Recycling

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Recycling

To recycle or not to recycle that is an important question that we all need to ask

ourselves. As the population continues to grow and the earth gets more and more

crowded with people and their waste it becomes a major issue of whether there will be

enough space on the planet earth for future generations and their waste (trash) too. When

first beginning to collect trash and and counting the trash my attitude was - what

influence could my family make? But as I began to research recycling and how some

wastes pollute the environment my attitude took a change. The attitude turned more

toward concern than what or how much my waste contributed to the big picture.

Below is a chart reflecting the amount of trash that was counted and weighted

during a four-week period beginning the week of Monday, April 24, 2000 and ending on

Sunday, May 21, 2000.

These weights were rounded up to the nearest pound.

Week Aluminum Other Metals Glass Plastics Newspaper White Paper Other Paper Food Prducts and Lftovrs

1- Apr 24-30 10 5 4 5

2- May 1-7

3- May 8-14

4- May 15-21

Totals

The Orrs household consists of my wife and three children, ages 9, 5 and 2 (3

boys and 2 girls). During the first week of my collection the oldest child was visiting her

grandparents, which I thought would have made a difference in the amount of trash that

the Orrs would accumulate. There was a major surprise to the household of how much

food waste accumulated over a week, and how the numbers of plastic and glass were

almost equivalent. The food waste can probably be attributed to the fact that Mrs. Orr still

cooks for five people and the childre...

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...vironmental Systems of America, Inc., Recycling Recoverable Resources - Paper.

Interne. (Online). 17 Feb. 2000. http://envirosysteminc.com/paper.html.

"Environmental Systems of America, Inc., Recycling Recoverable Resources - Glass."

Interne. (Online). 17 Feb. 2000. http:/Ienvirosysteminc.comlm)dhs.htmi.

Foster, Joanna. Cartons, Cans, and Orange Peels, Where Does Your Garbage Go?

New York: Clarion Books, 1991.

Gay, Kathlyn. Garbage and Recycling. Hillsdale, N.J.: Enslow Publishers, 1991.

James, Barbara. Waste and Recycling. Austin, Texas: Steck-Vaughn Library, 1990.

Lee, Sally. The Throwaway Society. New York: Franklin Wafts, 1990.

Samuelson, Robert J. Using Cloth Diapers Cannot Reduce Garbaqe. Ed. Bernards,

Neal, The Environmental Crisis. Opposing Viewpoints Series. San Diego, CA:

Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1991. 140-145.

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