Recycling is absolutely a necessity now even more than before. Probably all of us bloggers have seen the massive islands of trash floating in the Pacific, Atlantic, and is moving into waterways. It is its own island in many ways, only it is toxic.
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preparing piles of recycling for sorting
 This what China does.
Europe has be proactive for many years in recycling.
America has as well, but not everyone has recognized how utterly vital recycling is.
On our farm, we handled garbage in several ways. Edibles were dumped
in the hog lots. They loved it.
We burned papers and paper waste.
What about tin cans, etc?
Some townspeople dumped that
in the local creek that fed into the
Mississippi. We took this trash to
unfarmable empty land and dumped it.
It was the times, 1950s.
What to do with plastic straws?
"Some examples of type 5 plastic containers that straws can be placed into include plastic take-out containers, microwavable plastic containers, and margarine tubs or other similar containers. Straws, damn them. Go to this site above.
To check if your container is the proper type, just check for the recycling label. Type 5 plastic (polypropylene) will be marked with a number 5 inside the recycling symbol. The image below illustrates this symbol:"
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The paper straw option shown above can be found here: readily available in Target and other stores
Small steps can make a difference. Supermarkets no longer providing free plastic bags: plastic straws no longer available; cotton buds on plastic no longer available; all our food waste now collected for compost. These things are not going to save the world but we must all start somewhere.
ReplyDeleteWhile we can't do anything major, we can do this.
DeleteWe've recycled for the past thirty years. Our site takes almost all plastic as well.
ReplyDeleteIt may not seem like it, but what if no one recycled? We'd definitely see that it does make a difference.
India has piles and piles of recyclable stuff. That might be a sad example of the results.
DeleteI am appalled at how much waste comes into our home. We recycle what we can, and I am working on minimising the waste. Single use plastic bags have been banned here for some time - which is a start.
ReplyDeleteWe compost too. And recycle paper, cans, plastics. These days our garbage bin is virtually empty. The recycling containers are a different matter.
You are awesome. We don't compost, basically because our desert garden has different needs. Our recycle bin is overflowing on trash day. The trash bin is about half full.
DeleteThey are just getting around to banning single use plastic bags here, it is a little step, but considering darn near everything else you buy has plastic covering it, kinda like a pin in a hay stack. And turns out what we recycle doesn't even get there a lot of the time. Many a time they just send it to the dump too. Big old thing here in Canada on it.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear that single use plastic bags are phasing out. We are often see lare truck beds stacked high with bales of recycled material. That is more common that before. Hopefully you'll see the same.
DeleteBad thing is, many countries are shipping waste TO China, who has nothing like the environmental protective laws we do. Studies show most of the Pacific "island" has come from China and Vietnam. The price of doing business with cheap labor. BTW, this is not excusing us, we have to be the biggest litterers and we used to ship some of that waste to China.
ReplyDeleteChina has stopped taking goods to recycle, so I don't know what will the result. Hopefully, USA will take over the responsibility.
DeleteRecycling is vital, i make sure we do it here. When i am cleaning homes, i am vigilant to teach my clients what can and cannot be recycled, and how to do it properly. It's sad that some of them don't want to learn and do not care.
ReplyDeleteThat is super! I hope they follow through.
DeleteYou make important points. I also find the details of large scale recycling to be fascinating. I do not use plastic straws at home but my county now requires paper straws at bars and restaurants. This is a very good development.
ReplyDeleteSo far, paper straws have not become common here in CA, except in state parks.
DeleteOh, the straws... Unfortunately, that's a big issue for individuals with disabilities.
ReplyDeletePlastic straws are at a level where they are the death of many marine animals.
DeleteOur waste haulers here in NE Ohio have aggressive recycle programs. It works for us.
ReplyDeleteExcellent!
DeleteIn our little bitty town recycling is required. Recyclables are collected one week and other trash the next week.
ReplyDeleteI try to as much as I can.
ReplyDeleteThat is what everyone should do.
DeleteI now have stainless steel straws that came with the long, thin brush for cleaning them, they'll last forever, but they're a bit cold on the teeth. I also have half a dozen silicone straws that also came with a cleaning brush, these are a wider size for things like milkshakes and smoothies. I keep one of each in a chopstick holder in my backpack.
ReplyDeleteI have seen the steel ones! I am thinking about them for Christmas presents.
DeleteThey come in wide or thin sizes, straight or bent, shiny stainless steel or shiny rainbow stainless steel and each set comes with a cleaning brush. The steel ones are cold on the teeth though, so for anyone with sensitive teeth, you might want to get the silicone option, although I think they only come in wide for smoothies etc.
DeleteHi Susan - excellent post ... I do what I'm expected to do here ... but am unsure what the Borough or Council do - I know there are rules, regulations and guidelines ... as you'd expect in the UK ... and I see how we recycle things here, and sites that are state of the art in France ... we need a joined up set up. Thanks for reminding us ... we need to clear our mess up - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteEurope has been dependable in recycling.
DeleteI love reusing and repurposing or finding home for plastic. It really urks me see trash along our roads here in MO. I don't understand the open window--trash out mindset.
ReplyDeleteTeresa
That would be infuriating.
DeleteThe company that picks up our recycled bins each week sent us a letter telling us no more glass or any kind can be put in the bins. So we just throw away our glass now? We were shocked. NO alternative given either.
ReplyDeleteIn different market plazas, collection kiosks (?) are set up to collect glass and metal. But I have seen only two or 3. That is a shocker!! Have you contacted the company?
DeleteIn Wichita, KS, the largest city in the state, we do NOT have mandatory recycling. We had a recycling center for awhile, but it was private and was eventually shut down due to financial difficulties.
ReplyDeleteI am ONE of those people who needs a straw. I've used paper, plastic, and biodegradable straws. I've not tried the metal ones, but I followed the link to Amazon and saw they are really inexpensive.
Thanks for making this a priority. It's been my life desire to make recycling not just a habit, but a daily routine. After all, I was born on Earth Day, so I've been a recycler since I can remember what recycling was.
Thanks for sharing such. Wichita should be embarrassed.
DeleteI forgot to tell you when you asked what I was going to do with my journal pages, that I am going to place all my art journal pieces in a three ring binder. I don't believe these are good enough to go on my already filled walls.
ReplyDeletePerhaps? You could scan and then bind up copies of your wonderful art?
DeleteI bought straws at IKEA about two years before everyone started talking about straws. I needed them medically for awhile because it was the only way I could drink. But I didn't use a lot. So now I have them. Well, I keep using the same straws over and over and over and over. I will have these same straws -- or most of them -- till I'm 95 if I live that long. Yeah, what does one do with them? A great post on a subject we all are wrangling with.
ReplyDeleteWe can stay informed and see, then use solutions.
DeleteThat is tough. Hard to solve situation for sure.
DeleteSobering, for sure. At my former workplace there was a concerted effort to educate and promote recycling ... even including a field trip to Waste Management's turning facility. Unfortunately, here in our present community there are no provisions to dispose of our recycables. How long can we continue to turn a blind eye?
ReplyDeleteHere in Ireland recycling gets picked up every other week, it alternates with the waste pickup. I don't use straws and haven't since I grew up. My big question is, it's great that most people recycle but where does it go. Countries that used to accept the recycling are now refusing because there is no longer any room to accept it from other countries. That is a problem that I hope can be taken care of.
ReplyDelete