Do you Recycle? I’ll bet you do!
Recycling is the 3rd R, not the first. Reduce and re-use come before recycle. Now that China is no longer taking our recyclables, we’re going to have to re-think our over reliance on recycling.
Let’s face it, we are making quite a mess here on the planet. There is no Planet B to run off to once our planet is uninhabitable. My mom always told me I couldn’t go out to play until my room was clean. Perhaps we should tell that to Elon Musk and his billionaire space buddies that they’re not allowed to leave for Mars until they help clean up their home planet first. And did you know that space is littered with our messes too? Space junk is a real thing, the amount of trash in Earth orbit, from spent rocket stages, broken satellites and micrometeoroids, is growing.
Now more than ever, it is time we embraced Z for ZERO WASTE.
It starts with changing our thinking. And it can start with what you are drinking.
Single use coffee cups are toxic for both you and the planet. Consider the potential health issues when you pour hot liquids into a single use plastic lined paper cup or styrofoam cup. Do our bodies know how to safely and effectively eliminate that daily dose of polyethylene or polystyrene? Single use paper cups are not recyclable thanks to that waterproof layer of polyethylene. And keep in mind, our recycling situation is in flux thanks to China.
The answer is simple. Get yourself a re-useable cup. There are many out there to choose from. Kleen Kanteen makes a lovely insulated tumbler that is easy to clean. Each one of us can do small things that add up big time to reduce that mess.
Here’s another zero waste idea: give a gift of a re-useable container to your favorite elected official. Too many times, you’ll see photos of them drinking from paper cups and plastic water bottles. We need our elected leaders to lead by example, not just talk. Their actions can be the catalyst for positive change.
I’m hoping to meet with our newly elected County Executive, George Latimer. I’ve got two great looking insulated tumblers for him. If he uses them instead of paper cups when he travels the county meeting with constiutents, he’ll be doing his part to reduce the massive amount of trash that heads up to the incinerator in Peekskill NY. Westchester county incinerates 2500 tons of trash every day, my lungs hurt just thinking about it.
On a recent visit to Australia, I discovered they have a show on ABC called, The War on Waste. Australia is ranked 5th highest for generating the most municipal waste in the world. And of course, you know who number 1 is, its us, the good old USA. So far, we have no hit TV shows about our efforts to clean up the mess we’re making here. We can start to win the war on waste by swapping out single use items. Check out the list below and get started today!
