Earth Friendly Tips 2 -- The Ins and Outs of Recycling

Okay, every environmental blog has to start somewhere, and I'm going to go ahead and get the obvious ones out of the way. Recycling, for example.

Everyone knows what recycling is. Or at least, I hope everyone does. With any luck I can add a little more to your knowledge, and get you a little more interested in picking up a good habit.

THE MORE YOU KNOW

There are two basic reasons to recycle:

1) To conserve and reuse resources, and
2) Stop the filling up of landfills.

Noble reasons, to be sure. These are the ones that are pretty obvious, but the reasons go deeper than they seem. For example, when we recycle paper, we not only conserve the virgin wood that goes into making them, but conserve water and energy compared to making paper directly from wood. It also prevents land from being degraded by reducing the practice of clear-cutting forests. When a section of forest is clear cut, the loss of the tree roots to hold soil and nutrients in place causes fertile soil to be eroded and nutrients to be leeched from the soil, making them much less fertile. Clear-cutting forests also removes much-needed habitats for wild animals. Paper recycling cannot completely stop this, but any paper recycled contributes to reducing such practices and conserving resources.

Landfill space is another special issue that is relieved by recycling. We are continually running out of space in landfills to throw away our trash, when that trash could be reused and gotten out of the landfills. Also, landfills are huge hassles to manage-although it would seem that when you throw trash away in a landfill, you're just putting it in a big pit, much more effort has to be spent on landfills than that. Landfills have to meticulously lined, maintained, and monitored for leaks to keep trash sealed off and to prevent it from spilling into water supplies and soil. They also take up space needed for much more productive activities.

Now, recycling isn't an end-all solution. Recycling is just one of the three R's, the other two being Reduce and Reuse. When recycling, don't think that by sending your trash to a recycling facility you can rid yourself of that whole problem; it's also important to remember to reduce the amount of waste you create and reuse what you can. For example, don't stock up your kitchen cabinets with paper plates and plastic cups-get some real dishes so you don't stuff your trash every time you eat! Another thing you can reduce in your kitchen: paper towels. Dish towels work just fine, and they can be used to dry dishes if you hand wash them or just after washing your hands. Washing something that you can reuse, despite increased water use, is typically a better solution than throwing something away after a single use. It's cheaper as well.

There are some situations in which, I must concede, recycling on a regular basis is impossible. If the closest recycling facility is a hundred miles away and it just isn't worth the money, time, or fuel to transport it, recycling is something you might have to rethink. If you still think it possible to recycle despite distance or time difficulties, try pooling your recyclables with others to make the trip more efficient.

If you've never tried recycling and it's possible for you, I suggest giving it a shot. Who knows-you may even have a pickup service available to you that you don't know about. If you live in the suburbs or an urban area, recycling is definitely a beneficial practice, and it may even be required-in the suburbs I lived in a long time ago, you would receive a fine if you didn't! It's definitely worth it to give recycling a try.

Stay tuned for some more tips next week, and stop by www.earthfriendlyfinds.com for great earth friendly products!