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:


1) Protecting the environment—I've already mentioned this some, but since it is such a big deal, I'll expound a bit more. Since Australians live near the  ocean, they like to keep the ocean clean. If plastic gets in the ocean, it can hurt animals and marine life. Jess has been to other nations, like the Solomon Islands, where recycling isn't a big deal She said the amount of plastic that floats in the water at the Solomon Islands is disgusting, and it has caused a lot of damage to marine life. "I think that people think the ocean is big, so it can handle a little bit (of trash), and will only make a little dent. But it actually does greatly effect the marine life."

2) Reducing landfills—Jess said a lot of things we use can be recycled, and if all of that just goes from a trash bin to a landfill, then the landfill will fill up very quickly. Recycling cuts back on how much land people use for landfills.

3) Saving money—This is another huge reason Australians recycle. Jess said it ultimately provides for a significantly cheaper products in the long run. Why? Because recycled products aren't made from raw materials, so it costs less to produce them which, in turn, causes sale prices to lower. Australians have a limited amount of trees, so they don't use that many paper products because it's expensive to do so. They are careful and recycle what they do have.

For example, Jess said if you go to a birthday party, you never rip the paper but open the gift carefully. Then you would immediately fold the paper and put it in a pile for recycling. "You'll use that paper to wrap someone else's gifts, which people appreciate that because you're saving money. Basically, it all just gets passed around," she said.

Jess said it doesn't take much to help the environment. You can start small. Look for ways to reuse, and if you can't, separate your "trash"—like cardboard, plastic, and glass—and recycle them.