The Clean Room

The Kids Are Alright!

We talk a lot about the benefits of recycling and reuse as it pertains to helping the environment, but a recent news story we came across brought a human element to the recycling cause.

A group of Chinese college students has started a recycling campaign to benefit a poor Tibetan orphan. Tsering Gyatan lives with his 68-year old grandmother and the two survive on what amounts to just over $78 US dollars per month. That money is gained from part time jobs the grandmother works while the boy is at school. There was concern that Tsering, like many other poor children, might have to drop out of school to work.

That’s when the “Sack Brothers” got involved.

The ten sophomores sprang into action collecting empty bottles, used books and newspapers from university dormitories on weekends. In the first two weeks of the campaign, they raised more money than what Tsering and his grandmother make in a month.

News of the campaign began to spread and other students soon joined the cause. Not only did students hold on to those recyclables for Tsering, but a group of female college students also made contact with the boy encouraging him to stay in school.

The Sack Brothers have vowed to keep the campaign going and will send monthly payments to help support the pair. In addition, the students plan to take their recycling campaign off campus and into other communities so that more poor children can receive help as well.

This effort emphasizes the power of recycling and showcases how just a small group of people can make a huge difference not only helping the environment, but their fellow man as well. If ten students can change one person’s life through recycling, think what’s possible if ten million made a concerted effort to recycle… the possibilities are endless.

This is Planet Earth!

Last week, we talked about the little things people can do to make the world a greener place. Today, we’re taking that a step further to tell you about some organizations that are looking to clean up the earth on a much larger scale.

Earthwatch Institute: This international nonprofit has been around for four decades focusing on areas such as climate change, the ocean and unsustainable resource management. Earthwatch offers volunteers the opportunity to join expeditions alongside scientists all over the world – no experience required! Volunteers pay to be a part of the expedition, helping to fund the work.

The Earth Organization: Rehabilitating the Earth is at the core of the Earth Organization’s message. South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony founded the organization after he initiated the rescue of animals from the Baghdad Zoo during the Iraqi War. Since then the Earth Organization has helped with cleanup of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a UN resolution to protect wildlife, and implemented an environmental education curriculum for schools.

Earth Communications Office: With a little help from Hollywood, ECO uses “the power of communications to help improve the global environment.” ECO makes environmental messages that have been seen by over one billion people in 100 countries. The video messages have covered a variety of topics including climate change, the health of the ocean and over-consumption. Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman and Patrick Stewart have narrated various messages. ECO says the aim is to inspire people to “take a more active role in protecting our home.”

Children of the Earth United: Developing green lifestyles doesn’t happen overnight and Children of the Earth United aims to instill green habits in kids early on. Through education, the nonprofit helps kids “develop a greater understanding and respect for animals, plants, water, soil, air and energy systems.” Children of the Earth United is also focused on recycling, green homes and introducing kids to eco-careers.

Earth911.com: Recycling is at the root of this company. It offers an online recycling directory that tells people where they can go to recycle all kinds of different products all around the country. A user simply types in the product they wish to recycle and then a zip code or address, and Earth911 will tell them where to find the nearest recycling center that accepts that particular product. The website is also a one stop center to find out about all kinds of green news and tips. 

Whether it be something as simple as using Replenish or taking part in an expedition to study the effects of global warming, people around the world have joined the Green Movement. We’re proud to be a part of the solution and we hope that more and more people will get involved in the cause. After all, this IS Planet Earth… and it’s the only one we have.

Such a Little Thing Makes Such a Big Difference…

It’s no secret that recycling and reuse are vital components to a healthier Earth. While the problem may seem too big for one person to feel like they are making an impact, that’s actually not the case. There are many little things that we can do in our daily lives to cut down on pollution. The Clean Air Council has released a list of Waste and Recycling Facts that offers statistics and solutions to help build a better world.

A few eye openers on the list:

Bring your own mug to work! The average office worker goes through some 500 disposable cups every year. Implementing a BYOM policy at your office will not only help the planet, but could actually help out your company’s bottom line!

Use reusable shopping bags. Yes, many of us have implanted this already, but not nearly enough. Approximately one billion shopping bags are still used every year… and less than one percent are actually recycled. This creates more than 300,000 tons of landfill waste and that’s just the beginning… because plastic bags are not biodegradable, over time they are broken down into particles that contaminate both land and water. Using reusables or simply reusing plastic bags you already have can go a long way in make the world a greener place.

Recycle office paper. This is an area that has seen much compliance in recent years. More than sixty percent of office paper is now recycled. Not only does recycling paper cut down on potential litter, but “recycling one ton of mixed paper saves the energy equivalent of 185 gallons of gasoline.” Not a bad trade off for simply putting paper in a recycling bin! One other benefit: producing a ton of new paper from recycled paper saves 17 trees!

Think twice about bottled water. Did you know that when you pay for a bottle of water, only ten percent of that cost is for the water itself? The rest goes toward bottling, marketing, shipping and packaging. And what kind of water are you actually getting? More than forty percent of purified water sold in the US starts out as municipal water. When plastic bottles end up in a landfill, they take thousands of years to decompose because they are shielded from the sun.

Recycle your cell phones! Planning on getting the iPhone 5? What will become of your current cell? Unfortunately many people do not properly dispose of their outdated models and those end up in landfills. The EPA reports that only about ten percent of mobile phones are properly recycled. In addition to the environmental benefits, there is a major economic factor to recycling cells: if just one million cell phones are recycled, more than 35 thousand pounds of copper, more than 770 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold and more than 30 pounds of palladium can be recovered.

These are just a few of the items listed in the report. Going green doesn’t have to be a major undertaking. Taking just a few small green steps at a time can really make a huge difference.