SNR Environmental Communications: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

Imagine the bald eagle, America’s symbol, dead because of strangulation by plastic. This nearly happened to a young eaglet caught on some plastic used to build the nest. At the Hancock Sanctuary, the young eaglet was strangled on some plastic preventing the young chick from feeding. Rescuers managed to save the eaglet and remove the plastic from the nest. Through a careless act, a young animal almost died by improper disposal of plastic. If more Americans followed the 3 Rs, this situation would have been prevented.

We have all heard these three words before, yet only half of Americans recycle on a daily basis. Recycling is a simple act that can reduce the wastes produced by Americans each year and ensure a virtually limitless resource as long as we recycle. Nearly everything that we use can be recycled from plastic to glass to aluminum.

Top 5 facts you may not know about recycling:

Recycling an aluminum can save the energy equivalent to a half-gallon of gasoline
Americans use 85 million tons of paper every year and if everyone recycled their paper, 250 million trees could be saved along with fossil fuels and landfill space
2.5 million plastic bottle are used and thrown out every hour and recycling those bottles could save twice the amount of energy used to produce the bottle
Glass can create 385 pounds of waste for every ton in production while recycling would cut waste by 80%
America produces about 40% of the world’s trash, but has only about 5% of the world population

Americans need to adopt a better attitude towards recycling and sustainability in order to create a greener world. A simple act of recycling something like a water bottle can have environmental benefits that last well into the future. Every person from children to adults can impact the world through simple changes to their everyday lives. These simple changes can help produce less waste and conserve precious natural resources.

5 surprising ways to reduce waste and energy consumption:

Using a reusable water bottle saves dozens of bottles from being produced and is cost-effective
Fluorescent light bulbs last longer and use less electricity than conventional bulbs saving both energy and money
Buying fresh, local-grown food reduces energy lost to shipping
Repurpose old things, like worn-out towels into rags
Use energy-efficient products such as electronics rated by Energy Star