Why Zero Waste is Important
Think about how much garbage is burned in your city. Do you think it might affect air quality? Think about the number of landfills filled with garbage. Think about the islands of plastic garbage floating in the ocean. Have you considered how much money, energy and resources are spent on garbage you throw away? Wouldn’t it be better to spend it elsewhere?
Can you see why zero waste is important? It affects our resources, our health and the beauty of our neighborhoods and planet.
Trash Facts to Ponder as of 2017:
1. Over 2000 active landfills in the U.S
2. 9/10 of all solid waste in U.S. doesn’t get recycled, although ¾ of it is recyclable!
3. Over 11 million tons of recyclable clothing, footwear & textiles end up in landfills each year.
4. It takes 500 years for the average plastic bottle to decompose. Unfortunately the bags don't break down completely but instead photo-degrade, becoming micro-plastics that absorb toxins and continue to pollute the environment. Even if it is recyclable it can only be recycled 3 times and then it becomes trash.
5. Glass bottles take 4000 years to decompose. These are recyclable!
6. You can make 20 new cans from recycled materials using the same amount of energy needed to make 1 brand new (unrecycled content) can.
7. Of the 62 million newspapers printed daily in the U.S., 44 million will be thrown away (roughly 500,000 trees). However, if 1/10 of all discarded newspapers were recycled annually – 25 million trees would be saved!
8. 40% of all food in America is wasted.
This is a lot of garbage!
We want to rethink how we accumulate and use stuff! According to Zero Wasted by Amber Haukedahl - www.zerowasted.net , there are 5 R’s to reducing waste:
The 5 R’s
1. Refuse what you don’t need
2. Reduce what you do need
3. Reuse by using recyclables
4. Recycle what can’t refuse, reduce or reuse
5. Rot (compost) the rest
Simple Actions have impact:
· Be aware of packaging – i.e. Avoid single serving. Purchase larger or bulk & divide in own containers.
· Don’t buy what you don’t need
· Fix things instead of replacing
· Use cloth shopping bags & Nylon produce bags
· Rent tools that are not used often
· Buy recycled/recyclable products when available
· Find & purchase eco-friendly products online
Just think if every single person chose 1 action every 2-4 weeks to reduce waste. It would have enormous impact on the amount of waste we produce in our country. It is such an easy way to make our world a better place. Click for 1 action you can take.
