Recycling Facts; In 1999, recycling and composting activities prevented about 64 million tons of material from ending up in landfills and incinerators. Today, this country recycles 32 percent of its waste, a rate that has almost doubled during the past 15 years!
Why Recycle?
While recycling has grown in general, recycling of specific materials has grown even more drastically: 50 percent of all paper, 34 percent of all plastic soft drink bottles, 45 percent of all aluminum beer and soft drink cans, 63 percent of all steel packaging, and 67 percent of all major appliances are now recycled.
Twenty years ago, only one curbside recycling program existed in the United States, which collected several materials at the curb. By 2005, almost 9,000 curbside programs had sprouted up across the nation. As of 2005, about 500 materials recovery facilities had been established to process the collected materials. --Source: US EPA
You can help by learning about and practicing the three R’s, reduce, re-use, recycle. Practicing all three of these activities every day is very important for a healthy environment.
Reduce/Reduction: to make something smaller or use less, resulting in a smaller amount of waste. "Source reduction" is reducing waste before you purchase it, or by purchasing products that are not wasteful in their packaging or use. A key part of waste "reduction" is "conservation" - using natural resources wisely, and using less than usual in order avoid waste.
You can practice reduction by selecting products that do not have to be added to landfills or the waste stream in general. This is easy to do:
First and foremost, buy and use less!
If all the other people on the Earth used as much "stuff" as we do in the United States, there would need to be three to five more planets just to hold and sustain everybody- WOW!!!! SO buy only what you need and use all of what you buy. Or make sure that when you are through with something, you pass it along to other people who can continue to put it to good use. This is especially important when it comes to items where disposal is difficult or could be particularly dangerous to our environment, such as paint and chemicals (cleaners, strippers, pesticides, herbicides, etc.).
Start making wise "package" selections. Why is it important to consider how something is "packaged" when you consider what to buy? You can reduce waste by selecting products that are not wasteful in their "packaging". The package surrounding the product really only needs to be designed to protect the product from damage, keep it clean and sanitary, and present product information. Yet many manufacturers make the packaging far more elaborate (and expensive!) than necessary with the hope that it will attract your attention or give the appearance that the product inside is better than it's competitors. So keep the following package-related tips in mind no matter what you are buying:
- “Precycle” by purchasing products in materials/packaging that can be readily recycled. Fancy packaging costs more, usually adds little or no value to the product, is usually impossible to open, and can do considerable harm to our environment by creating more waste or waste disposal difficulties.
- Avoid single-serve containers whenever possible. You can buy juice or water in large recyclable bottles or cans and then divide it up into smaller portions in reusable, washable containers as you need it at home or to take with you. And if you want to take juice or water with you to the gym or other places, just take it along in your own reusable sports bottle. Buying bottled water? First determine if you really even need to buy bottled water. City water (and clean well water) is usually just as healthy, much cheaper, and may even be safer than bottled water products.
- Think BIG! Buying in "bulk" gives you the best "product to package" ratio. Many stores allow shoppers to scoop out the amount they need of bulk goods like nuts or coffee. This considerably reduces waste and packaging materials. Or you can buy in bulk by selecting bigger quantities in a single box or package -- for example, buy the largest box of toothpaste, dishwasher detergent, or cereal, rather than a series of small boxes. This not only reduces the waste (from having to throw out the old containers) but it will also save you money. Packaging is expensive, so buying in larger volumes reduces the unit cost.
- Refuse store bags! When you buy one or two items at a store, carry them out in your hands; or take a reusable bag with you to carry the items you buy. And don't forget to take your old plastic and paper bags back to the grocery store for reuse or recycling. Most grocery stores have convenient paper and plastic recycling bins located near the entrance.
- Use durable goods longer. Durable goods are sturdy things like furniture or household appliances that can (and should) be used for many years. You can save money and reduce waste by keeping these items longer and repairing them when they break, rather than buying new ones.
Energy
The United States uses a lot of energy—nearly a million dollars worth each minute, 24 hours a day, every day of the year. With less than five percent of the world’s population, we consume about one fourth of the world’s energy resources. The average American consumes six times more energy than the world average.
All of us use energy every day—for transportation, cooking, heating and cooling rooms, manufacturing, lighting, and entertainment. We rely on energy to make our lives comfortable, productive and enjoyable. To maintain our quality of life, we must use our energy resources wisely.
The choices we make about how we use energy—turning machines off when we’re not using them or choosing to buy energy efficient appliances—impact our environment and our lives. There are many things we can do to use less energy and use it more wisely. These things involve energy conservation and energy efficiency. Many people think these terms mean the same thing, but they are different.
Energy conservation is any behavior that results in the use of less energy. Energy efficiency is the use of technology that requires less energy to perform the same function. A compact fluorescent light bulb that uses less energy than an incandescent bulb to produce the same amount of light is an example of energy efficiency. The decision to replace an incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent is an example of energy conservation.
Households use about one-fifth of the total energy consumed in the United States each year. Much of this energy is not put to use. Heat pours out of homes through drafty doors and windows, and through ceilings and walls that aren’t insulated. Some appliances use energy 24 hours a day, even when they are turned off.
Energy-efficient improvements can make a home more comfortable and save money. Many utility companies provide energy audits to identify areas where homes are wasting energy. These audits may be free or low cost.
You can save energy and money by installing insulation, maintaining and upgrading the equipment, and practicing energy-efficient behaviors. A two-degree adjustment to your thermostat setting (lower in winter, higher in summer) can lower heating bills by four percent and prevent 500 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere each year. Programmable thermostats can automatically control temperature for time of day and season.
Insulation and Weatherization
You can reduce heating and cooling needs by investing in insulation and weatherization products. Warm air leaking into your home in summer and out of your home in winter can waste a lot of energy. Insulation wraps your house in a nice warm blanket, but air can still leak in or out through small cracks. Often the effect of small leaks is the same as keeping a door wide open. One of the easiest money-saving measures you can do is caulk, seal, and weather-strip all the cracks to the outside. You can save 10 percent or more on your energy bill by stopping the air leaks in your home.
Doors and Windows
About one-third of a typical home’s heat loss occurs through the doors and windows. Energy-efficient doors are insulated and seal tightly to prevent air from leaking through or around them. If your doors are in good shape and you don’t want to replace them, make sure they seal tightly and have door sweeps at the bottom to prevent air leaks. Installing insulated storm doors provides an additional barrier to leaking air.
Most homes have many more windows than doors. Replacing older windows with new energy-efficient ones can reduce air leaks and utility bills. The best windows shut tightly and are constructed of two or more pieces of glass separated by a gas that does not conduct heat well.
If you cannot replace older windows, there are several things you can do to make them more energy efficient. First, caulk any cracks around the windows and make sure they seal tightly. Add storm windows or sheets of clear plastic to the outside to create additional air barriers. You can also hang insulated drapes on the inside—during the winter, open them on sunny days and close them at night. During the summer, close them during the day to keep out the sun.
Landscaping
Although it isn’t possible to control the weather, landscaping can reduce its impact on home energy use. By placing trees, shrubs, and other landscape structures to block the wind and provide shade, people can reduce the energy needed to keep their homes comfortable during heating and cooling seasons.
Lighting
As a nation, we spend about one-quarter of our electricity on lighting, at a cost of more than $37 billion annually. Much of this energy is wasted using inefficient incandescent light bulbs. Only 10 percent of the energy used by an incandescent bulb produces light; the rest is given off as heat.
If you replace 25 percent of your light bulbs with fluorescents, you can save about 50 percent on your lighting bill. Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) provide the same amount of light and no longer flicker or buzz. CFLs cost more to buy (barely anymore), but they save money in the long run because they use only one-quarter the energy of incandescent bulbs and last 8-12 times longer. Each CFL you install can save you $30 to $60 over the bulb’s life. Remember! When the life of your compact fluorescent is over, DON”T throw in the trash! Recycle it responsibly as it contains mercury. Go to www.lamprecycle.org for more information.
Electricity & Appliances
Appliances account for about 20 percent of a typical household’s energy use, with refrigerators, clothes washers and dryers at the top of the list. When shopping for new appliances, you should think of two price tags. The first one is the purchase price. The second price tag is the cost of operating the appliance during its lifetime. You’ll be paying that second price tag on your utility bill every month for the next 10 to 20 years, depending on the appliance. Many energy efficient appliances cost more to buy, but save money in lower energy costs. Over the life of an appliance, an energy-efficient model is always a better deal.
When you shop for a new appliance, look for the EnergyStar® label—your assurance that the product saves energy. EnergyStar® appliances have been identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy as the most energy-efficient products in their classes. If the average American family were to equip their home only with products that have the EnergyStar® label, they would cut their energy bills, as well as greenhouse gas emissions, by about 30 percent.
Water Heating
Water heating is the third largest energy expense in your home. It typically accounts for about 14 percent of your utility bill. Heated water is used for showers, baths, laundry, dishwashing and general cleaning. There are four ways to cut your water heating bills—use less hot water, turn down the thermostat on your water heater, insulate your water heater and pipes, and buy a new, more efficient water heater.
Other ways to conserve hot water include taking showers instead of baths, taking shorter showers, fixing leaks in faucets and pipes, and using the lowest temperature wash and rinse settings on clothes washers.