The Atlanta Journal Constitution ran a bit today on Georgia recycling statistics in recognition of Earth Day:

A statewide look at how much recyclable material ends up in landfills:

• 4.3 pounds: the amount of garbage that Georgians send to landfills every day
• 12.9 million: tons of garbage sent to landfills last year
• 1.7 million: tons of out-of-state garbage sent to landfills last year
• 40 percent: amount of garbage that is commonly recyclable materials (ie. plastic, glass, aluminum, etc.)
• 12 percent: amount of garbage that consists of compostable food waste

To say this disheartens me would be an understatement… HOWEVER, being one to look on the bright side, that means if we can all get people to work on recycling the 40% of potential materials instead of sending them to the landfill, that means only 7.5 million tons instead of 12.9 million ends up underground indefinitely. That would also lessen our per-person-garbage impact to 2.58 pounds instead of 4.3.

So please encourage those around you to recycle! If it means you start a recycling program at work that involves just the co-workers that sit closest to you, that’s a fantastic effort. You can either take the recycling home with you or make a pit-stop by a recycling center on your way home and drop it off. And then work on expanding it. Offer to recycle people’s plastic water bottles for them. Take home some extra bottles and cans after a friend’s party. I’ve found at my work place (and other places), many people are willing to recycle, even if it’s not a habit at home. Or maybe I’ve just gently reminded them to bring me their Coke cans after I’ve found them in the trash one too many times… Either way, we’re definitely cutting down on our per-person-garbage output!