According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2009 Americans produced 4.3 lbs of trash per person. The amount of trash we produce affects the environment. It is important the we reduce, reuse, and recycle. This does not only apply to trash, it applys to many things. I realized that the size of my carbon footprint could eaisly be smaller if I would just reduce many things. By reducing the amount of time I spend in the shower, the amount of time I leave the lights on, the amount of new technology I buy, the amount of trash I throw out, and many other things I could help the environment and reduce my carbon footprint. Reducing is not the only thing that I can do to help the environment. Reusing things such as phones that are older but still work well and reusing other things that do not need to be bought new, can also reduce my carbon footprint. Recycling is a simple and easy way to help the environment. At my school it is strongly encouraged that we recycle. There are recycling bins all around the school. Instead of throwing things in the trash where they are then put in a landfill, I can put them in the recycling bin so that they can be used again. Calculating my carbon footprint has helped me to realize that even as an individual person I can still help the environment.

It is extremely important to recycle plastic bottles. “In 2009, the plastic bottle recycling rate reached 28%, ranking it among the highest recycled plastics.” Producing plastic from recycled materials uses two-thirds less energy than producing plastic from raw materials; therefore, it is extremely important that everyone recycles their plastic bottles, so that new bottles can be made using even less energy. An even better option to this is to get a real bottle and refill it every time you want a drink. No matter what people prefer to do when they drink, they should recycle their plastic bottles or reuse their real ones.

http://earth911.com/recycling/plastic/plastic-bottles/benefits-of-recycling-plastic-bottles/

Hi there, before learning about carbon footprints, i was very careless about my trash and other recyclable items. I would just throw away water bottle after water bottle. Now i use a reusable metal water bottle that i never have to throw away. I also like to reuse my old clothes by donating to good will. If i am unable to use them, I’m sure that someone else can find use in them. I also prefer to use hard plastic or glass plates and bowls that you wash and reuse rather than paper ones that you simply throw away after on usage.

I used to go through at least 6 water bottles a day or more because of athletics. I have started using a reusable water bottle and not only does it help the environment and waste less plastic, but I have also realized how much money my family has saved. i think little actions taken by people can greatly help the environment

In our day to day lives, we all consume products that have the potential to be reused or re-purposed. Often times, we don’t even consider the possibilities of our used materials. Although simply throwing away or recycling something is usually easiest, it deters from the health of the environment.. After all, everything that we “throw away” may vanish from our sight but remains a part of the Earth forever. To reuse and re-purpose items will be beneficiary to the environment, and will help reduce each individual’s carbon footprint. We all can reuse things such as plastic, refilling our water bottles several times before disposing of them. In addition, we also can re-purpose these items, such as using a jar of peanut butter to gather change. These small efforts may seem too minute to make a difference, but collectively can make a positive impact on our environment and help to preserve our planet.

I personally use too many water bottles a day. I drink three to six bottles a day and usually reuse the bottles the next day. Even though I drink so much water, I reuse them in order to save carbon emissions. Although it is not as resourceful as using a reusable bottle everyday, it is still something. Quite honestly, I do not use a reusable bottle because it is much more convenient to use plastic water bottles. People (including me) need to put reducing carbon emissions before convenience.

I drink a lot of water everyday as an athlete, and I use the reusable water bottles almost every time, but I really hate to see people only use a plastic bottle and then throw it away just to buy another one. Bottled water is not any healthier than tap water, and it costs more too. So, using a refillable, reusable water bottle is eco friendly and it can save people money.

I tend to find myself wasting a lot of paper. Even if I just need to write down a little note, I will take out a whole, new, clean sheet of paper to write it on, and when I am done I promptly throw it away. I find this habit to be very harmful. If you are the same way as me, I advise you to look at this article I found on how to avoid wasting so much paper.

Recycling is good for the environment but it still takes energy to recycle all that stuff. Plus some of the plastic that we place in the bin doesn’t even get recycled. The best thing to do is to reuse products. It not only saves us money but it’s also better for the environment.
Like people before me have stated before you can create compost piles but those release a lot of heat and they smell bad. They have good uses but I would find it hard to go in my backyard if there were a bunch of flies and bugs in there. If you want to get a good fertilizer, some companies make fertilizers from compost and they are more natural.
You can also reuse old torn up clothes that can’t be donated as cleaning clothes, then you don’t have to spend money buying towels that will end up getting stained and gross.
You can also reuse clothes and make a quilt, headband, or even new clothes.
A lot of scraps of paper and fabric can be used to make a peice of artwork to decorate your room.
There are a lot of things that you can reuse and don’t even know. Before you recycle an item ask yourself if you can use it again for something else.
Here is a site with cool ideas:
http://www.boredpanda.com/creative-reuse-upcycling-repurposing-ideas/

Hi, I’m Molly W from the USA. My class last week did a survey to calculate the amount of CO2 emissions from me. The survey opened my eyes to the drastic amount of waste that I may release into the atmosphere. I thought that the amount of CO2 I release into the air was the same amount of an average person, but I was wrong. I was a little over the average amount pertaining to transportation, technology purchases, and food. The difference between reusing and re-purposing is that when you reuse things, you can use it more than once for the same purpose. But re-purposing is using something more than once for a different purpose.