Recycling

20 – 26 September 2021 is recycling week? This annual event is to celebrate and promote the benefits of recycling. This annual event creates opportunities and reminders for us to implement positive change that will help protect our planet and so future generations will inherit a livable planet.

We are pretty sure you have seen these symbols. But what are they exactly? It doesn’t mean that you must go in a triangle x number of times. Each of these symbols represent a meaning and we will get into that in a bit.

BUT FIRST, WHY IS RECYCLING IMPORTANT?

Well, the most obvious reason is that recycling helps protect the environment. And when we play our part in recycling, we also help protect others. This means we need to up our recycling game.

When you recycle, you help reduce the need for mining, quarrying and logging, refining and processing of raw materials which all creates air and water pollution. Recycling also helps saves energy and reduces greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons, that contribute to global climate change.

WHY DO WE NEED TO RECYCLE, YOU MAY ASK?

That is a very good question. I was thinking the same thing. Great minds think alike, don’t you think?

Well, we all live on this big blue planet we call home and recycling is crucial to the future health of our planet. So, by recycling, we:

  1. Get to conserve natural resources
  2. Protect our ecosystem and animal life
  3. Help stop people from getting displaced and exploited in the ever growing need to find new places for raw materials
  4. Save energy because making new products take more energy to make than using recycled materials
  5. Get to delay climate change.

We will revisit these points and elaborate on them in future articles. So, you and I can impress people with our in-depth knowledge of recycling.

It is actually very easy to start recycling. Most times we find it hard because it is not in our habit to recycle. So, the team at My Clean Beach found this nifty chart to help you with your everyday items that can be recycled.

TO START RECYCLING FROM HOME, START WITH THESE 4 EASY STEPS:

  1. Do your homework and check who or where you can send your recycled items to.
  2. Know your trash so you can determine the type and size of the containers you’ll require. If you drink a lot of juices and soda, you’ll want a larger bin for cans and bottles. You also are very used to online shopping so you would want to invest in a wide recycling container capable of storing broken-down boxes.
  3. Creating convenience so it makes it easier for you to recycle. Home recycling is a two-part system, with one part for everyday disposal and the other for storing. So where do you generate the most waste? In the kitchen. It is best to get a few containers, so you can separate as you dispose and don’t need to sort things twice.
  4. The second part of the system – storing. When your kitchen bins fill up, move their contents to a storage spot till you want to recycle them. Consider the garage, laundry room, or utility closet.

But recycling doesn’t only need to happen at home. It also needs to happen in the office. Everyone loves to talk about how good their corporate culture is but rarely does anyone talk about the office promoting recycling and making it part of the office culture.

There is more to recycling than just paper in the office. The first thing you need to do is ditch the disposable coffee cup. Its not recyclable despite popular belief.

E-waste, light bulbs, batteries, printer cartridges, cardboard, pizza boxes, aluminium cans & bottles, newspaper, and magazines are all recyclable. This is probably done by the cleaning ladies. Most people don’t know where their waste go once it lands in the bin because when they come back the next day, the bin is magically empty. We hate to break it to you but the bin doesn’t really eat your garbage at night.

Get your Human Resource (HR) to introduce recycling bins so it creates a recycling culture in the office that will hopefully translate into an everyday life culture.

To be honest, we all need to Marie Kondo our lives and get into the habit of using less stuff and those things that we keep and use, should be reused as much as possible before recycling it. Do your part and let’s preserve what little resources we have and all future generations to inherit a planet worth living in.

Recycling becomes very easy when you remember those three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Look out for our follow-up article that is coming out soon

Leave a Comment

ORGANISATION

Footer TM logo

MY Clean Beach is an entity under the organisation of Bumi Biru PLT.

ROS No. 202104001904

CONNECT

Follow us on Social Media.

CONTACT