Wellness Journalism: Got Recycling?

What goes around comes around...

But when it comes to recycling, some of us just get lazy. Should I walk an extra 100 yards to that blue recycling bin over there, or just drop my beverage bottle in this garbage can right next to me? Plop. Another piece of trash has just been created.

It’s just as easy to recycle as it is to throw away. Not only are there recycling bins all over the place, but you can even make some money (go green!) if you save your plastics and glass and take them to the recycling center yourself. One friend of mine rakes in $60 every time she goes to the recycling center, and uses this money to pamper herself with a pedicure or nice dinner. Open a special piggy bank account and use accumulated recycling income to take a nice vacation!

For things that won’t fit in the blue bin, visit Earth911. This toll-free hotline and website has an exhaustive directory of recycling and disposal centers near you, and plenty of information about how to recycle things like batteries, cell phones, gift cards, computers, game consoles, plastic bags, plastic bottle caps and those nasty packing peanuts.

Second-hand, first-rate! If you haven’t met Craig, get on his list. Craigslist is an amazing, adventerous, and versatile resource for buying and selling everything under the sun. I have found everything from sports equipment to moving boxes to furniture to electronics/appliances…in fact, easily half of my worldly possessions have been sold/purchased from Craigslist or thrift stores, earning/saving me hundreds upon hundreds of dollars! (I think of it as supporting my local economy.)

Land of the free. Of course, while cheap used stuff is good, free used stuff is better. Check out Craigslist or Freecycle in your area to see if there are any items that you can score gratis! Once there was even a free jacuzzi….all you had to do was pick it up. While you're at it, you can connect with people who can use something you are finished with. It’s so nice to find a loving home for things that are otherwise ready to be abandoned.

It all counts!

Recycling of 1 aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for 3 hours.
Recycling of 1 glass container saves enough energy to light a bulb for 4 hours.
Recycling of 1 ton of paper saves 17 trees and 7000 gallons of water.
1 ton of glass made from 50% recycled materials saves 250 lbs. of mining waste.



Did you know?

• Enough aluminum is thrown away to rebuild our commercial air fleet 4 times every year.
• Glass can be reused an infinite number of times
• Each year, enough paper is thrown away to make a 12’ wall from New York to California.
• Enough iron and steel is discarded in the United States to continually supply the nation’s automakers.
• There’s an island the size of Texas filled with trash, mostly plastic waste. It’s floating in the ocean just north of Hawaii and west of California.

(Information is compiled from the EPA, Reynolds Metal Company, and Steel Recycling Institute.)