It’s all about saving our planet. Unfortunately, our current climate crisis puts us in a situation where we must find a way to reduce the pollutants that fossil fuel companies are releasing into the atmosphere as well as limiting our personal contributions to our landfills. As our population continues to grow, the implication of every individual carbon footprint is impacting the future of our planet. Luckily, we are continually educating ourselves about earth-friendly methods of responsible sustainability where we can adjust our lifestyles and contribute to a more environmentally conscious society. Recycling and composting are great ways we can contribute to the healing and future growth of our planet.
Recycling
It actually a two-fold process. First, we need to take a hard look at every single item that we used to toss in the garbage bound for a landfill. Much of what we used to consider trash is actually recyclable, especially all of the packaging and food containers that we use every week. In addition to focusing on what we recycle instead of sending to the landfill, we need to take a look at how many products we are buying that are made of recycled products. Utilizing recyclable options can perpetuate a never-ending cycle of limiting what we are sending to our landfills while reducing the amount of emissions that are created when packaging supplies are manufactured. Buying recycled goods also saves our valuable Earth’s resources for later use.
Items can be recycled at home for pick-up or taken to a local facility. Some recycled items are even worth a little money. Here a list of just some of the things that can be recycled.
- Paper and Cardboard – Anything paper or cardboard, as long as it’s not soaked with food, can be saved from the landfill.
- Metal – Not only can it be recycled, but some of it can be sold to local facilities that purchase certain metals. Tin cans, aluminum, and steel are just a few that can be reused. Food residue should always be removed to avoid any extra processing later resulting in adding emissions to the atmosphere. I always rinse the items I’m recycling.
- Glass – Anything made of glass is recyclable. It’s generally recommended that glass recyclables are separated from any other recycled items.
- Plastic – Almost anything made out of plastic can be recycled as long as it is clean.
- Plastic grocery bags – While they are recyclable, they usually can’t be disposed of at home. Most major retailers will have a bin set up for drop-off.
- Styrofoam – While Styrofoam isn’t very earth-friendly because of the way it’s made, it can be recycled in some parts of the country. Do some search to find out if it’s recyclable in your state.
Don’t mix any garbage in with the recycled items. The emissions produced by the cleaning can negate the positive benefits of the process.
Composting
Another method of reducing what we send to our landfills is composting. It’s an eco-friendly way to use common household waste that would be thrown away to create an organic material that can be used as a fertilizer in your yard. Some foods that would normally be thrown in the trash, leaves, and clippings from the yard, and water are all that’s needed for composting.
The recipe for a perfect compost bin is a balance of browns, greens, and water creating an environment of carbon and nitrogen that breaks down the organic matter. The browns and greens can be collected separately and added to the bin. The bin should be in a dry, shaded area. Here’s a simple guide.
Compost Requirements:
- Greens – These can consist of items collected in the yard. Dried leaves, branches, twigs, and limbs can be kept in a pile outside of the bin. Greens also include recyclables found in the house like cardboard, newspaper, fireplace ashes, dryer lint, and cotton or wool cloths.
- Browns – This would include grass clippings, vegetable and fruit peels, egg shells, nut shells, tea bags, and coffee grounds. These are usually added and balanced as you collect them.
- Water – Enough water to keep everything moist, but not soaked.
- Pitchfork – You can use anything long enough to allow you to mix the ingredients.
How To Compost:
- There should be an equal amount of browns and greens. Usually, you’ll collect the greens and wait until you have enough browns to mix them together. Make sure everything is in small pieces and add them to the bin.
- Add just enough water to keep everything moist.
- Mix the items with the pitchfork or a rake.
- After a few days, you’ll be able to incorporate grass clippings. At this point, you still want to keep everything moving. Just keep the food waste buried a few inches under any clippings to form composting material.
- Keep repeating the process, and after several weeks, organic, nutrient-rich compost will be at the bottom of the bin.
Recycling and composting are only two of the ways that we can help our environment. It’s all about each of our individual carbon footprints. Everything we do while we are on this planet will contribute either positively or negatively to the longevity of our environment. It boils down to being conscious enough to make the right decisions for our future generations by thinking of our environment first and foremost. We all have the responsibility to keep our planet save.
