce our trash waste. There does not appear to be an alternative to recycling other than throwing stuff away, so we need to make sure that we are taking full advantage of recycling so that we slow down our production of trash.
February 23, 2019 at 11:24 AM
Anonymous said…
I think every person has been guilty at some point in their life of throwing something that was recyclable into the trash. To combat against this, the United States government needs to enact new policies and the general media needs to help advertise the importance of recycling. In my German class last semester, we had a unit over the recycling process in Germany and it surprised me how intricate and complex it is. While in America we have a standard recycling bin and trash bin, Germany has six different bins. Black for waste, blue for paper and wrappers, yellow for plastic, white for glass, green for colored glass, brown for compost, and also a separate bin for batteries that people put outside their apartments. If this process is not utilized correctly, people will be heavily fined. This method has shown that it works as over sixty five percent of waste in Germany is recycled. If the government in America placed as heavy of an emphasis on recycling as a country such as Germany, a large majority of our waste will be removed.
February 23, 2019 at 6:36 PM
Anonymous said…
Recycling seems like such an easy thing to do, making it seem ridiculous that it’s overlooked and done far less often than necessary. However, while I recognize this, I am definitely guilty of throwing recyclable products away. It’s not due to laziness but rather forgetfulness. This is why in schools and in public the act of recycling and it’s impact needs to be implemented into people’s daily lives so that it’s not so easy to let it slip your mind. As sad as it is, unless a larger priority is placed on recycling or it becomes a more urgent threat, people are not going to make any changes.
February 23, 2019 at 8:32 PM
Anonymous said…
I think many people have forgotten about recycling because they believe there are bigger issues in the planet. I also think a huge part of the problem is that America does not place a huge emphasis on the importance of recycling and this environmental issue has kind of been let go in recent years. A lot of people have disregarded the importance of recycling even though it still remains a crucial issue in our world today. A solution could be to better categorize our recycling instead of having one bin for everything in the neighborhoods. I think if we better understand how items are recycled and separate them based on this, it will help us recycle more items because we will recognize what can be recycled and what can not. A major issue with our world today forgetting about recycling is the fact that not many people know what can be recycled. Of course, everyone knows paper, cardboard, plastic, and other basic recyclable items can be recycled, but many people don’t recognize or take into consideration that items like tin cans and aluminum trays can be recycled as well. If we put a greater emphasis on the items that can be recycled and categorize our recycling, more people will be able to contribute to recycling as they will understand how many items are reusable that they once thought weren’t.
February 23, 2019 at 8:47 PM
Anonymous said…
In my opinion, I think the best way to solve this situation quickly is to allow everyone in the world to acknowledge how intense this situation is. If we can spread the word and edify the people how to recycle, then people will know how important it is to recycle. In South Korea, they have certain rules where everyone have to recycle what they have at a certain day of the week. In America as well, if we can set up a system for each neighbor to come to a certain place and recycle, then this problem will be easier to solve.
February 24, 2019 at 2:10 PM
Anonymous said…
I think a big part of this waste problem is people not knowing what they can recycle and what they can’t. For example, recycling pizza boxes is usually a mistake due to the food crumbs left in the box. It’s very difficult to get all of it out, so we should throw them away rather than recycle. I believe most people don’t even know this and they think they are helping the planet by tossing that pizza box in the recycle bin and not giving it a second thought. However, this can ruin the entire bin of recyclable materials, all due to a few food crumbs. To fix this, we should try to educate more and more people about how to recycle responsibly and intelligently. In addition, we should have separate bins for paper, plastics, and glass to reduce the energy and time that is needed to separate those items. We can also start composting to reduce the amount of trash we create. Most food waste products, like banana peels and eggshells, can be composted rather than thrown away.
February 24, 2019 at 4:34 PM
Anonymous said…
I don't believe I see as many recycling bins as trash bins whenever I go places. Like a mall or any store, I can only find trash cans. I'm certain that the lack of recycling disposal areas in public places leads to many people throwing away recyclable plastic bottles and papers. Yet, the addition of recycling cans is pretty costly, but I've seen at airports and colleges trash cans that are connected to recycling cans, so it can't be too hard to have recycling cans everywhere there is a trash can.
February 24, 2019 at 10:04 PM
Anonymous said…
I think that recycling is extremely important and is something that we should be doing a lot more often. It’s up to us, but it’s also up to companies and public areas to provide recycling cans. It’s also important to have more knowledge about things that are and aren’t recycleable. That way, we can avoid wasting energy and space in trying to recycle things that cannot be recycled.
February 25, 2019 at 10:27 AM
Anonymous said…
I remember when I went to Disney world, I found out that if you walk 10 steps, you will find a trash can. There are approximately 4,672 trash cans in Disney world, yet there are only about 400 recycling bin. Disney has this abundance of trash cans so that people wont throw trash oon the ground, yet there aren’t enough recycling bins to compensate for the amount of people that visit each day. Now yes, Disney has taken a step in the right direction by implementing he many trash cans, they also need to take into account the amount of recycleable items that need to be disposed of properly. This can also be said for the rest of the worl. For every 5 trash cans, there is only 1 recycling bin. If more recycling bins could be implemented in high density places, like airports and amusement parks, then the rest of the world will benefit, from it.
February 25, 2019 at 10:32 AM
Anonymous said…
The key to recycling is not in how much, but in how effective. In other words, we need to educate the people in America on how to effective recycle, and maybe even provide benefits to those who are able to do it. We need to educate people on what items can be recycled, and what cannot. Many people recycle crumbled pieces of paper, pizza boxes, and unleashed plastic drinks. At the recycling center, all of these bottles ands boxes cannot be individually cleaned, and these in fact hurt the environment rather than help it, contrary to population opinion. Thus, if we educate people on simple concepts such as this, they may be able to discern what to recycle and what not to recycle. Knowledge of the people is the key to effective recycling. Availability of categorized bins is also an effective option. In Dubai, there are no basic recycling bins like there are here in America. Instead there are large bins, split into 4 to 5 categories. People can throw away trash, recycle plastic bottles, throw away compsotable items, etc. This makes it much easier on not only the people, but the recycling plant as well, and products can be made out of recyclable materials much easier. Recycling is extremely vital to the sustainability of habitats as it reduces the amount of raw materials needed to support humanity.
February 25, 2019 at 11:05 AM
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