Your Questions About Recycling
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Filed under Recycling Q & A
Lisa asks…
Are there recycle bin(s) in toronto?
I need like recycle bins where there would be alot of like newspapers and coupon inserts and not next to churches or like schools so ya… ( if you are wondering this is not for me it is for a friend which has been hassling me to put this up.)
The Expert answers:
Yes. Newspaper stands/publishers are usually located in subway stations or next to bus stops and there is always a sectioned garbage disposal sitting close by.
Churches on the other hand can have public clothing donation bins. There are also numerous second hand stores where people can leave their miscellaneous unwanted items to be resold.
Schools have sectioned garbage disposals outside of their entrances as well.
Jenny asks…
Does anyone know how to make money for a Charity from used christmas cards?
I know Charities make money by collecting used postage stamps and picture postcards. I know you can recycle used christmas cards either giving them to schools for scrap paper etc or by putting them in the paper recycling bins. Some of the cards are really lovely and it seems a dreadful waste to discard them. I know some people make gift tags out of them. Does anyone have any other ideas?
The Expert answers:
A large number of Charity Shops offer gift tags made from cutting up nice Christmas Cards using patterned scissors – these scissors cost less than a pound these days from many of the cheaper shops in the UK. If you make nice gift tags you could use them yourself and give a donation to charity – or give them to other people to use in return for a donation to charity. I don’t think that they are officially sold due to copyright laws but are offerred in return for donations! Alternatively it is possible to get patterns to cut the cards and stick or slot them together to make decorations. One example of the glued method is on the attached site. I have cut the circles with patterned craft scissors, then marked a triangle that fits the cirlce and cut small slots at the outer edges of the triangle and slot these together to make a hanging ball! Again these can be exchanged with friends for charitable donations. Have fun!
Steven asks…
Is recycling pointless – btw Thanks Yahoo!?
I got one of those Yahoo Answers canvas bags in the mail a few weeks ago, confused what to do with it, I came up with a use for it. (It is rather large lol) I’m going to use it to recycle paper and cardboard, all that jazz and throw it all in the recycle bins at the local school. My mom said it’s pointless and I’m waisting my time… we used to recycle when I was younger, like 5th grade, now I’m in college so I’m taking it upon my own to do what I think is right. Is it pointless or is it worth it?
The Expert answers:
Lacey,
A young man asked almost this very same question yesterday. Only a teacher had told him that, not him Mom. I’m going to cut and paste my answer that I gave yesterday to you today….still applies.
~Garnet
Cut & paste:
Teachers need to be careful telling students things like this. I am very glad YOU are asking for second opinions on this matter.
Some recycling, like aluminum, and many other metals is EXTREMELY good for the environment. Recycled aluminum takes 80% of the energy it takes to mine new aluminum…and best of all, there was no new mining to harm the environment!
Then you get into grey areas, like plastics. Take milk jugs and soda bottles for example. Because plastic has such a low melting point, they cannot be melted down, and made sterile. So they have to be remade into something other than food containers, like park benches, and fleece sweaters. So a lot of energy was used all the way around, first to make the milk jug, then to recycle, transport, and remake it into something else, plus the transporting of that new plastic thing. On the other hand, it means that much less plastic going to landfills, and being dumped into our oceans. Either way, it’s probably a wash, concidering the pollution and fossil fuels that will be used to recycle it. Best thing? Try not to buy items in plastic, period. That does a lot to save the environment.
Paper…cost is more to recycle the stuff, than take it to landfills. Also not good for the environment the way the plants work that recycle the stuff. So, better to toss it away, or even better yet, start a worm bin, in your own house, and feed the paper (especially newspaper) to the worms. They will consume a great deal of it, and you get a lovely byproduct for your garden.
There’s almost always a way to think outside the box, and come up with something creative to do.
Also you need to think about this (because I’m guessing you are a teenager)…technologies improve all the time. What was once not cost efficent, nor environmentally friendly may become quiet a good technology in the future.
Please do not decide because paper is not cost efficent, nor environmentally friendly to recycle that it will not at some point in your life become the best way to do things. Remain flexable, and open minded. Keep checking up on technologies yourself…what is true today, may not be true tomorrow.
~Garnet
Homesteading/Farming over 20 years
Sharon asks…
What’s Wrong With Me?
Just told I’ve been sneezing constantly, my eyes are watering and everything. I thought at first that it was just allergies and took some pill for it, however that was four or so hours ago and nothing has changed.
I’m not one to get allergies that often, in fact I hardly get them at all so its odd that I’ve just recently got it. My mother thinks it might be this new bag I’m carrying to school everyday [I used it before btw] or it might be something that was in the recycle bins we empty at school on Friday’s for Ecology Class.
Any ideas what’s wrong with me and what I can do to get better?
The Expert answers:
You may want to go see the doctor. Perhaps its a really bad cold? Maybe something in your house is setting you off, maybe if you have animals? My dad got me and my sister guinea pigs for christmas and he turned out to be extremely allergic to them and had the same symptoms. So definitely go to the doctor or get an allergy test.
Lizzie asks…
dose any one know? were i can get help for my school?
I am looking for some one to help me find a big bin for my school so we can store paper and other things that can be recycle in my school we are wasting to many things that we just keep rebuying… and were wasting money and killing the earth …. please help ur not just helping me and my school ur helping the futre and ur family … we just need like a huge bin so we can store it tell we can take it in
The Expert answers:
You need a big bin? How about buying indivual bins (like garbage bins) and placing them in each classroom. It’s a much better buy and it’s more convenient. You can find them at any place like Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire, Zellers, Target and so on.
Ruth asks…
student (ages12-15) environmental summit in Japan. need help please?
I’m applying for an environmental summit this summer for teen ambassadors. i really, really want to go but only 4 students in all can go. one of the requirements is writing a one page double spaced essay on what we are doing to help the environment and i of course want it to sound really impressive. i wrote a rough draft but it sounds really really bad so any help will be appreciated. here it is but i removed city and school names for privacy reasons:
How (city) and I / My Family / My School Are Improving Our Environment
During this crucial time to start reversing and slowing the damage done to our environment, (city), (my school), my family, and I are doing what we can to protect our planet. To me, “going green” is more about the little changes and habits you make, than being an extremist. People should be asked to do what they can, help in ways that do not strongly inconvenience them, and not be expected to completely change their way of life. Some of the decisions my family and I have made include using energy efficient fluorescent light bulbs, minimizing excess water usage such as turning off the water while brushing our teeth, recycling, purchasing biodegradable and organic products whenever possible, turning off lights and electronics when not in use, donating instead of throwing away items that could be used by others, and purchasing products that have or can be recycled. We do as many little things as we can, hoping to make a difference. At (my school), we do a lot of reducing, reusing, and recycling as well. Every classroom has recycling bins for paper, there are large recycling bins by the lunch benches as well as throughout the school, collection bins are sometimes put out for uneaten food to donate, and teachers do their best to encourage minimal wasted paper, writing utensils, etc.
Although the community I live in does much to help the environment, there is so much more we could do. Going to the environmental summit in Japan would give me the opportunity to experience not only a new culture, but of course ways to improve the environment. I would greatly appreciate the chance to gain such important knowledge and bring it back with me to share with everyone I can. Wether it’s all of (city) and (city), my school and temple, or my family and friends, I want to get the importance of improving our environment across to as many people as possible. Learning about the environment would bring us one step closer to fixing it.
The Expert answers:
OK, you are trying to write an essay as though you were speaking.
Start again, but this time keep sentences simple, linear, easy to understand.
Group sentences that deal with one issue so they are one paragraphs. Separate paragraphs, as I am here, so they are easier to read.
“To me, “going green” is more about the little changes and habits you make, than being an extremist.”
Rearrange: In my opinion “Going green” is more about the little changes we make in our habits, than about taking extreme steps.
Try not to tell the reader what “should” be done, by changing it to “could”, it sounds less clumsy and childish.
“People could be asked to do what they can, to help in ways that do not strongly inconvenience them, and not be expected to completely change their way of life.”
But remember, if we only do what is “convenient”, we may find ourself doing it 12 metres under the sea!
Truth is pet, there is no time to make it cosy and comfortable, *your* generation face a horrific future, one in which “inconvenient” won’t mean anything, because “harrowing” will eclipse all else!
Try again…
Sandra asks…
Do you think this mini essay sounds okay? help please. . .?
I’m applying for an environmental summit this summer for teen ambassadors. i really, really want to go (its to japan btw) but only 4 students in all can go. one of the requirements is writing a one page double spaced essay on what we are doing to help the environment and i of course want it to sound really impressive. i wrote a rough draft but it sounds really really bad so any help will be appreciated. p.s. if anyone saw my other question about what i can do to go green, it wasn’t because i needed stuff to add to my essay, it was because i wanted to c where i stood as far as what i am already doing. here it is but i removed city and school names for privacy reasons:
How (city) and I / My Family / My School Are Improving Our Environment
During this crucial time to start reversing and slowing the damage done to our environment, (city), (my school), my family, and I are doing what we can to protect our planet. To me, “going green” is more about the little changes and habits you make, than being an extremist. People should be asked to do what they can, help in ways that do not strongly inconvenience them, and not be expected to completely change their way of life. Some of the decisions my family and I have made include using energy efficient fluorescent light bulbs, minimizing excess water usage such as turning off the water while brushing our teeth, recycling, purchasing biodegradable and organic products whenever possible, turning off lights and electronics when not in use, donating instead of throwing away items that could be used by others, and purchasing products that have or can be recycled. We do as many little things as we can, hoping to make a difference. At (my school), we do a lot of reducing, reusing, and recycling as well. Every classroom has recycling bins for paper, there are large recycling bins by the lunch benches as well as throughout the school, collection bins are sometimes put out for uneaten food to donate, and teachers do their best to encourage minimal wasted paper, writing utensils, etc.
Although the community I live in does much to help the environment, there is so much more we could do. Going to the environmental summit in Japan would give me the opportunity to experience not only a new culture, but of course ways to improve the environment. I would greatly appreciate the chance to gain such important knowledge and bring it back with me to share with everyone I can. Wether it’s all of (city) and (city), my school and temple, or my family and friends, I want to get the importance of improving our environment across to as many people as possible. Learning about the environment would bring us one step closer to fixing it.
The Expert answers:
As a chemistry/environmental teacher, I think you wrote a nice essay. Here is my criticism. Please don’t think I am trying to be mean. I want you to go to Japan so I am being honest. I don’t think you got your message across. It sounds like you only want to do things for the environment if it doesn’t inconvenience you (To me, “going green” is more about the little changes and habits you make, than being an extremist. People should be asked to do what they can, help in ways that do not strongly inconvenience them, and not be expected to completely change their way of life.) I think you should emphasize the things you are doing and that you want to be totally involved. You want the people who are choosing to know that you will be the best ambassador possible. That you want to know more about this very important issue and that you want to use the knowledge you will gain in Japan to help your family, your community and your school. I hope this helps. Good luck!! Terry Schwantes
Mandy asks…
Combination of a recycle / trash bin?
I need a really cheap trash / recycling bin. It’s like a 2 in 1 thing and I need it for a school project asap. A website would help.
The Expert answers:
You could probably make one yourself by getting a big, empty container, and putting a partition in the center, and using one side for recyclable trash, and one for non-recyclable trash. Try it, I’m sure you’ll make a good one 😉
Hope this helps! 😀
William asks…
New was to recycle food ?
For school we have to do a presentation on recycling and my subject is food waste, other than the obvious compost bins is there any new ways that could interest teenagers to recycle food at school. I’m looking for the most clever and int resting way possible can anyone help ?
The Expert answers:
Hi there.
Get a school pig and a school goat, should cover it between them.
Live animals is pretty exciting! If it is a big school, add a wormery, love those little tiger worms!
Cheers, Steve.
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