This Sucks

Every day we hear about environmental problems . . . at school, in the newspapers, on television and on the radio. It hits the media every time a barge filled with garbage is turned away from port and has no place to go. We hear about it when our taxes are affected by the shipping costs for garbage. We see the impact of it every time we take out the trash. I am going to talk about the 5 R's in recycling and how with those steps it is easy to recycle. The pros and cons of recycling and the damage that will happen if we don't recycle

For those people who do not really know where to begin with recycling the 5 rs reduce reuse recycle reject and react are easy common sense things anyone can do to first get started with an environmental friendly recycling life style

REDUCE . . . 
the amount of waste we produce. 31.6% of all household waste comes from packaging and $1 out of every $10 we spend on groceries is actually for the packaging, NOT the product. If there is less to begin with, there will obviously be less to dispose of. When we send less trash to landfills

REUSE . . . 
as much as possible. Avoid disposable products whenever possible. Purchase products that can be used over and over again. Start using sturdy canvas shopping bags, reuse plastic bags, coffee tins, margarine containers and glass jars. Eliminate the use of products such as paper plates and disposable razors, too.

RECYCLE . . . 
everything that is recyclable! It is important to know what is collected for recycling in your community. In order to make recycling really work, we have to promote the whole recycling by buying products with post-consumer recycled content. And then recycling them

REJECT . . . 
products with packaging that is excessive or not recyclable. You can refuse to purchase products that are harmful to the environment. Purchases act as VOTES for products. If we continue to buy over packaged products, manufacturers will never get the message.

REACT . . . 
by talking to store managers and writing letters to manufacturers and legislators. Call the 800 numbers listed on product labels and voice your opinion about their products' sensitivity to the environment. Reacting gives more impact to the other Rs. If the 5 Rs sound like too much work here are some pros and cons to make one think about recycling common cons people use as an excuse not to recycle Recycling cost more then trash disposal well from the new jersey recycling web site it cost $25.00 to recycle a ton of newspaper, that same ton in the landfill would cost well over $100.00 It is easier to just throw things away. And my favorite excuse is that it takes extra effort. In my opinion one of those cons just sound like laziness. Some pros for recycling are is that is reduces the amount of waste put into landfills

By the mid-1980's New Jersey had only 10 open landfills left, from over