Hi! I am from Texas! This survey that calculated my carbon footprint has really shocked me! I was not expecting my carbon footprint to increse so much because of electronics, like my cell phone and laptop computer. I have to use a computer for school and I use my cell phone all the time. I know that these two things are big problems. Along with the amount of carbon that these devices add to the atmosphere we also create alot of waste with the number of cell phones that we throw away per year. Did you know that Americans create almost 65 tons of waste every year just by throwing away cell phones? This fact just blows my mind. I do not understand why people don’t try and recylce those type of things. This is a very simple thing that everyone can do. There are so many different opportunities to recycle. The link attached has a list of some of the places that recycle cell phones and electronics. I believe that if everyone would contibute to this, or at least try and recylce one elcectronic device that they replace. We could make a big difference in the carbon footprint of the world.

My mom loves gardening, so she would compost to fertilize our garden. In fact our whole family composts anything we can. We found it to be really good for the soil that we grow our vegetables in. After I saw my carbon footprint results, I found out that by composting, it reduced my carbon footprint. In the link below, it is shown that composting has many benefits towards out environment making it far better than chemical fertilizers. This article says that by composting the plants growing in that soil actually yields more crops than plants in soil fertilized by chemical fertilizers. It is also proven to reduce toxic formulation in landfills. Composting is very cheap compared to buying fertilizers at the store that does half of what composting can do. Composts can include banana peels, eggshells, and other biodegradable items. So by composting alone you can reduce your carbon footprint significantly.

http://www.epa.gov/compost/basic.htm

My family is huge on recycling. We even have separate bins for everything. We try to recycle as much as possible at home and everywhere else. My parents encourage us to reuse most of our plastic water bottles recycle as many things as possible. Before we recycle something that can be reused we ask my youngest brother if he wants to use it to build something or we try to see if there is any way we can reuse it. Using your imagination to build things out of old things such as glass bottles, paper, or aluminum cans make recycling enjoyable and approachable for kids. I also believe that every (or almost every) city should have some sort of recycling system. Majority of people just throw everything in the trash because it is easier and simpler. If a city makes it easy on the people, then they will be more likely to recycle often. In conclusion if everyone would recycle the average carbon footprint would decrease dramatically.

The members of my family are huge recyclers. We always bring reusable canvas bags to the grocery store, we reuse most of our plastic water bottles, and I always encourage my friends an other people I know to always recycle as much things as possible. Another thing I love to do is make things out of old things such as glass bottles, paper, or aluminum cans. This is a great and fun way to recycle old trash. If you are a really artsy person, this should be really simple for you to do. The best part is, while you’re having fun and making cool art, you’re also saving the environment while you’re doing it.

I know that my neighborhood recieves recycling trash cans, and we have a recycling truck come pick up our recycle once a week. the process is really simple, and wouldn’t it be great if every neighborhood, apartment/condo complexe, and city had that. It would be a much more accessible way to recycle. I know that down at my house in Galveston, we dont have a recycling bin.If we want to recycle, we would have to drive 15 minutes away to the one of the locations for large recycling bins for the city. So, we don’t really recycle when we”re down in Galveston, and as a result, we have a lot more trash bags that we take out.

Hi, my name is Stephanie, and I’m from the USA. I agree that plastic is very endangering to our environment due to the fact that many people don’t really pay attention to what the consequences are. At home, my dad has always taken reusable canvas bags to the grocery store. If you would like to reduce the amount of plastic waste, I suggest you try this. Also, My family reuses plastic water bottles, which lessens the amount of plastic as well. Although you do have to clean the bottles, it recycles something that you can use again. The school I attend is also very involved in recycling. There are recycling bins all around the school, and I feel that this is a very effective way to reduce the amount of plastic waste. So, if you want to help reduce the amount of plastic, I suggest you try one of these things. It would be a great help to our environment.

Every week when it is recycling pick up day on my street my family always has the most stuff and when it is trash day we have the least. This is because PEOPLE ARE LAZY! It is undeniable that people know what they can and cannot recycle due to all of the awareness programs throughout the United States. This is extremely important because if a child parents do not recycle then chances are the child won’t. Our world is in trouble if we don’t change. Not just recycling plastic bottles but taking paper instead of plastic at the grocery store. You know we are wasteful when you have to ask to have you groceries bagged in paper which is recyclable opposed the unrecyclable plastic bag. A paper bag takes one month to decompose where as plastic bags take 200-1000 years to decompose. The choice is obvious! Lets start making the right choices people and make our future better. Check out the link for how long it takes stuff to decompose.

I am a Girl Scout and last year I had to choose a Silver Award project. I eventually chose recycling. I went to a public school in the less fortunate part of town. My mom had a friend who worked there. She got me in touch with the lady in charge of student council. I spoke to the kids (3rd-6th grade) about the importance of recycling, saving the earth, water and energy conservation, etc. Later I put together a Powerpoint and wrote a short, fun skit and taught the same to the younger kids. I also set up a recycling program, using Girl Scout cookie money to buy bins. This experience was so rewarding and taught me that it is important to recycle!

When we are done with many things, it is easy to just throw them away or maybe even recycle them. But there are actually many creative and often useful things that can be created from your leftover water bottles, paper, plastics bags, and more! I know that for many school projects and somtimes decorations I have made them using these recycled items. The link posted below has a lot of great options if you are interested in reducing your carbon footprint and having fun making stuff!

Last year a guest speaker came to our school to talk about redusing, reusing, and recycling. As she was talking I realized how important those topics were. Recently I calculated my carbon footprint and was not impressed with my recycling footprint. I think it is important because it can help reduce the amount of pollution in the air. In my school we are currently doing as electronics drive, meaning we are recycling electronics. I think every schoo should do this because many people have electronics that they aren’t using. Also whenever my family goes the store we bring our own reuasble bag so we don’t have to use the plastic ones the stores provide.