This I Believe

Ron Borst

July 23, 2012

This I Believe Essay

I Believe Recycling Can Change the World

I like the new definition of green. I have a friend who is a fishing guide down in Winchester Bay, Oregon. Winchester Bay is where the mighty Umpqua River meets the Pacific Ocean. Once, while fishing with my friend Terry, we launched the boat and motored down the bay and dropped anchor. I baited up and I cast my gear, let it sink, clipped the bail and put it in the rod holder. I lit up a Marlboro and grasped my coffee to warm my hands. I sat there drinking my coffee and smoking while I watched the tip of my pole. I finished my cigarette and opened my pack, pulled out a ziplock sandwich bag and put the butt in the bag and zipped it up. As I put the sealed up ziplock back in my pack, Terry smiled. It is more than just not throwing cigarette butts into the ocean, but rather a proactive respect for the environment and your neighbors and our children. Recycling is a huge part of that, and in my opinion, an epidemic that can be reversed. I believe recycling can change the world.

Surveys of landfills worldwide have produced data that show an alarming percentage of recyclables in the landfills. Ocean surveys have produced disturbing amounts of plastic in the water column that house a majority of ocean life. The results of these two surveys and their effects can be traced directly to humans. Much of this, or even most of this waste, could be reversed with better recycling practices and an active civic spirit from me and you. 

 

I believe an expanded policy of recycling is in order, and education is the beginning of this process. By implementing education at the grade school level, and educating the general public, we can start to implement a more efficient re-use of daily materials.

I believe the next step is encouraging youth to pursue innovation, civic activity, reform, and even careers in recycling. An awesome example of this is Oregon's own Focus the Nation, a non-profit located in Portland, Oregon. I believe what they are doing is crucial to environmental change and an awareness that creates proper recycling practice. Their web address is: www.focusthenation.org.

So what do we do at home to facilitate better recycling practices? A few simple things such as treating the material as valuable and separating it into containers to recycle, is a great start. Things that get put out with the trash routinely could be a part of this process of better recycling. Examples of some of these materials are: plastic grocery bags, cereal box liners, egg cartons, the plastic six pack holder, electronics, appliances, light bulbs, batteries and most paper and plastic products. 

 

I believe a change in recycling attitude can lead to a more productive recycle and re-use social awareness. Taking on better personal practices, encouraging legal change, and teaching our children better environmental nature can only be a positive to humans, Mother Earth and all of her creatures.

For further awareness go see www.earth911.com, www.solv.org, and your local garbage company. Ask yourself as you finish this essay, can I recycle more efficiently? I am as true blue as they come and I truly believe in the virtues of recycling.


Note: I wrote this as summer hit in 2012, and the concept is 60 years old. "This I Believe" essays were started on Edward Murrow's 1950's television show, and continue today at thisibelieve.org.