Welcome to solutions,
a realistic attempt to help restore our planet and our place within the world. This page will contain various educational facts and statistics to help you visualize the size and scope of the dilema we all must face and we will also supply you with an abundance of small things that you can do day to day to help out.Our society and culture cannot simply switch off the destructive behavior that they maintain. We must start as individuals making small gradual behavioral changes working our way toward a new goal using a new vision of our worlds future. It is for this vision where man and nature are one that we must work together and make small sacrifices. However once you begin making these changes you will soon realizes that there are no "sacrifices", only a more simple, more enjoyable life free of the stresses and pressures handed down from society.
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Michael
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Everything we do or don't do today will have a lasting impact on the environment for many years to come.
Some people think that recycling is inconvenient or takes too much time. Experience with recycling indicates that is not the case. A study for the Environmental Protection Agency showed that only 73 minutes per month is needed by a household to recycle aluminum, glass and newspaper. That figures out to a little more than two minutes a day.
Today many of us are trying to make environmentally sound decisions in our everyday lives. Won't you join us?
*Recycling reduces our reliance on landfills & incinerators.
*Recycling protects our health and environment when harmful substances are removed from the waste stream.
*Recycling conserves our natural resources because it reduces the need for raw materials.
Precycling is a simple matter of reducing waste before you buy through selective purchasing.
Precycling reduces industrial pollution & sends a message to manufacturers that we're serious about alternatives.
Americans spent more on the packaging of food last year than American farmers received in net income.
Each American Uses about 190 pounds of plastic per year; about 60 pounds of it is packaging which we discard as soon as the package is opened.
Packaging waste accounts for almost one-third of all the garbage sent to our landfills.
* Reuse gift boxes, bags and wrapping paper.
* Make note paper by cutting up scrap paper.
* Use a cloth instead of paper towels.
* Before you toss six-pack holders into the garbage, snip each ring with a pair of scissors.
* Package lunch items in reusable plastic containers instead of plastic wrap.
* Take your own coffee cup or glass to work with you.
* Use a cloth bag for groceries. Think twice before taking any bag if your purchase is small.
* Buy products using recycled plastics, glass, metals & paper.
* Buy eggs in cardboard cartons.
* Buy in bulk; it's cheaper and uses minimal packaging.
* Buy products in glass or aluminum containers instead of plastic.
* Avoid "squeezable" plastic containers which are not identified as recyclable.
* Buy steel-belted radial tires, the longest lasting, most fuel efficient tires available. Keep tires properly inflated.
* Use rechargeable batteries.
The following steps can save work and make your recyclables easier to handle:
* Aluminum Cans - Rinse, crush, bag or box.
* Corrugated Cardboard - Flatten; bundle in paper grocery bags or box.
* Glass - Rinse; remove metal rings, caps or lids; bag or box (labels do not need to be removed).
* Motor Oil -Pour into a clean, covered, leak-proof container.
* Newspapers - Bundle in neat stacks, tying with string or placing in grocery bags.
* Plastic- Same as for glass.
* Scrap Metal - Keep free of moisture; store in a bag or box.
*Many paper products are recyclable: newspapers, file folders, letters, colored paper, computer paper, cardboard boxes and paper bags.
* Paper products that are not recyclable include post-its, envelopes with windows or labels, butcher or art paper and blueprints.
*Paper products can be recycled up to 12 times.
*Producing one ton of paper from discarded paper uses half the energy, half the water, results in 74 percent less air pollution, and saves 17 pulp trees over producing the same amount of virgin paper.
* Every year we throw away enough office and writing paper to build a wall 12 feet high stretching from Los Angeles to New York City.
Some people collect aluminum cans for extra income (they can be worth more than $500 a ton), but many other aluminum items are also recyclable: foil, food trays, lawn furniture, and window and door frames.
Recycling these items not only contributes to a cleaner environment, but it also saves energy. The process of manufacturing aluminum from recycled material uses 95 percent less energy than making it from new materials.
When you throw away one aluminum can you waste as much energy as if you'd filled the same can half full of gasoline and poured it on the ground.
The energy saved from one recycled aluminum can will operate a TV for three hours.
Each week, nationwide, over 10 million pounds of plastic are recycled into fiber insulation for coats, sleeping bags, carpet yarn, fence posts, strapping, paint brushes, building insulation, drain pipes, curb stops, traffic cones, toys, skis, flower pots, park benches and landscape lumber. Plastic packaging has many different chemical compositions. The type of plastic used is stamped as a number within a triangle on the bottom of each container.
* Annually, the United States produces the equivalent of 10 pounds of plastic for every person on earth.
* Plastic shopping bags are often more convenient than paper, but they're not degradable (even the "biodegrad- able" plastic bags never completely disappear - they just break into little pieces), and all plastic is made from petroleum, a non-renewable resource.
* Plastic six-pack holders are a hazard to birds and other animal life. The rings can get caught around their necks causing animals to suffocate or inhibiting their ability to swallow. Please cut rings prior to disposal.
Using recycled glass means using up fewer natural resources. Approximately 385 pounds of mining waste are produced for each ton of glass, that is manufactured. This can be reduced by almost 80 percent when 50 percent recycled glass is used in the process.
All glass bottles and jars can be recycled.
* Every person in the United States uses about 85 pounds of glass each year, and 100 percent of that glass is recyclable.
* The United States throws away enough glass every two weeks to fill the 1,377- foot tall twin towers of New York City's World Trade Center.
* It takes 30 percent less energy to make new glass from recycled glass than it does from virgin materials.
* The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle is enough to light a 100-watt bulb for four hours.
Scrap Metals - The fascinating thing about recycled metals is that they can be used over and over again, triggering an unending cycle of re-utilization. Scrap metals include iron, steel, copper, brass, nickel, stainless steel and zinc.
Alkaline Batteries - It's hard to imagine that the little batteries you use in your flashlight, radio or camera could have any effect on the environment, but household batteries contain heavy metals. The most prevalent is mercury, a highly toxic substance that has become a major source of contamination at some waste dumps. Rechargeable bat- teries contribute less to our hazardous waste problem.
Disposable Diapers - Americans throw away 18 billion disposable diapers a year - enough to stretch to the moon and back seven times! Disposable diapers take up to 500 years to decompose ina landfill. Cotton diapers, which can be used up to 100 times, decompose in one to six months.
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