Jess Meyer: Advice about recycling from Down Under

Meet Jess Meyer, a senior international studies major, who grew up Australia. Beside the fact that Jess grew up speaking a with a different accent in a country 8-9,000 miles away, she said there is one major difference between Australia and the United States. Australia is clean.

She said that in Australia, you never see trash anywhere, whether in the streets, the mall, or wherever, on the ground. "People are very quick to pick trash up."

According to Jess, one of the main reasons Australians are so conscientious about littering has to do with the fact that Australians love animals. "If you threw a piece of trash on the ground an Australian would probably come up and give you a lecture about what animals could possibly eat the trash and die," she said. A website about Australia said, "Australia has more than 378 mammal species, 828 bird species, 4000 fish species, 300 species of lizards, 140 snake species, two crocodile species and around 50 types of marine mammal."

Since Australians don't leave trash laying around, it naturally follows that they'd be in favor of recycling, which they are. Jess said the Australian government really pushes recycling, but Australians are already very conscientious about it.

Jess gave several reasons in favor of recycling:

Give that plastic bottle a chance.

America Recycles Day was yesterday, November 15. RecycleSpot.org defines it as "a national campaign to raise awareness about the benefits of recycling and buying products made with recycled materials."

Millions of people across America took part in this day, many joining or hosting "recycling events."

Recycling has many benefits. Saving the environment (i.e. the ocean, animals, and trees), reducing the use of toxic chemicals and the need for landfills, saving money/good for the economy.

I'm not going to attempt to argue for all of it, but I will show how one small thing can make a great impact for good or bad.

So let's take the recycled plastic bottle, for example. You might think a plastic bottle can only be recycled into more plastic. Not true! Although many recycled plastic bottles are molded into "new" plastic shapes, like lawn chairs and CD cases, many of the bottles are cut down into little flakes, turned into fibers, and then used to make fabric. That fabric is then turned into various articles of clothing, such as, t-shirts, hats, and bags, or insulation for sleeping bags or bedding. Amazing isn't it? Take a look at the exact process of turning a plastic bottle into a t-shirt.

I was thinking about the comment my friend made in my last post, "Everything we have or make comes from the earth, and it's going to decompose back into the earth at some point." So I decided to research if what she said was accurate. The first article that appeared after I Google searched, "How long does it take a plastic bottle to decompose?" refuted my friend's statement. 450 years at least. That's how long most plastic bottles take to decompose. So if I throw a bottle on the ground, it would take 5 or 6 generations after me for that bottle to biodegrade. The article went on to say, "Bottles made with Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET or PETE) will never biodegrade."

I've only focused on one small aspect (plastic bottles) of recycling, but many other materials, such as paper, cardboard, glass, aluminum, etc., can also be recycled.

You don't have to wait until Nov. 15 next year to start recycling. Taking care of the world God gave us starts with each individual making a difference each day. So take time to recycle that plastic bottle because, after all, plastic bottles dream big too.

Week 8: To Recycle or Not to Recycle?

Recycling, upcycling, "going green." Society today is consumed with saving the planet and bettering it for future generations.

I used to adamantly say, "What's the point of recycling? This world can't perish until God destroys it." Honestly, that is true. Also, I know that we should care about and for the earth—God "put (Adam) in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it," (Gen 2:15 ESV) and Genesis 1:28 says that God told man to subdue and have dominion over the earth—but failing to recycle some plastic bottles won't destroy the planet.

I heard one friend put it this way, "Everything we have or make comes from the earth, and it's going to decompose back into the earth at some point."

So while I'm not as flippant or dogmatic in my stance "against" recycling as I used to be, I'm still not crazy about "going green." And I'm sorry, but I don't go out of my way to recycle.

This week however, I'm going to learn more about recycling and why people do it. I'm going to defend and support recycling. And just maybe, I'll come out of it wanting to "go green."