Please, Please, PLEASE Recycle

I am a huge recycler. Let me be clear. I don't do it for fun or as a trend. I fully understand why we ALL should be recycling to reduce waste and energy usage. It baffles me when people just don't get it. A friend recently asked me why we should recycle an aluminum can when more energy will be used to turn it into another aluminum can. The answer - Because although energy will be used to create the new aluminum can, it will be made out of recycled aluminum so instead of having one in a landfill and a new can at the same time, we will just have one new can. I didn't think that was a hard concept to get but apparently a lot of people don't get it.

A while back I blogged about "Human Footprint", the National Geographic Channel's documentary on consumption and waste. Here is a video excerpt on how many soda cans Americans waste.




Please don't contribute to that pile. Recycle your aluminum cans and everything else that your local waste management company will collect. If you can't put something out for curbside pickup, there is probably another nearby facility that will take it. Check Earth 911 for local recycling facilities.

Martha Stewart also has a helpful recycling guide.