Small Things That Can Make a Difference

Image via Wikipedia

The global economy disposes billion tons of solid waste every year. In 2006 for instance, municipal solid waste (MSW) generated worldwide was 2.02 billion tons.

Waste management is everybody’s business. We all have a responsibility to reduce our solid wastes, not tomorrow, but starting today. It is true that we cannot avoid creating wastes, but we should find ways to lessen it. Recycling is one option. We can re-use old materials and transform it into new products. This will result to a reduction in the consumption of fresh raw materials and reduction of energy consumption as a result of the cutback on the usage of “conventional” waste disposal as compared to virgin production

The world is already embracing various recycling methods, but it is not enough. Every household, including you and me, must participate even in our own simple ways. Below are some recycling ideas being done by simple individuals which we can try ourselves.

Foil-packs and Tetra Paks transformed into bags. Tetra Pak which typically consists of 75% paper, 20% polyethylene and 5% aluminum foil makes it difficult to recycle. In US alone, more that 300,000 tons of foils and Tetra Pak are being disposed every year. Aside from bags, foil packages can also be transformed into car mats, floor coverings and shoe soles.

Image Source

Old bottles of wine can be transformed into decorative household ornaments. The UK for instance is the largest importer of wine in the world with over one billion litters imported each year from Europe and the New World, around 80% of which arrives already bottled. Imagine how many wine bottle wastes we are consuming every year?

Image Source

Empty peanut butter jar transformed into flower vase. Similar to wine bottles, jars of peanut butter and other spreads can be used as a flower vase or even flower pots.

Image Source

Old CDs transformed into decorative lanterns. Each year over 30 billion CDs and DVDs are manufactured. Imagine how much percentage of that number goes into our trash every month

Image Source

Old tires transformed into colorful flower pots. In 1990, 264 million tires were sold in the US. In 1993, 3.4 Million tons of scrap tires were generated by Americans alone. Only 6.7% of that number were recycled, the remaining 93.3% goes to the landfill.

Image from the Author

Transform household trash into wonderful art. The possibilities are endless, unleash the artist in you, simply by using your household trash.

If we really care about this world and if we really care about our environment, we should act now, start small… but it can make a big difference.