Effects of Plastic

The Effects of Plastic

Plastic Waste

Unfortunately, my video gets cut off when you view it here on blogger. You can click on the video to go to YouTube and view it there. Sorry!

The Gross Truth

Isn't this so true? I especially can't stand the bit with the paint.

E-Waste and Exports

E-Waste is the term that refers to any electronic waste. This includes your outdated iPod, cell phone, computer, television, etc. This area of waste is quickly growing because of the new technology age where an 'new and improved' cell phone or iPod comes out every month. The disposal of this kind of trash is particluarly important becasue, if just left in a landfill, the toxic chemicals inside these products can leak into the earth and harm the environment. Instead, the electronics can be carefully stripped apart so that the chemicals and metals inside them can be reused for other products.

We need to reduce and reuse electronics as much as we can, but then we need to make sure that the recycling of electronics is actually happening...80% of collected American electronic waste is exported to foreign nations like China and Africa. In these countries, the electronics that you "recycled" will either not be recycled at all or stripped apart in such a way that is harmful to the workers and environment.

The best solution to prevent exportation of e-waste is to first of all Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle at an individual level. Donate to Goodwill if electronics are still usable. There are numerous websites dedicated to the collection of electronics for the poor. Just because someone finds something obsolete doesn’t mean it can’t suit another’s needs. If the life of the electronic is through, however, try and return them to a store for collecting. You can donate old cell phones and tvs to Best Buy or Home Depot. Also, you can return your iPods to any Apple Store. There’s even companies online who will send you pre-paid packaging for free so you can send them your electronics like cell phones!

After you do your part at home, the next step in the solution is at a community and national level. We need to be able to trust recycling companies that collect electronics are actually reycling them here in the U.S. and not just dumping the problematic waste on a Third World developing nation. To ensure this, strict laws should be passed on a natinal level. International exports should be monitored and prevented if the shipment is electronic waste going to be "recycled". America should not just look the other way. If we decide not to deal with our toxic waste, fine. But we should not under any circumstances be content to just ship that toxic waste to another country simply because we can.

"Saving the Enviornment"--What can YOU do?

Over the last few years, American society has been gripped by the craze to “go green”. But being environmentally conscious should not be a fad or a recent phenomenon. Individuals should not just now be realizing how responsible they are for taking care of the earth. The average person should be continually aware of what he or she is trashing. Being a responsible citizen of the earth requires that everyone does their best to “reduce, reuse, and recycle.” Everyone is affected by the environment, and so everyone is accountable for taking care of it.
Firstly, every person needs to be careful of what they buy. A responsible consumer actually thinks about each product he or she is purchasing. “Where did this product come from? What is it made of? At what cost did it take for this to end up in my hands? Where will this product go once I am done with it?” Second, there are many ways to reuse items that people already have. Once someone feels the need to throw away something, he or she should remember that things from shoeboxes to scrap paper to glass bottles to stuffed animals can all serve other purposes besides sitting in a landfill or beginning the recycling process. Finally, how an individual throws something away is also significant. By the end of a product’s life, a responsible consumer has already made it possible for that hopefully biodegradable item to be either trashed or recycled.
Becoming a responsible consumer is actually not hard at all, but the key to success is “change”. Habits are hard to break, and being responsible requires extra time to think beyond the here and now. Don’t be obsessed with changing the rest of society’s habits; rather, focus on personal improvement by watching what types of products you buy, how you use them, and how you throw them away. We must each give our utmost effort to be environmentally responsible consumers.

Extended Producer Responsibility

What is Extended Producer Responsibility? Basically, it is finally telling manufacturers that they need to be RESPONSIBLE for the entire life , including waste disposal, of the products that they put on the shelves. The video above explains how Extended Producer Responsibility programs exist in other countries like British Columbia. America, too, needs to adopt programs like this. Companies should research ways to make their products more recyclable and reusable. Laws should be passed to ensure that producers are truly being responsible for their own products. It is certainly not the consumer's fault, and it is also not the government's responsibility to pay for the recycling tab of a manufacturer who refuses to create products that don't harm the environment.

Recycling Process Animation

Rrecycling is pretty simple, as the animation shows. Products that we consume everyday can be recycled if we will only take the time to dispose of them properly. Don't take the easy way out and just toss your trash in the trashcan. Chances are, your trash can be recycled into a new material instead of lying uselessly in a landfill somewhere...

Does Recycling Actually Save Resources?

Of course.

Some critics claim that using less of one source only means that you use more of another. This is actually true, but critics will use this fact to state that recycling then does nothing. They believe that the resources saved by recycling are used anyway throughout the recycling process. While this is somewhat correct, that assertion is not well-founded because it does not look at the situation closely enough. Recycling uses resources to drive trucks and operate machinery, but these resources are nothing compared to the amount needed to extract virgin materials and create new materials.

Some resources will have to be used to recycle- there is no getting around that. To declare that recycling is useless for this reason, though, is absurd. Recycling not only uses far less natural resources than using brand new materials, it also prevents reusable, valuable materials from just sitting in a landfill somewhere.

Is Recycling Worth the Effort?

Some people will argue that the costs of recycling outweigh the benefits. In 1996, New York Times columnist John Tierney wrote a controversial post, "Recycling is Garbage". He claimed, “Mandatory recycling programs...offer mainly short-term benefits to a few groups -- politicians, public relations consultants, environmental organizations and waste handling corporations -- while diverting money from genuine social and environmental problems. Recycling may be the most wasteful activity in modern America…”

I disagree with Teirney's claim, though they're are many who would agree with him today that recycling is more expensive than trash disposal. However, when analyzed correctly, recycling programs are, in fact, cost-effective. For example, a typical recycling program can cost $50-$150 per ton of trash whereas a typical trash disposal program can cost $70-$200.

Cities need to establish improved recyling programs and not shy away from the costs. Yes, the costs should be analyzed just as any other expense, but recycling is beneficial and econmical in an immediate sense and in the long-term.