Trash Talk

We have to reduce our carbon footprint.

 (http://csrperspective.com/tag/carbon-footprint/)

This trash examination made me realize that I am not doing everything in my power to reduce my rash production. There is still so much that we can do to lower the amount of trash that we produce. If we change a couple of our daily tasks, we can significantly reduce our carbon footprint.

One thing I noticed in my trash bag was that we use a lot of plastic utensils and paper plates. My family and I can easily switch to only glass dishes and metal utensils. This act alone could save a lot of money for my family. It could also save a lot of trees and reduce the amount of trash we produce significantly. It does not require much commitment. All we have to do is wash a few more dishes a day to make a big difference in our world.

Another thing that I noticed was that my family and I throw away a lot of food. A lot of the food is just everyday scraps. We could easily make a compost pile o make organic soil. We can use the organic compost soil for the fruits and vegetables in our backyard. Our fruits and vegetables would benefit because it would make the soil richer. The earth would also benefit because composting would reduce incineration and emissions.

This is a compost pile.
(http://home.howstuffworks.com/gardening/garden-design/preparing-garden-soil4.htm)

I always recycle but I didn't realize that my family and I throw out so many recyclable items because they just do not it into our recycling bin. I found many aluminum cans and cardboard that could have easily been recycled. The city gave everyone a big bin to recycle plastics, aluminum cans and glass. We fill up that big bin once a week to the point where it overflows because we use so many recyclable items.

We should all recycle.
(http://www.stratasys.com/customer-support/customer-resource-center/recycling-center)

I also noticed that we consumed many plastic bags from grocery shopping and shopping in general. We can buy and use reusable mesh/canvas bags for groceries because they are inexpensive and will stop the use of plastic bags in our household. This small act will fill up less space in landfills and encourages younger generations such as my siblings to take care of the earth. 

My recycling habits began while I was very young in the fifth grade. My counselor promoted recycling a lot so she started the "Green Team". I quickly joined and began collecting recycling from classrooms. My habits stuck from then on out. I joined the "Go Green Club" in high school. We collected and recycled ink cartridges, plastic bottles, paper, and cardboard boxes. We reused copy paper boxes to use as collection boxes for our plastic bottles. 

I will be passing these habits on to make children in the future to better the world. It is important that they understand the importance of taking care of our earth. In a month or so, my family and I will create a compost pile and hopefully using reusable bags.