Recycling Facts for Kids and its Significance

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Some fun recycling facts for kids can comprehensively describe the growing need and importance of recycling.

The younger generation needs to understand the significance of saving and protecting their environment, their home, their planet.

One can only hope they do a better job than ‘us grown adults’ in taking things more seriously while growing up.

It’s also about What is Going Green

Recycling Facts for Kids, its Significance and What You Can Do to Help

Recycling for the layman tends to be a very boring and negated concept.

Some are too busy to recycle their own waste, while others wildly assume that a recycled product will cost them more.

It hardly takes a second to dispose waste off in ‘Recycle Bins’ which are placed everywhere.

Yet, due to ignorance people fail to realize that this one act can add to the environment’s health and ultimately to the planet’s health.

That is why it is imperative to look at some recycling facts for kids mentioned here.

While you pile up your garbage to dispose it off, it would not hurt to remember some basics of recycling.

Remember to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, these are the three R’s of recycling.

Here are some recycling facts for kids and adults alike:

Reduce your Waste

Look at what you are throwing away; see if you are disposing off something that might come in handy for somebody else or could be donated to a charity (for example used clothing, shoes, etc).

Reuse

Try to reuse thing which you can from the waste, for example a couple of sheets of paper which are clean, you can use them for anything (for example making a grocery list).

Recycle

Recycle your waste if you cannot reuse or reduce it.

You can help making the environment cleaner by placing your garbage in the bins marked ‘Recyclable materials’ near your home.

Recycling facts for kids will shed some light on how and why environmentalists around the world protest against the cutting of trees, the wastage from the industries and other environmental issues.

You can save 17 trees from being cut down by simply recycling a ton of paper.

Imagine that, you can save the vastly depleting flora and fauna on your planet.

all about WWOOF compost bin earth day
all about WWOOF compost bin

Interesting Recycling Facts for Kids

There are over 13 billion steel cans that people in the United Kingdom use each year, if you completely open these cans and place them beside each other their combined lengths could reach the moon not once, not twice, but thrice!

According to statistics, a normal dustbin belonging to a normal person contains a massive amount of energy which could be used to provide sufficient power for 5,000 hours of television, 500 baths and 3500 showers.

In 2009, it was reported that over 34% of waste thrown was recycled.

Which means that overall, 161 million tons of waste was disposed if you break this figure down, which means every day 3 pounds of garbage was thrown out by each person.

In the same year, the US recycled about 82 million tons of waste and garbage, the effort resulted in a drastic cut back of dangerous CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) emissions.

Imagine pulling off 33 million cars from the road!

The U.S waste management could generate up to $7 billion just by recycling everyday waste. $7 billion!

That is close to the net worth of the famous Donald Trump.

According to UK statistics, so much garbage is thrown away in 2 hours that you could fill the Royal Albert Hall from top to bottom.

Recycling facts for kids can help spread some awareness all around the world.

Recycling isn’t just a problem faced by any individual of groups of countries, it is a global issue and the global populace has to work together to protect this place which is home to over 8 billion people.

You can start helping today by explaining some recycling facts for kids to your children, take part in recycling activities along with your kids.

It is fun and the rewards are gratifying.

Instead of getting rid of something worn-out, for example a lunch box, you can buy a new one but place the old one in a recyclable waste bin so that it can been recycled and someone else could use it.

Instead of littering beautiful beaches with tons of plastic bottles, take a minute out to throw those bottles in a recycle waste bin.

Instead of driving to your school, try to walk or ride a bike if you can, the exercise is great and you’ll be helping the environment in a small way.

Approach charitable organizations with stuff you think someone else can use for example old shoes, old bags, old clothes, etc.

Once you go over these recycling facts for kids you’ll realize how easy recycling is.

Recycling Process, What Kinds of Things Can You Recycle?

There are many things that you throw which can be recycled and safely be used again.

Let’s cover a few of them.

Recycling Aluminum Cans

The waste management people collect aluminum cans which you have thrown away in your recycle basket and take it to a factory where each can is shredded after every bit of dirt is removed from it.

The shreds are then melted altogether in a huge furnace and are left to cool.

Over 1.6 millions are recycled to form new usable cans.

Recycling Clothing, Rags, Old Curtains

You can always donate your used up apparel to a charitable organization.

But you can also choose to give your clothes to textile banks which sort the clothing out and take out anything that can be used and send it to less fortunate people around the globe.

Non-wearable materials are recycled for industrial usage.

Recycling Glass

Glass can also be easily recycled.

Glass bottles, beer bottles, discarded drinking glasses and glass in general is melted in a furnace and then set to cool.

When it is mildly hot, it is reshaped and is ready for usage again.

Processed sand can also be made using recycled glass.

Glassphalt, an important element used when making new roads, can also be made from recycled glass.

Recycling Paper

Paper collected for recycling is turned in to pulp again using a process known as ‘slushing’.

The pulp is then used to make new re-usable paper.

Recycled paper can be used in magazines, envelopes, toilet paper, etc.

Recycling Plastics

Plastic is recycled through a more elaborate method but after it is recycled it can be used to make new plastic bottles, various appliances, insulation products, etc.

Recycling Facts for Kids and Realizing a Global Reality

Recycling facts for kids

May help to conserve the planet’s natural resources.

The planet today is in a very bad shape.

The effects of global warming are increasing day by day.

The polar ice cap is melting.

Each year, an inch or two of ice melts due to global warming; this should be alarming enough for you to take some action in order to conserve the environment you live in.

One should properly go over some alarming and interesting recycling facts for kids so that you can ensure a brighter future for the younger generation.

Each day the amount of trash disposed is growing rapidly.

You can fill up an NFL stadium with the amount of trash which is thrown out each year.

There are several advantages of recycling to the environment, to you as an individual and to the government.

Recycling helps reduce pollution and helping the environment is a noble cause.

There is a lot of energy which is saved during the recycling process in comparison to industrial manufacturing.

Greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by cutting down on dangerous emissions through recycling.

Through recycling you can help reduce carbon dioxide and monoxide emissions produced by manufacturing coal, diesel fuel and gasoline.

Another interesting recycling fact for kids is that through recycling you can conserve the planet’s natural resources.

If instead of using up natural resources to manufacture new goods, the resources from old products are used through recycling, a considerable amount of natural resources can be saved.

Instead of chopping down hundred of trees everyday to make new paper, discarded books and old newspapers can be used to make usable paper.

This helps kill two birds with one stone: not only are trees saved but the harmful emissions are also reduced.

Furthermore, waste recycling also helps create more space.

If you have ever been to the dump site, you might have noticed how huge portions of land are covered with nothing but waste.

Recycle this waste and you empty the space and use it for something else.

Plus recycling also helps prevent dangerous toxins that would otherwise be released into the ground when they are put into landfills.

All in all, reviewing these recycling facts for kids may help you to realize what is at stake here.

This is your planet that is being talked about. Preserving it means preserving yourself.

Regardless of whether you are a tree hugger or not, it is important that you contribute in some small way towards preserving the environment in its current state.

If each person can take this initiative, the world could become a better place to live in.

What is the Impact of Recycling ~ Am I Making a Difference?

What is the impact of recycling?

Does it really make a difference?

Americans spend over $50,000 annually on household expenditures.

It is no wonder that it is sometimes easy to forget to recycle the small things such as newspapers, jugs, toilet paper rolls and junk mail.

However, the accumulation of everyday office, household and retail trash, otherwise known as Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), does add up.

The average amount of waste each person generates per day is 4.38 pounds.

The amount of waste produced per household daily is 11.43 pounds.

During the course of a year, the waste generated per household is 4,172 pounds, which is the same weight as a white rhinoceros.

The average amount of waste that Americans produce nationwide each year is an astounding 251 million tons.

Approximately 75 percent of national MSW, over 188 million tons, is recyclable, but Americans only recycle 65 million tons.

The remaining 135 million tons end up in landfills.

How can we reduce the waste that ends up in landfills?

Currently, the average person recycles 1.14 pounds per day.

If everyone doubled the amount they recycle, the nation could recycle 65 million more tons.

That is the same weight as 176,871 Boeing 747 jets!

Recycling has made tremendous strides in the last three decades.

Change is possible when every individual contributes more than they currently do to make our world a green community.

There’s a trend that’s popular in Europe called plogging.

It combines picking up litter with jogging for the ultimate in green fitness and community.

Take a glimpse at the infographic below for more information.

The Impact Of Recycling: Making A Daily Difference

Green Burials: Green Your Grave – Then Recycle It

This Halloween as death abounds — in the form of ghosts, zombies, and vampires — a new trend is in the rise. Across the country and around the world, green burials are increasing in popularity.

In their simplest form, green burials are reminiscent of pre-20th century burials — funerals at home, a shroud, eco-friendly urn or wooden casket, and natural embalming fluid.

And because they use fewer and less expensive resources, green funerals often cost less than traditional ones.

Intrigued?

Read on to learn more about what makes a burial green.

Green Burials: Green Your Grave

photo credit: Orin Zebest 

Going Green in the Grave

According to the Green Burial Council, a US-based nonprofit dedicated to “environmentally sustainable deathcare,” a green burial:

  • involves a casket, urn, and/or shroud that is biodegradable and make of nontoxic materials
  • includes nontoxic, natural embalming fluids (think essential oils) rather than traditional formaldehyde
  • doesn’t require a concrete vault — transportation and production of vaults have big carbon footprints
  • has the option of a home funeral

Read NPR’s Burials and Cemeteries Go Green for an excellent overview of and FAQs about green burials.

Always Practical: Germans Recycle Graves

On a related note, in Germany, they’re taking recycling to a whole new level — they’re recycling graves.

Rather than buying plots, Germans rent them.

And if they rent isn’t paid, the cemetery has the right to repossess it… and reuse it.

In concept, I like this idea.

Dead bodies weren’t really using that space, anyway.

Then again, I’m not sure how I’d feel about walking into a cemetery, flowers in hand, only to discover there’s someone named Adelaide Richter now residing in my grandfather’s grave.

Repurposing and Recycling – Old Items in a New Way

Dumping sites and litter bins found in towns or even in our households contain lots of discarded items that could be put into use again.

Environmentalists have put up a spirited campaign to ensure that we sustainably interact with our environment, especially when throwing away non-biodegradable items.

Repurposing and recycling the things you own but don’t need anymore is only beneficial in the sense of saving money, but also minimizing the harm we pose to Mother Nature.

The few examples mentioned in this article will show you how easily and creatively it can be done, and will hopefully inspire you to look for more.

Read through and discover the following amazing ways you can reuse your older items, which are just the beginning!

Use your old door as a frame for a standing mirror

When you decide to upgrade your house many things tend to end up being replaced.

Don’t forget to use Discountrue coupons when shopping for your new lamps or carpets to save some precious money on your new items, but also remember that the older ones aren’t completely useless.

For example, sometimes you may even want to go as far as to getting a new door, but you don’t have to be getting rid of the old one.

It can be easily repurposed as a frame for your standing mirror.

This way, there is no need to incur unnecessary expense in acquiring a frame and you get the big mirror you’ve always dreamed about!

Get a carpenter who will need to do a little adjustment on it and there you are.

Saved money or not?

However little, there is always a way to use your old items for new purposes.

Convert your old bulletin board into a jewelry organizer

A bulletin board that became obsolete because of the computers and smartphones can be easily recycled as jewelry organizer.

Just get some pins and there you are!

Now you can safely organize all your necklaces and bracelets in one place, displayed neatly so you can see the choice when you want to figure out your look for tomorrow.

This will also prevent your jewelry from getting lost and displaced.

Hanging it in the bulletin board with a few cheap pins will save you both time and money!

Organize your cables in old CD cases and toilet paper rolls

Toilet paper is an essential household item that we use daily.

After use, the roll that came with it remains and is simply thrown away.

If you happened to be using a DVD player, you certainly have bought those big CD cases to store the CD discs containing your favorite music, movies, or photos.

However, as the technological wave has hit our way of life ushering in the digital and more storage space on your hard disk, they most probably became redundant.

Instead of throwing them away, you can organize your various cables in the CD cases and keep them from tangling.

Similarly, as toilet papers run out, you can use the rolls to store smaller cables and elements to keep them in order.

Old suitcases into side tables

If you think the old suitcases have outlived their purpose and need to be discarded, wait a minute!

In fact, even when they look a little ragged, most of them are very firm and a little adjustment on them will save you a great deal money while adding a stylish décor element to your indoors!

The answer is – fit your old suitcase with stands and make side tables.

Just cover it with a stunning table cloth and there you have a success story!

Yes. That old piano

If you live in a big old house and one of its former inhabitants happened to be a lover of music, or you got a moment of inspiration and went on Craigslist at the spur of it, you might own an old wooden piano.

When the ambition doesn’t live up to hopes such a big piece just ends up clogging the room, so it’s no wonder you might be thinking about getting rid of it, especially if the sound isn’t the best by now.

There’s no need to throw it away, though.

It’s quite an extravagant idea, but if you’re a creative soul and have a penchant for garden planning, how about an outdoor water fountain?

Just take the piano outside and fit it into the landscape by putting some beautiful flowers on top of it and letting the water flow along the piano keys, after some carpentry work and fixing the mechanism.

It sure is going to look stunning!

Use that old ladder as a bookshelf

If you love reading, you realize how difficult it is to keep your books organised, especially without the enough storage space.

However, your books don’t need to be scattered all over your house, and you can achieve this goal without no need to incur extra expenses constructing your home library.

The solution? Take that old wooden ladder and mount it on your wall conveniently.

With a few simple steps you will have a brand new shelf for all your books!

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