On April twenty-second, 1970, the first Earth Day began. In 1993, sixteen thousand tons of trash landed in the landfill and four thousand tons of trash was recycled. Three years later, seventeen thousand tons of trash made it to the landfill, and only four thousand tons of trash was recycled. If we will keep throwing away our trash, we are going to die from lack of oxygen, clean water, and food or be like the people in the movie Wall-E, who don’t care for the earth and live in a world that is dark, gray and stinky. But if we start recycling, I bet we can see a huge change in the earth’s environment.

Did you know that not recycling is one of the causes of global warming? Yes, not recycling is a way to raise global warming. “The gases that trash produce can be used as energy, and we don’t take advantage of this,” says associatedcontent.com. “It is just wasted into the atmosphere.” “A tin can can power a TV for three hours,” says earthsfriends.com, “and a glass bottle can power a computer for twenty-five minutes.” If we recycle our recyclables, we can reduce our landfills, we can save energy, and the recyclables can be reused to create new cans, glasses, and paper. Reduce, reuse, recycle, how hard is that?

There are more than 3536 active landfills in the United States. Each landfill is eighty-two football fields and thirty feet deep and half a mile wide. Each hole is layered with fifty feet of trash and twenty feet of earth. This pattern continues until the hole is filled. Once the hole is filled, it is called an inactive landfill. There are more than 100,000 inactive landfills in the United States. If the trash keeps on coming, then the United States of America will be called the USAT or the United States of American Trash.


Recycling can also save and earn you money. Some states-- such as Iowa, Hawaii, and California--offer five to ten cent refunds on cans, bottles, and plastics. To find a local recycling center that can offer you refunds on your recyclables, go to http:// earth911.org/. Also, the size of your trash can costs money. The smaller your trash can, the less your money is spent on your bills.
Choosing to reuse or recycle items can possibly lower costs on everyday items like containers, and clothing. Everyday, the average American spends at least fifty dollars or more on there needs, including food, clothing, personal items, and medicine. Prices are going up on food, clothing, and gas. If we recycle our paper, for example, more trees will be planted to create more oxygen, more shade, and less trash.
Most importantly, recycling reduces the 3536 active landfills. We need to watch out what we are throwing away. Trash that ends up in the landfill may end up in the water we drink. The trash that is in the landfills seeps into the soil; the soil washes into the watersheds--a place where the water flows into the lower region. The watersheds flow into the water treatment plants, but the water treatment facilities don’t filter all of the pollutants in the water. The non-filtered water goes into the cup we drink out of, and then we drink polluted water.
You see, recycling can change lives, the environment, and a person’s physical well-being. Recycling is not hard and can even be part of your daily routine. Recycle whatever you can.