Jump On The Recycling Bandwagon: Benefit Yourself, Future Generations & The Environment

Recycling is as much a state of mind and an art form as an effort in social and environmental activism.

How many times have you heard someone adamantly support the kinds of policies and social positions that cause you to assume they are environmental activists — then discovered they don’t recycle? This kind of schizophrenia on the environmental issue is more common than you might think! Why does this happen?

If you grew up in a time after the generation that saved string from packages and before we began to see the effects of environmental degradation. In other words, boomers and pre-boomers, maybe you developed some bad habits as a young person. We just weren’t aware! It’s hard to break those habits. Or maybe you’re the relaxed type and feel over-taxed by the thought of breaking down boxes and rinsing cans and bottles.

But more than likely the issue is that you haven’t immersed yourself in a conservation-oriented worldview at home or aren’t part of a work environment that encourages it. That can change. Change yourself, and then you can begin to make change happen in a wider circle.

Let’s talk about why you should recycle, what benefits it can provide to you and how you can begin to develop a conservation-oriented worldview.

Why You Should Recycle

1. The environment needs you to recycle!

2. Next generations need you to recycle!

3. You need you to recycle!

Recycling isn’t just about “keeping it clean” and sustainable today, it’s about leaving a world that offers the next generation the same benefits we have enjoyed.

There was a time when people threw their trash right on the highways. Really, there was such a time! A lot of people just threw bags and paper cups and more out the window, and the roadways were a mess. When each of those individuals quit doing that, we had clean, attractive roadways. Can you imagine what our surroundings would look like today if people had continued doing that over the last 50 years?

Now let’s think about today. Two examples demonstrate how your small action can have a big impact.

Think about those ubiquitous plastic grocery bags. The U.S. population in 2015 is 325,127,000. If each person used one plastic grocery bag less per week, and every 1,000 bags weighs 15 lb., that’s 4,876,905 lb. of plastic refuse per week less.

Imagine persuading everyone in your workplace to join you in this effort!

Let’s imagine you use toilet paper three times during a day. What if you used one sheet less each time? That would be 9 fewer sheets per person per day, multiplied by 325,127,000 or 1,165,116,052,000. An average roll of toilet paper has 1000 sheets per roll – so that small change would save 1,165,116,052 rolls per day!

That’s a lot of rolls of toilet paper that don’t have to go through sewers to water purification plants. It conserves in a lot of directions, from the point of manufacturing and shipping to stores to pressure on public systems and water usage. The plastic wrap those rolls come in would stay out of the landfills. And you’d save money.

Multiply your savings over the many times in a day you can slightly reduce consumption, or you can provide yourself a way to repurpose or recycle an item.

Not convinced that you’re important in this effort?

Let’s turn things around and instead of thinking about how you can benefit the environment, think about how getting on the recycling bandwagon will benefit you.

The Benefits of Recycling

When you are active on behalf of the environment in the course of your everyday life, you express and experience the power of one. Your contribution is a gift that keeps on giving in several directions at once: to yourself, to the environment and future generations. That’s pretty powerful!

You can experience that power each moment of the day as you develop a conservation-oriented worldview. More ideas will come to you as you go about your daily activities.  

Just think of the plastic bag and toilet paper examples. Pay attention to each thing you pick up to use in some way. Can you use less of it? Can you recycle some part of it? As you experience how each action you perform in the course of a day empowers you at the same time it improves the world, you are developing a conservation-oriented worldview. You’ll ride the recycling bandwagon!

As you work on being aware at every moment. You will find that your focus and awareness improves in every aspect of your life.

If you understand the power of one to change the world for better, you know how important you are in preserving our world for future generations. Your power to change the world is huge! It’s exciting and energizing to have that much power you can use for good in the world.

How Do I Start?

The way to develop a conservation-oriented worldview is to start taking steps toward it. If you don’t have a recycling container, that’s a good first step. Get one, and put it in an easily accessible place. Post recycling instructions on it or nearby (you can find these on a local website). You’re underway!

And remember: the power of one is considerable. As you become energized, you’ll want to find ways to connect with others, making the power of one into the power of many ones.