For anyone who knows me personal, you know I am a psycho when it comes to recycling. I have been known to rummage through the trash pulling out all items that can be recycled. You can frequently catch me carrying about plastic containers and water bottles in my backpack for hours until I can dispose of them properly. And yes, I realize how crazy I seem when it comes to recycling; trust me I’m the first to realize it.
What I think most people don’t realize when I am having a moment is how important it truly is to recycle anything we can. For my final term paper in my writing class this past semester, I filled ten pages with compelling reasons of the importance of recycling. The reason I chose this topic was to prove to everyone who doubted me why it is a necessary and insanely easy thing to do to save our planet.
Cliché as it is, recycling will help to save our planet, it’s the first step to set off a domino effect. Once we start recycling, less waste ends up in the landfills. When less waste is in the landfills, they don’t fill up as quickly. When landfills are not overly full, trash is less likely to sneak out and end up in the water stream. Leachate, or landfill pollution juice, is also not as likely to leak out through the cracks and holes formed by overfilling. Finally, with minimal trash ending up in the water steam, the oceans, lakes, and rivers in turn are less polluted.
This disastrous chain reaction is solved by one simple thing that does not even require a lifestyle change. The only two necessary changes that need to take place to make a cleaner, greener planet are gaining the general knowledge of what is and isn’t recyclable and the desire to make a change. No matter how ineffective your effort may seem, I can promise you, you’re making a difference.
For a basic lesson before I end my spiel, allow me to point out some of the more common items that are recyclable. Not that I’m endorsing underage drinking, but seeing as I’m writing for the college student audience, any and all alcohol containers, beer cans or bottles, the cardboard boxes wine comes in, and even the fancy bottles liquor is found it are recyclable. Any pop cans, water bottles, cardboard cereal boxes, and yes, even the plastic k-cup we use every day can be recycled.
All I am asking for is the next time you go to throw all your garbage into the same bag, think for a second at where that may end up. Whether it be the side of the road, a landfill, or even the ocean, none of the places are as good and environmentally friendly as being recycled and remade into a greener product.
