Reminders for myself when I'm not sure any of this matters:
Recycle
- Only 12.5% of e-waste is currently recycled.
- For every 1 million cell phones that are
recycled, 35,274 lbs of copper, 772 lbs of silver, 75 lbs of gold, and
33 lbs of palladium can be recovered.
- Recycling 1 million laptops saves the energy equivalent to the electricity used by 3,657 U.S. homes in a year.
- E-waste is still the fastest growing municipal waste stream in America, according to the EPA.
- It takes 530 lbs of fossil fuel, 48 lbs of chemicals, and 1.5 tons of water to manufacture one computer and monitor.
- Electronic items that are considered to be
hazardous include, but are not limited to: Televisions and computer
monitors that contain cathode ray tubes, LCD desktop monitors, LCD
televisions, Plasma televisions, Portable DVD players with LCD screens. (source)
Compost
In 2005, an estimated 245.7 million tons of municipal
solid wastes were generated in the United States, that’s
4.5 pounds per person per day. Organic materials—
comprised of yard trimmings, food scraps, wood waste,
paper and paperboard products—are the largest
component of our trash and make up about two-thirds of
the solid waste stream.....Yard
trimmings and food residuals by themselves constitute
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency monitors the materials that
make up the municipal solid waste, or MSW, going into landfills. In
2010, more than half of all MSW was made up of compostable materials
(see References 1). Food waste is especially problematic, because food
in landfills decomposes in the absence of air. This anaerobic process
produces methane, which is a powerful greenhouse gas. According to the
EPA's figures, landfills account for a full 20 percent of America's
methane production (see References 1). Composting these materials would
remove millions of tons from the waste stream. (source)
Limit Plastics
The usefulness of plastic bags is extremely limited, yet according to one estimate, somewhere between five billion and one trillion plastic bags are used each year around the world.
Much of the plastic that’s polluting the oceans is microplastics, tiny
chunks that are next to impossible to filter out. These plastics can
come from bigger items breaking down, but they are also commonly added
to consumer products like face wash and toothpaste.
These little beads are intended to be exfoliators, but many wastewater
treatment facilities aren’t able to stop them. There are many
biodegradable alternatives, so avoid items with “polypropylene” or
“polyethylene” on the ingredients list.
Climate Change and Waste
Most people don't realize that waste is linked with global climate change. How? The manufacture, distribution and use of products - as well as management of the resulting waste - use energy and release greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide and methane that contribute to climate change.-
By recycling your waste, you reduce the amount of materials that need to be manufactured,
thereby reducing energy use and, thus, reducing emissions of carbon dioxide, the most common
greenhouse gas.
-
Organic materials like food, paper, wood and yard waste can break down in landfills, producing
methane emissions. Methane is another, even stronger greenhouse gas.
- In addition, reducing, reusing and recycling wood products can leave more trees standing, allowing forests to continue to store, rather than releasing carbon dioxide.
