Trash Your Trash: Spread the Word About Recycling
by Leah Koenig | January 24, 2012 | 3 comments
Photo by Dan DeLuca via CC
Breakfast yogurt. Gum wrapper. Takeout lunch. Glossy magazine. Shopping bag. Plastic water bottle. Each of these daily items may seem small and insignificant, but bundled together they add up to a whole lot of trash. Four pounds to be exact – the average amount that each person throws away (and that ends up clogging up landfills) every single day!
Thankfully, our friends over at DoSomething.org have teamed up with Nestlé Waters to, well, do something about America’s trash problem. Their goal: to spread the word about the importance of recycling and double the country’s recycling rates by 2018.
The initiative, called Don’t Be Trashy, invites participants to check out some recycling statistics, share them with friends via Facebook and Twitter, and select a sustainability project idea or two (everything from recycling 25 items to talking to a school principal about getting recycling bins) to begin making an on-the-ground difference. To sweeten the deal (as if a cleaner environment weren’t gift enough!) they’re giving away great prizes like free movie tickets and $500 college scholarships to lucky participants.
The Jewish tradition, believe it or not, is also on board with recycling and sustainability. The mitzvah of bal taschit (do not destroy) serves as a reminder of our ongoing responsibility to keep the natural world clean and healthy by avoiding waste. Wanna learn more? Check out the hilariously informative video on bal taschit below (featuring a cartoon version of Al Gore!). Then, help DoSomething.org spread the word about recycling – and trash your trash!
Let us know how you’re getting the word out about recycling – leave a comment below tweet us at @repairtheworld.
3 Comments Join the discussion »
I think that the best thing anyone can do as individuals is lead by example. Teaching our children the importance of recycling and sharing our actions with our friends without being pushy.
posted at 09:00 am on January 25, 2012 by Haul it Louisville GuyAl Gore is Jewish? Kewl.
posted at 10:36 am on January 26, 2012 by CharlesSocial justice through teaming up with the Nestle corporation? Oh man, I didn’t know social justice could be bought by the highest bidder.
posted at 05:21 pm on January 26, 2012 by Fig Leaf