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Learn / Articles / Maine Recycles Week, November 8th - 15th
Maine Recycles Week, November 8th - 15thMaine Recycles Week takes place November 8th - 15th of each year in the State of Maine to raise public awareness toward the recycling hierarchy. For the week, a statewide campaign is run to promote recycling and buying products made from recycled materials.
Each Maine resident or visitor generates about a half ton of trash every year for a combined total of over one and a half million tons of trash. Maine recycles 40% of that trash, ranking among the top 10% of the nation in recycling.
One of the primary goals of Maine Recycles Week is to promote buying recycled as an action that is essential to the success of recycling. When we buy recycled, we help to create markets for the materials we recycle at home and work.
When most people think of the Five R's, they think of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Replenish and Respect - the five-part approach to solving the world's age-old garbage problem. You need to do all five to make the system work.
1) Reduce means cutting down on what you buy and consume as well as as reducing what you throw away.
2) Reuse means buying things can be used more than once, and finding additional uses for products that are marketed as "disposable".
3) Recycle means sending items back to manufacturers to be turned into new products, instead of being incinerated, dumped at sea or buried in a landfill.
4) Replenish means giving back so that the Earth can sustain life and future generations can enjoy the same standard of living as we now enjoy.
5) Respect means being mindful of your role in the ongoing cycle of life.
Why buy recycled?
1) Buying Recycled Conserves Natural Resources: By making products from recycled materials instead of virgin materiaals, we conserve land and reduce the need to drill for oil and dig for minerals.
2) Buying Recycled Reduces Waste and Pollution: In most cases, making products from recycled materials creates less air and water pollution than making products from virgin materials. Recycling one ton of paper saves 7,000 gallons of water.
4) Buying Recycled Conserves Energy: It usually takes less energy to make recylced products; recycled aluminum, for example, takes 95% less energy to make than new aluminum from bauzite ore.
4) Buying Recycled Creates Jobs and Saves Money: The recycling process creates far more jobs than landfills or incinerators. The Institute for Local Self-Reliance in Washington, D.C. estimates that nine jobs are created for every 15,000 tons of solid waste recycled into a new product, and seven jobs for the same amount of yard trimmings composted. By contrast, only two jobs are created for every 15,000 tons incinerated, and just one job for every 15,000 tons sent to landfills. The recycling and remanufacturing activities account for one million jobs and $235 million in annual revenues.
Myths About Buying Recycled
Hysterical naysayers can't resist trying to derail the recycling bandwagon. Here are some persistent myths that we can debunk.
MYTH: Recycled products are hard to find!
FACT: The average consumer can find quality recycled content products everywhere, from the local neighborhood store to national retailers. In our community, The Green Store is a good source for recycled paper products, clothing, housewares, glass, gifts, and more.
MYTH: Recycled products cost a lot more!
FACT: Although some recycled products do cost more, an increase in consumer demand has enabled manufacturers of recycled products to lower their costs and start passing those savings on to consumers.
MYTH: Recycled products are inferior in quality!
FACT: There are inferior and superior products in all categories, and recycled products are no exception. Recycled products offer the same quality, reliability, dependability and performance characteristics as their virgin equivalents.
Tips for Buying Recycled
"Post-consumer" means that the material has been used at least once by the consumer and is now being used again. An exampe of this is used two liter plastic soda bottles that are recylced to make carpeting, furniture or clothing. "Pre-consumer" materials include waste items generated during manufacturing, such as paper trimmings, which almost always end up being recycled.
Make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Sometimes the recycled product may appear to be more expensive because of differences in size or quantity. With toilet paper, for example, the recycled brands usually have many more sheets per roll than the other brands, so it appears more expensive when actually you are getting more of the product and in more efficient packaging.
Recycled vs. Recyclable
A "recycled" product is one made from recycled material, i.e. material that has been used already in one product and returned to be made into a second product. A "recyclable" product is one that can be collected, separated, or otherwise recovered and recycled after it has reached the end of its useful life.
For example, a greeting card made from "recycled" paper is one made from paper that has been through the recycling process. One made from "recyclable" paper is probably made from virgin trees: it could be recycled, but there is no assurance that it has been or will be.
What do the three chasing arrows mean?
Each arrow represents one step in the three-step process that completes the recycling loop. The first step is collection. The manufacturing process is the second arrow. The recyclable materials are converted into new products. The third step is where you, the consumer, purchase products made with recycled content. When you "Buy Recycled," you complete the recycling loop. The chasing arrows symbol, by itself, can mean that a product or package is recyclable, contains recycled materials, or both.
Remember, you do make a difference. Buy recycled products to make the recycling system work!
http://www.state.me.us/spo/recycle/mrw/index.php |
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