Recycling is a very simple concept to explain but apparently a rather difficult concept to implement. Whenever a product or its useful components are turned into a new product the original product has been recycled. When products are recycled the consumption of natural resources is slowed down, the environment is protected, space in landfills is preserved, and energy is conserved.
Even though people around the world are now more aware and better educated about recycling then we have been in the past, many of us still act as if our resources and our space on this planet are unlimited. Although most scientists agree about the threat and results of global warming and our need to preserve our precious natural resources, all too many of us choose to ignore their warnings and concerns.
Although a number of European countries and the United States are world leaders in technology, statistics indicate that we also lead the world in waste and excess. The numbers regarding recycling are generally terribly disappointing.
Recycled Paper
On a positive note, in 2006 as a result of recycling efforts in the US for the first time ever more paper was recycled than was consumed. In that year 53.4% of the paper used in the United States was recycled.
However, if we want to see a real difference in the amount of space being taken up by paper in our landfills then a much greater effort has to be made throughout the world.
Making a Mountain Out of a Molehill
Do you know what the highest point in Ohio is? At over 1,000 feet it's Mount Rumple. Now it's not as high as the Rockies or Mount Everest. But Mount Everest and the Rocky Mountains are not made of garbage. Mount Rumpke is. Mount Rumpke is literally a mountain of garbage that's risen from the Rumpke landfill.
Candy Wrappers
Most people in the United States and many others throughout the world have at one time or another eaten a Hershey Kiss. You know - those bits of chocolate wrapped in aluminum foil.
Did you know that about 20 million kisses are produced by the Hershey Company in the United States every day? The company uses approximately 133 square miles of aluminum foil to wrap around the candy.
Most people who eat these kisses just toss the wrappers into the garbage. Hardly any of it is recycled.
The Air We Breathe
Trees naturally convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. Yet we continue to destroy the very resources that provide the air we breathe.
Even today the Rain forests are being destroyed. Trees are being cut down at a staggering rate of one hundred acres every minute.
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