Plastic Bottle Recycling
By Karen Digby on behalf of the Sustainability Team at St. Francis... for the FORUM on February 3rd, 2013.
Did you know that according to the Washington State Department of Ecology, people within the United States use four million plastic bottles per hour? And, of every four bottles used, only one gets recycled! Why is this big deal? Well for one thing when plastic bottles are thrown into the garbage, instead of being recycled, they end up in landfills where they can take anywhere from 100 to 400 years to decompose. What a waste-literally! Recycling plastic to make new plastic requires only two thirds of the amount of energy that would be needed if starting from scratch. Almost four barrels of oil can be saved by when one ton of plastic bottles are recycled. Recycled plastic can be used to create new products such as auto parts, carpeting, even clothing. Recycling plastic can even create enough energy to light a sixty watt light bulb for six hours! Does recycling sound like something you could do? Great, then here are just three ideas to help you start. Happy recycling!
1. Place plastic non-returnable (for cash) bottles into recycling bins. Washtenaw County has a curbside recycling program… see: http://www.recycleannarbor.org
2. Storage. Plastic bottles are a handy way to store small items such as paper clips, nails, etc.
3. Creative (or not)? Save money on gifts this year by creating your own unique, hand-made items. Check out this web site with savvy ideas for the beginner to the advanced artist in you: http://earth911.com/news/2010/07/26/6-ways-to-reuse-plastic-bottles/
http://earth911.com/news/2012/12/27/12-amazing-recycling-and-waste-statistics-from-2012/
http://schools.fwps.org/panther/files/2012/05/recycling-fast-facts-handout-2012.pdf
http://www.recycleannarbor.org/?module=Page&sID=resources-plastics-explained
http://www.recycleannarbor.org/?module=Page&sID=resources-a-to-z-recycling-guide
For more information or to join our Sustainability Team, call Scott (734-821-2121), or visit: stfrancisa2.com/sustainability
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