Do you know what happens to your trash and recycling?
Do you know what happens to your waste after you throw it in the trash can? Do you know what happens to the items your recycle? Me neither…. And it looks like we are not alone.
I found out recently that Americans are unfortunately really bad at recycling. And I personally think it is due to our lack of knowledge. There is no universal form of recycling across our country because every state and city has its own methods that govern how and what it recycles. The EPA estimates that about 75 percent of our waste is capable of being recycled, however the U.S. recycling rate is at about 35%. The good news is that we are willing to make an effort, we just need the knowledge to participate efficiently.
I write this to further encourage one of our main slogans here at CitriClean…
REUSE IS BETTER THAN RECYCLE.
Don’t get me wrong, recycling is GOOD, and recycling works to benefit the planet. However, Americans used about 50 billion plastic water bottles last year— the average American used 167 disposable water bottles but only recycled 38. If we were to reuse each bottle just one time, we can cut our plastic waste tremendously!! While the FDA has deemed it safe to drink out of a “single-use” water bottle multiple times, I believe we can also repurpose these bottles into other uses as well. Want some examples? Cut off the bottom half of your water bottle and plant some herb seeds for a mini kitchen garden. Put some pennies in your water bottle to create a distractor for your dogs when they misbehave. Turn the bottles sideways and add a little decoration to turn it into a piggy bank (see picture). You can even cut some holes in the water bottle and attach a hose to create your own DIY sprinkler. I have even seen people make a trash can out of their trash (see picture).
The ideas are endless. And if you need more, ask a kid! They are the most creative individuals on the planet!
Here at CitriClean, we reuse plastic water bottles for the packaging of our powdered dishwasher additive. As residents of a beautiful country, we believe in preserving it. So we thought, why create more waste in new packaging? Don’t worry, we thoroughly clean each bottle we repurpose. While it is not the most aesthetically appealing packaging tactic, we stand by our value created 10 years ago to be stewards who manage resources carefully.
As a final note, I encourage you to support other small businesses that are doing their part to help reduce the waste we all create. No matter how small the effort, I promise you, it makes a difference.
Sources:
Piggy Bank Image via letsfixit.co.uk
Trash Trash Can Image via instructables.com