Earth Day: Is Our Recycling Doing Any Good?
Today is Earth Day an having this day has tremendously influenced more people to be more mindful of how we treat the earth. The one thing that people have promoted in the past is to recycle, but are our efforts to recycle actually doing anything.
One fact I recently learned is that our efforts for recycling plastic in the US have been overwhelmingly making a difference in our waste, but the alarming part is that there is so much plastic in which we recycle that we are now being rejected from some of the major contributors of recycling our plastic, especially China (see link for more). China pretty much decided our trash was too trashy haha! Now we are starting to see our ‘recycled’ plastic ultimately end back up in the landfills and are incinerated which releases a ridiculous amount of contaminants into the air.
For my science geeks, I had done a research project in my undergrad on Scott A. Strobel from Yale University who discovered (along with his students of his Rainforest Expedition and Laboratory Course) a naturally occurring fungus that would break down the PUR’s that make up plastic. Unfortunately, we do not have enough research and technology to utilize research like this so we must make other changes that can help create change faster. (Read more here.)
Now that the idea of recycling and the ways we save the earth our changing, we must start to change our daily habits to be a part of this cause. Here are a couple ways you can make a difference!
Use Aluminum or Glass Packaged Products: Aluminum and glass are great alternatives for packaging as they have been studied and shown to reduce the amount of contaminants left back into the environment significantly if used properly. This is why ESSNTLS Lab is currently creating products with all glass packaging because we want to take part in helping the environment and encourage our followers to do the same. (Read more on glass vs. aluminum)
Use a re-usable water bottle: This is something so simple to do and there are so many companies that are on board that it makes it easy to get the perfect water bottle for you. Cutting back on water bottles is an incredibly easy way to do your part in saving the earth!
Invest in Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Companies: It is not hard to do a little research on the companies that you are investing in every day. For example, when you go to buy a re-usable water bottle, you will see so many different companies giving their marketing story about how they are great for the environment because you are reusing it, but other companies like Brita are a much better option in saving the environment because they are working with several different organizations that allow them to reduce their waste and be more sustainable when they are not only creating their products, but making sure their shipping process is not wasteful and encouraging healthy cleaner individuals while also saving the environment.
Composting: The US is increasingly getting on board with composting as it is the perfect way to reduce our waste even more and also give back to our environment and fertilize new crops. There is actually a lot more we can compost than what we actually think. Paper can even be added to your compost! Click here to learn more on how to compost.
Being Mindful: I was just watching the Today show and I was shocked on some of the tips they were giving on knowing what is recyclable and what is not. Even the paper cups that have that wax lining will not be recycled even though it seems perfectly fine. Unfortunately, if we do not sort our own recycling it just ends up back into the waste and defeats the entire purpose of recycling. I added the link below to some of the other tips that the Today show posted which will help us in simply being more mindful of our recycling and ‘earth-friendly’ choices. (Earth Day Today Show Link)
