Sunday, November 6, 2011

Green Recyclable Grocery Bags Help Reduce Plastic Consumption

By Lillian McDonald


The recycling project in Iowa is apparently advancing but progressing somewhat slowly. As documented in a RadioIowa.com report, studies have revealed the reduction in waste brought to rubbish dumps. Brian Tormey from the Iowa DNR (Department of Natural Resources) Land Quality Bureau disclosed that Iowans now recycle far more when stats of recycling in 1998 and 2005 were compared. The analysis was carried out on 9 landfills in Iowa and materials were separated into 62 different categories. The report also depicts the separate stats of the waste content provided from homes and commercial facilities.

The numbers reveal

Three of the products with the largest density in the landfill were paper and organic items, and plastics. While paper and organic materials constituted 25% of the total, plastics made up 16.7%. At least 13% of the waste products triggered by the commercial industry was cardboard. In contrast to this, only 4% of the waste matter created by non-commercial groups was cardboard. Roughly 13% of the total organic matter found in the dumps was food waste. The composition of hazardous waste materials in the rubbish dumps was determined to be 1.4% of the total waste matter, a statistic that has dramatically decreased to only 0.2%.

Conclusions drawn from the results

The dumps in recent years have observed a major decrease in easily recyclable materials such as paper and aluminum products. Tormey believes that these numbers verify that their recycling procedure is effective and yet requires serious improvement. The substantial quantity of cardboard being wasted by industrial organizations has additionally pointed out to the DNR board that far better systems to recycle cardboard ought to be integrated. One of the key obstacles in this procedure is due to the absence of recycling motivation in the rural areas of Iowa.

Future plans suggested

The high density of food debris seen in the dump is yet another area where improvements might be developed. Tormey recommended that the state could follow plans devised by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to decrease food waste. Programs to redistribute a great deal of edible leftovers to homeless shelters will also be being considered. Large scale celebrations in stadiums and universities generally have a great deal of leftovers that are normally disposed of even if they are still edible. A program particularly designed to stop hazardous materials from going into trash dumps is also indicating results. As per the Iowa DNR, these hazardous materials consist of paint, pesticides, automotive products and cleaning agents.

Simple ways to recycle and help the environment

Food wastefulness is a major problem in a great many areas of the world. When large amounts of food are prepared for elaborate celebrations and parties, it is likely that much of it are going to be leftovers. In lieu of throwing this food away, you could make prior preparations to redistribute this food to shelters and kitchens that look after the homeless. Foods in bulk portions also brings along bags and packaging. Supermarkets now stimulate re-usage by offering eco friendly custom bags with their logo imprinted. Whenever you buy foodstuff or other items in bulk, make sure to carry reusable shopping bags to reduce plastic consumption.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment