Reduce, Reuse, RECYCLE! Dorthea Brown, MPH Student Walden University Instructor: Rebecca Heick Fall, 2009 Hello. My name is Dorthea Brown and today I will be conducting a presentation about the importance of recycling. This presentation is intended for an audience of 25 years of age and younger who live in Washington DC.

Objectives: Define recycling Understand why it is important Know what items can be recycled Understand the benefits Know some helpful tips to help recycle within your community By the end of this presentation you will be able to define recycling, understand why it is important, know what items can be recycled, understand the benefits of recycling, and learn some helpful tips in order to help you recycle within your community.

What Is Recycling? Recycling means separating, collecting, processing, and ultimately using a material that would have been thrown away. Can anyone tell me what recycling is? What does it mean? Recycling means separating, collecting, processing, and ultimately using a material that would have been thrown away. The College of New Jersey. (n.d.) What is recycling. Retrieved on October 12, 2009, from http://www.tcnj.edu/~goeke2/whatsrec.htm

Why Is It Important? Recycling Saves Energy Recycling Saves Environmental Conditions and Reduces Pollution Recycling Saves Natural Resources Economic Benefits Recycling Saves Space for Waste Disposal So you might be thinking, ok, I know what recycling is but why do I have to do it? Why is it important? Recycling is important for several reasons. Recycling saves energy, environmental conditions and reduces pollution, and saves natural resources. Recycling also has economic benefits and saves waste disposal. Recycling saves energy because when new products are manufactured from the raw material obtained from recycled products, it saves a lot of energy which is consumed for the production. Recycling saves environmental conditions and reduces pollution. Recycling helps in preventing global climate change to a great extent. By minimizing the energy spent on industrial production, recycling also helps in reducing greenhouse gas emission. Some of the major fossil fuels used in most industries include coal, diesel, gasoline etc. All these emit harmful gases such as methane, sulfur dioxide, carbon-dioxide to the environment. By reducing the energy used, recycling also minimizes the amount of fuel usage which in turn reduces the amount of harmful pollutants in the environment. Recycling saves natural resources. We know that recycling involves the processing and usage of the core elements of an old product for the production of new products. This helps in saving our natural resources to a great extent. For example, once an old newspaper is recycled we do not need to use the resource of another tree to produce new paper products. This way, proper recycling can help us preserve our natural resources for our future generations and maintain the balance of the nature. There are also economic benefits! Similar to energy and natural resource, recycling also helps in saving a lot of expense, demanded for the production of new products from ‘virgin’ materials. These expenses include the entire production cycle starting from acquiring the raw materials, transferring them from their origin to production places, processing and manufacturing costs. Recycling process creates employment opportunities for a lot of people, involved in the various stages of the process. This in turn contributes to the economic development of the state or country. Recycling saves space for waste disposal. Most of the landfill sites are filled up with a lot of waste products that could have been recycled effectively. Some of these waste materials belong to non-biodegradable category which takes a long time to decompose. Recycling enables proper usage of these waste products and saves space for landfills. The pace with which landfills are getting filled up, soon we might run short of landfills unless we start following recycling at our own home and spread the word to others Buzzle. (2008). Why is recycling important. Retrieved on September 28, 2009, from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/why-is-recycling-important.html

What Can Be Recycled? Appliances Beverage Containers: Aluminum, Glass, Plastic Cardboard and Cardboard boxes Construction Debris Green Waste: Christmas trees, grass clippings Paper: All mixed varieties Refrigerators (after all oil and refrigerate is removed) Scrap metal Toner cartridges By now you might be wondering okay, so what can be recycled? That's easy! Almost everything that we use on a day to day basis. For example: Appliances Beverage Containers: Aluminum, Glass, Plastic Cardboard and Cardboard boxes Construction Debris Green Waste: Christmas trees, grass clippings Paper: All mixed varieties Refrigerators (after all oil and refrigerate is removed Scrap metal Toner cartridges Dan Diego State University. (n.d.) Retrieved October 10, 2009, from http://bfa.sdsu.edu/recycle/pdf/flyer1.pdf

Benefits Of Recycling Recycling 1 plastic bottle saves anywhere from 100 to 1000 years in the landfill and also saves the environment from the emissions in producing new bottles as well as the oil used to produce that bottle. Every 1 ton of plastic that is recycled saves the equivalent of 2 people’s energy use for 1 year, the amount of water used by 1 person in 2 month’s time and almost 2000 pounds of oil. There are countless benefits to recycling. For example, recycling 1 plastic bottle saves anywhere from 100 to 1000 years in the landfill and also saves the environment from the emissions in producing new bottles as well as the oil used to produce that bottle. Every 1 ton of plastic that is recycled saves the equivalent of 2 people’s energy use for 1 year, the amount of water used by 1 person in 2 month’s time and almost 2000 pounds of oil. Environment Green. (2008). Recycling facts and benefits. Retrieved October 23,2009, from http://www.environment-green.com/

Benefits Of Recycling Every ton of newspaper or mixed paper recycled saves the equivalent of 12 trees. Every ton of office paper recycled saves the equivalent of 24 trees. Every ton of steel recycled conserves 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,400 pounds of coal, and 120 pounds of limestone. Every ton of newspaper or mixed paper recycled saves the equivalent of 12 trees. Every ton of office paper recycled saves the equivalent of 24 trees. Every ton of steel recycled conserves 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,400 pounds of coal, and 120 pounds of limestone. Hamilton County Solid Waste Management District. (2008). Retrieved October 13, 2009, from http://www.hcdoes.org/swmd/Residents/Recycling/recybenefits.html

Benefits Of Recycling Recycled newspaper uses 40% less energy. Recycled glass uses 40% less energy. Recycled steel uses 60% less energy. Recycled plastic uses 70% less energy. Recycled aluminum uses 95% less energy. So much energy can be saved from recycling! Recycled newspaper uses 40% less energy. Recycled glass uses 40% less energy. Recycled steel uses 60% less energy. Recycled plastic uses 70% less energy. Recycled aluminum uses 95% less energy. Hamilton County Solid Waste Management District. (2008). Retrieved October 13, 2009, from http://www.hcdoes.org/swmd/Residents/Recycling/recybenefits.html

Tips To Help You Recycle! Keep your recycling bin next to the main bin so you can take out the rubbish and recycling at the same time Make sure you encourage everyone in your house to think whether items can be reused or recycled before they're thrown away. Some things need to be washed before you put them out for recycling. So, use your old dish water to give them a quick rinse Here are some tips to help you recycle. Keep your recycling bin next to the main bin so you can take out the rubbish and recycling at the same time. Make sure you encourage everyone in your house to think whether items can be reused or recycled before they're thrown away. Some things need to be washed before you put them out for recycling. So, use your old dish water to give them a quick rinse. Recycle Now. (n.d.) Start recycling at home in 4 easy steps. Retrieved on October 21, 2009 from http://www.recyclenow.com/what_can_i_do_today/start_recycling_at_1.html

Further Information: District of Columbia Office of Recycling http://www.recycle.dpw.dc.gov/recycle/cwp/view,a,1374,q,617347,recycleNav,|33750|.asp The Container Recycling Institute http://www.container-recycling.org/ National Recycling Coalition http://www.nrc-recycle.org/ Super Salvage Inc. http://supersalvagedc.com/home.nxg For further information about recycling in your area, please visit the District of Columbia website. Please refer to the Office of Recycling for any questions or concerns. I have also listed some other sites that are good sources for further information.

Remember…. Recycling benefits both the environment and the economy. The next time you recycle your plastic bottle, aluminum can, or newspaper, remember how you are part of the solution. Reduce, Reuse, RECYCLE!!! I hope you enjoyed this presentation today. I also hope you're motivated to keep recycling and encourage other in your community to do the same. Please remember recycling benefits both the environment and the economy. The next time you recycle your plastic bottle, aluminum can, or newspaper, remember how you are part of the solution. Reduce, Reuse, RECYCLE!

References: The College of New Jersey. (n.d.) What is recycling. Retrieved on October 12, 2009, from http://www.tcnj.edu/~goeke2/whatsrec.htm Buzzle. (2008). Why is recycling important. Retrieved on September 28, 2009, from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/why-is-recycling-important.html Dan Diego State University. (n.d.) Retrieved October 10, 2009, from http://bfa.sdsu.edu/recycle/pdf/flyer1.pdf Environment Green. (2008). Recycling facts and benefits. Retrieved October 23,2009, from http://www.environment-green.com/ Hamilton County Solid Waste Management District. (2008). Retrieved October 13, 2009, from http://www.hcdoes.org/swmd/Residents/Recycling/recybenefits.html Recycle Now. (n.d.) Start recycling at home in 4 easy steps. Retrieved on October 21, 2009 from http://www.recyclenow.com/what_can_i_do_today/start_recycling_at_1.html Information for this presentation was provided by the following...