Recycling ProjectBy Scott Westman and Ian Ammerall

A Quick Question...

Have you ever realized you may be responsible for this?

A Quick Question...

Or this? The truth is, there’s a good chance you have contributed to this happening.

General Garbage Facts

● Americans generate 251.3 million tons of garbage per year○ Surprisingly, of the 251 million, 35% of the garbage comes from either schools or businesses.○ Of this amount, only 33% gets recycled.

● As a lifetime average, Americans will throw away 600 times their body weight in trash

● Keeping garbage off the ground and in the recycling bins produces much cleaner groundwater

Paper Facts

● Average American uses 7 trees worth of paper a year○ 680 pounds of paper

● To produce each week’s newspaper, over 500,000 trees must be cut down. If humans would recycle their paper, this would drastically reduce the amount of trees that must be cut.

○ If all newspapers were recycled, around 250,000,000 trees could be saved each year!!

At newspaper recycling plants, old papers are made into cubes (left) and then re-rolled by machines (right).

Plastic Facts

● 25 million plastic bottles are thrown away every hour● Over 7 billion pounds of non-recycled plastics are made every year ● Only 7% of plastics made are recycled after use● Recycling plastic conserves energy

○ Saves double the energy saving plastic as it does to burn

The East Hamilton trail has more than its fair share of plastic lying around

Trash Hotspots: Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch

● Weighs in at over 700,000 tons of trash● Nearly 80% of trash came from land-based activities● Marine animals at at high risk from the trash

○ Some mistake plastics for food○ Others can get stuck in fishing nets and never get back out

● Most of the trash is not biodegradable○ Breaks into smaller and smaller pieces rather than dissolve

Animals Being Harmed by Poor Recycling Decisions

It only takes one plastic bag not being properly disposed of to kill an innocent animal.

Humans think, “Oh what’s the big deal?” when it comes to recycling. Humans are often times the downfall to animal’s lives.

Animals Continued… Marine Life

An otter struggling to help a nearby suffocating family member.

Animals many times mistake the garbage for food...

Positives of Recycling

● Recycling is very beneficial to not only humans and animals, but the world we live in.

● By recycling, it keeps large amounts of garbage out of landfills which at times can leak into many ponds, streams, lakes, etc.

● In addition, the air humans breathe will be much cleaner and safer.

Call to Action

Do you think it’s fair for the environment and its animals to be treated in such an inhumane way? If so, enjoy destroying your own planet. But if not, start contributing in any way you can to solve this issue. Start recycling, buying reusable goods, and cutting down on unnecessary waste. If everyone participates in some fashion, there will be a positive outcome. It’s never too late to make a change for the better.

Works Cited Http://science.howstuffworks.com/trash

https://www.bc.edu/offices/sustainability/what-you-can-do/know-facts.html

http://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/

http://midcityscrap.com/2012/08/7-reasons-why-you-should-recycle/