Think about how many plastic bottles, glass bottles, sheets of paper, pieces of cardboard, jars and all your extra food waste have ended up in your household bin. Probably a lot more than you think. It could be different if we thought more about recycling. In countries like Australia where extreme poverty is rare, we should be mindful of how much waste we produce. In poor countries like Niger or Afghanistan, scraps from the streets could save a life. A small piece of paper could be all they need to show their potential. One bottle could hold all their water for the day.
Global Recycling Day is held on the 18th of March. On this day we should watch how much waste we produce, and take out things available to be recycled. Recycling can be different things. It could be sorting reusable items into a different bin to plain rubbish. Or it could just be reusing old craft supplies and paper. It could simply be making something out of small clothes, donating them to charity or giving them to someone else you know instead of throwing them away.
Other things you can do:
- Save energy- try to use minimal air conditioning, heaters and dryers. You could also turn off your computer and lights when you’re not using them.
- Reuse plastic bottles and bags.
- Bring reusable bags, coffee cups and water bottles to work and school instead of disposable items – especially on Waste Free Wednesday!
- Try to buy eco-friendly products- for example, my family uses washing detergent which has minimal packaging and not many chemicals that are harmful to the environment.
Australia produces 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste a year, that’s more than the weight of 2 million rhinoceroses! Think about it, each and every one of you contributes something to that. Maybe if we all recycled more, we could cut off a few thousand tonnes from all our waste.
As Global Recycling Day is only one day in the thousands of dates we try to remember, it can easily be overlooked or forgotten. So I think we should do all this every day of the year, so that we can sustain a healthy world for all our children, grandchildren, and all the rest of the generations to come.
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