Just R&R

April 2006

Tonight, I’d like you to close your eyes. Imagine that you are inside your dream house. It could be the two-storey house that you’ve always dreamt of as a child. Or that wide space condo unit that you’ve wanted to have. It could be homey, with the scent of family and newly-baked cookies. Or it could be that high tech posh space with Plasma TV and high-end technology. It’s your choice. It’s your dream house. You go to the living room and admire your surroundings. You go to the kitchen and see a bounty of food prepared to satiate your hunger. And then you go decide to go outside to breathe some fresh air, you open the door. Now, kindly open your eyes. You open your eyes and you see this. (show picture of mountainous garbage) This is what’s outside your dream house--- a mountainous collection of garbage. The stench will mingle with the flavorful smell of your food. The stinky liquid will seep into your front door and creep into your living room. Soon, it will be crawling into your house as the volume increases and your dream house transforms into a nightmare. Dramatic isn’t it? But it can happen, you know. And it has happened. Real people have woken up next to wastelands. You could be next. So what can we do prevent this? What else, but RECYCLE! Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. Too corny. Too much effort. Too stressful. Not really. You don’t need to go to extremes and make your own compost pit or re-use toilet paper. What I’m going to give you are simple tips in recycling that even your 6-year brother or sister can easily follow. There are two ways of recycling --- R & R. One is to re-sell and the other is re-use. Let’s talk about what items you can re-sell. Resell, because the item is sold once and you’re selling it again, although it’s not at its orginal state. Well, when you look at your own place, there could be a lot of things to sell – old newspapers, magazines and bottles. There are shops that buy broken appliances. When you sell, you not only help reduce the garbage but you earn money too. If you feel generous, you can go the extra mile and donate your old clothes, shoes or bags to Salvation Army or any charitable organization. I believe there are lots of old folk’s homes here. So what happens to these items when you sell them? They are refurbished to make it into something useful again. Empty glass bottles and jars can be recycled to make things like decorative paving and aggregate for asphalt or swimming pool filters, as well as new glass jars and bottles. Newspapers are recycled into paperboard, new newsprint, insulation and animal bedding products. Empty aluminium drink cans are sent overseas for recycling and can be recycled again and again. Recycled aluminium cans are sorted, crushed and baled into "bricks" for transporting. These bricks are fed into a hot furnace where the aluminium melts and the melted aluminium is then cast into smaller ingots which are processed into new aluminium cans. Steel cans that have contained anything from baked beans to fruit cocktail, pet food or soup can be recycled to make new cars and bridges The other way to recycle is to re-use these items yourself. In the office, when you print, try printing front and back. If it cant be help, you can use the unprinted back portion for scribbling notes. You can be a little creative and turn it into a new notebook. When you order dinner, you can wash and re-use the plastic containers for your take away food. When shopping, you will have several plastic bags. If you can use just one big bag, do so. Otherwise, keep all the plastic bags and use as to cover your rubbish bins. I will show you an easy way of folding your plastic bags so that you can keep them in an orderly manner. First, flatten the bag. Fold it in half lengthwise. Fold it again. Then fold the edge into a small triangle until it reaches the edge. Then clip the last fold so that it won’t get lose. There, just like that. Now, you know how to fold your shopping bags. It just takes less than one minute! Following either of the two ways to recycle is your choice. It’s simple to remember… To recycle, just R and R.. Resell or Re- use. You can follow choose to re-sell or re-use. It could even be your choice to continue with your wasteful ways and opt not recycle. But I tell you, don’t blame me, if one day, you open the door of your house and a pile of garbage come rolling down to your face. Your dream house can really turn into a nightmare. So better do something about it now, before it’s too late…