What causes global warming, energy deficiency, overflowing landfills, poor quality groundwater, and air pollution? I am sure you can come up with many issues that cause each of these individual problems but, did you know there is one thing that can generate all of these at one-time? This revolting matter, is not recycling.

A quarter of the United States does not recycle and 75% of what we throw away on a daily basis can be recycled. Now, things like global warming and overflowing landfills may not seem like an extensive concern to one individual. Yet, lack of recycling can result in high fuel prices, consumer debt, perished wildlife, as well as a poor future for other generations.

Many people do not realize that those little plastic water bottles we drink out of all the time are made out of oil. The same oil that is used to make gasoline. The same gasoline that now costs over four dollars a gallon. The poor quality groundwater as well as the air pollution effects our wildlife as much as it does us and will effect future generations even more.

People make up excuses all the time about why they do not recycle. Such as, I do not have time or it is too much work. Yet, what they do not understand is that there are other ways they can make a difference. Reducing and Reusing are both great contributions. Replacing standard batteries for rechargeable ones or replacing the twenty-four case of water you buy with a stainless steel reusable water bottle are easy changes to make. Another option is donating old cell phones and glasses to needy causes instead of tossing them. These are both simple ways to help avoid problems.

Green marketers have developed five ways to get more people to recycle:
1.
provide an incentive
2.
make it convenient
3.
add value
4.
make it simple
5.
educate people
Also, if there is desire to really get people involved in your community you could have a neighborhood clean-up, send emails or create a website, have recycling bins placed in convenient spots, or write to your local newspaper.

Recycling gets overlooked and that should not happen. Each person can make a difference whether they want to put in no effort or a lot of effort. Recycling will benefit us today, tomorrow, and all the days after that.