According to a recent Gallop Poll, the majority of Americans support the environmental movement. However, from the figures collected, it is clear that many do not grasp the impact of their personal choices; some 44% of those surveyed agreed with the statement, "What I do does NOT impact the health of natural habitats". This is a clear violation of the spiritual laws of love, responsibility, use, and balance. The truth is that Americans, with just 4.5% of the world's population, consume over 33% of its materials. It's staggering!
Reduce: Between 1960 and 2008 the amount of waste each person creates has almost doubled from 2.7 to 4.5 pounds per day. The most effective way to stop this trend is by preventing waste in the first place. Waste prevention, also known as "source reduction" is the practice of designing, manufacturing, purchasing, or using materials (such as products and packages) in ways that reduce the amount or toxicity of the trash created. Reusing items is another way to stop waste at the source because it delays or avoids that item's entry into the waste collection and disposal system.
Source reduction, including reuse, can help reduce waste disposal and handling costs, because it avoids the costs of recycling, municipal composting, landfilling, and combustion. Source reduction also conserves resources and reduces pollution, including greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.
Reuse: You probably already "reuse" materials. Most of us don't think about giving the younger child hand me downs for clothes, or renting videos, borrowing books from the library, or buying antiques. Yet all of these are examples of "reuse". Many of us hold garage sales, take goods and clothing to donation centers or donate to charities our non-working computers, cell phones, and printers. There are so many cool ideas out there on how you can reuse everyday things. Take for example, CD spindle holders. They can be reused to cart bagels back and forth to work. Our plastic bags can be reused as well. Why not just put your old plastic bags into the cloth bags which you use when you do grocery shopping? This way, you don't use another plastic bag from the grocery store to hold your fruit and vegetables. These bags can be reused! And, why not put those canvas bags into your car and use them in whatever store you are going to shop in? They aren't just for grocery stores - they can be used in Walmart, CVS, clothing stores, etc. Don't limit their use.
Recycling: Recycling has been made so much easier because of the Internet. You can learn the fundamentals of recycling and the cryptic symbols on plastic containers and how to recycle just about everything. Many local waste disposal companies will even give you bins to hold your recyclables and they will do all the sorting for you - plastics, paper, and metals. All you need to do is make a call and get signed up for their program.
Here are some resources and links to websites on this topic. As I find more useful information, I will update this page.
"Green Living" by the editors or E, E/The Environmental Magazine
