Its Blog Action Day

• Yep, its Blog Action Day:

  On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. Our aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future.

  I had no idea. My friend Vanessa clued me in, especially since the subject this year is the Environment and that's my forte!
  

So here's what I want you to do... RECYCLE!! Seriously people, its not that difficult. I really have a hard time throwing things away, and not because I'm emotionally attached but because I hate to think of it sitting in a landfill for hundreds, thousands, or billions of years. I don't know why but that has always bugged me. In college I did my Senior Thesis on Recycling and explored how to bring a feasible Recycling program to my hometown of Fairbanks, AK. Not easy considering the remote location, costs of transportation to Recycling facilities, etc. Unfortunately I did not find an easy solution, but I did find out a lot from my research and I got an "A" on the thesis. I also took a private tour of our local landfill, very eye-opening and a vivid image that remains with me every time I have to throw something out.

Here's something to think about the next time you throw something away.
Average time it take to decompose a...
■ banana -- 3 to 4 weeks
■ paper bag -- 1 month
■ cotton rag -- 5 months
■ wool sock -- 1 year
■ cigarette butt -- 2 to 5 years
■ leather boot -- 40 to 50 years
■ tin can -- 80 to 100 years
■ aluminum can -- 200 to 500 years
■ plastic 6-pack rings -- 450 years
■ plastic jug -- 1 million years
■ Styrofoam cup -- unknown? forever?
■ glass bottle -- unknown? forever?

So, the point is you should RECYCLE. Here's how I do it: I shop at the commissary where they happen to have huge recycling drop off bins for paper, cardboard, plastic and aluminum. When I shop I ask for paper bags and that is what I use for my collecting "bins" at home. I happen to have a large pantry so I keep my "bins" on the floor in there: one for paper, one for plastic, one for cardboard and I rarely drink soda but if I do I keep those cans too. When the bags get full I move them to the garage, when I go to do my grocery shopping I load up the back of my SUV and drop it all off in the recycling bins before I go in to shop. Its that simple. Really. I rinse out all my plastic bottles when they are empty and dump them in the plastic "bin". I gather up all my newspapers, junk mail, office papers, dump them in the paper "bin". All my cardboard boxes whether from mail packages or gifts or boxes of cereal, I unfold them, flatten them and stick them in the cardboard "bin". Unfortunately my location doesn't take glass, but I wash and save those too and use them for crafts or tool storage or find someone who needs them, people even buy/sell baby food jars on Ebay! After all this recycling I usually only have two bags of garbage per week. Its amazing how much "garbage" you can reduce by recycling the majority of your waste. My neighbors bins are always overflowing and it doesn't have to be that way.

Your assignment: wherever you live and whatever your situation, take some time this week to research your recycling options. Many cities have pick up service, you just have to call and request a bin (some cities charge a little extra for this service). Maybe you have the ability to recycle at work, do it! If your office recycles paper, save your home papers and bring them in to recycle too (ask your boss but I'm sure they won't mind). Maybe you will find a local recycling center that has drop off locations and some recycling places even pay you back. Please, for me, for the planet, for your children. Take the time to think about recycling and see how you can start recycling in your community, then spread the word to your friends & neighbors too!!