Recycling: Three Small Ideas That Can Make A Huge Impact On The Environment

By Author: Bruce Tucker
Total Articles: 174
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Plastic Bags
One of the biggest landfill hogs is the waste of unrecyclable plastics. Not only do they take up a lot of space but they also take generations to decompose. Although a lot of supermarkets and shopping centers have made the switch to plastic bags that can be recycled, there is a better solution. Instead of using plastic bags of any kind make the switch to reusable cloth bags. My supermarket sells them for anywhere from one dollar to thirty dollars depending on the size, color and logos that are on them. I bought the bags that had the store logo on them and they cost me a dollar a piece. Inside each bag were loads of coupons, of which many I used so the bag basically paid for itself after one trip. Not only did I get the coupon but the store also gives me a nickel off for every bag I use. Sure it won't make me rich, but it is something and a small incentive to make the switch. If every person in America made this change we would save over one billion plastic bags per year. That's a whole lot of plastic!

Grass
I was shocked to hear that in most municipalities in this country that grass ...
... is thrown in with the regular trash which inevitably ends up in a landfill. In my area they pick up the grass on a separate day and it is recycled into compost and mulch. Of course you do not need to wait on your local, state or federal government to enact something similar. You can just as easily do it yourself. By switching your lawn mower's blade to a mulching blade your grass will get cut up into very fine pieces and put back to the soil. When these fine pieces decompose they will introduce healthy nutrients back into your lawn. Even though my area picks up the grass, I use a mulching blade. My grass has far better benefits for me by mulching while I mow then having the government come pick it up. I haven't bagged my own grass in nearly seven years! Imagine the landfill space we would save if everybody mulched their grass.

Plastic Milk Containers
Ok this one I have to give credit where credit is due and that is to my father who first introduced me to this technique and that is reusing one gall plastic milk containers before I recycle them. With this technique I get an extra use out of it in the form of a block of ice. After rinsing out the plastic container I then fill it up and place it in the freezer to create a huge block of ice. This is especially handy when I am having a barbecue and need to keep things cold outside. Once the water is frozen and I wish to use the block of ice, I simply take the container, run it under water for about 30 seconds so it will release from the sides. I then take a sharp knife or scissors and cut away the container. I toss then toss the container into my recycle bin and I am done. The plastic container ends up in recycle anyway so I mind as well use it for something before it goes.

As you can see none of these ideas are life altering or require you to make huge adjustments in your daily routine. But with over 300 million people making small changes like this on a daily basis we can reduce our needs for landfill space and the use of less plastic.
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