Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle…..these are the 3 R’s we are now familiar with to help out the environment. After chaperoning a preschool field trip to “The Dump” last year in Johnston, RI (officially known as the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation), I learned that there is a 4th R in the mix now: Rot! Composting is very important these days, as the RIRRC only has about 25 years left before it runs out of space to store Rhode Islanders’ trash. We can help add time to that estimate if we focus on doing the 4 R’s faithfully.
The trip consisted of a tour of the center, an answer and question session, a small hands-on museum for kids, and a bus ride through the landfill (all the way up to the top of “Mt. Trashmore” where you can see from Providence to Newport). The kids had a blast, and they learned so much (although I think the adults learned even more!).
I try to do a pretty good job with reducing, reusing, and recycling, but know I can always do more. I have all the trendy bags to take to the grocery store (even the small ones that fit in my purse), but I am not always faithful about using them. The guilt always sets in when I hear “paper or plastic.” Ugh! The answer is neither!!!
I read a book in book club called, “The World Without Us” by, Alan Weisman. Reading that was a huge wake-up call, especially about plastics and using plastic bags. Read it if you get time! It’s on SALE right now on Amazon for about $10! Totally worth the read!
The field trip was a good reminder about being environmentally responsible. I will be better about using my reusable bags, and I will also continue composting more faithfully.
I will also be better about putting things into the recycle bins appropriately. I learned that the cardboard milk containers I’ve been recycling should go in the BLUE (plastic/metal) bins, not the GREEN (paper) bins! They actually have thin metal lining in the cardboard. Whoops! I also learned that you cannot recycle the cardboard from soda boxes or frozen meals. They have chemicals in them. Lastly, I learned you should not recycle wire hangers, Capri Sun pouches, or ANY plastics labeled 3-7. Rhode Island currently ONLY takes #1 & #2 plastics, but next year they are hoping to take 3-7. Keep an eye out for that news!
Off to refill my purse with my reusable bags! Practice those 4 R’s faithfully!!! We want the Earth to be a better place and last longer!!!
* How are you with recycling? What can you do to improve your carbon footprint? You can calculate your carbon footprint here
(It’s very scary how big of an impact an average family in the United States has!)
I am making my own shampoo, laundry soap, cleaning supplies, and buying organic produce. From the research I have done this helps create less trash and I am using far less chemicals. Great post!
We recycle in our house, thankfully the city comes and picks it up for us too! :O)
Enjoyable piece–thanks for sharing! I try to find creative ways to reuse the plastic bags that do come into our house. Also, walking whenever possible is a great alternative to always getting behind the wheel.
This is a great post! Turns out, we aren’t doing as well as I thought we were! Any change is a good change, though! I think it’s really important for people to realize that it’s okay to take small steps! It’s better than nothing!
Great post! I live in RI part-time and had never heard of this. I’ll have to take my son. I admit, we are bad at recycling at home (though I’m good at work), but we are trying to improve!
What a cool place for a field trip!
We recycle plastic, aluminum, paper, etc weekly. I’m interested in learning more ways, though. 🙂
We reuse plastic bags, and use the reusable when we can! And yikes at the carbon calculator! We are below average for the US, but that’s still not saying much.
That is such an awesome initiative and I am glad you wrote about it
keeping the bags in your car will help 🙂
We recycle and reuse plastic bags and we tried composting a couple of years ago, but I just couldn’t find the right place in my yard to keep it. BUT.. i really want to try composting again, so i’m thinking about buying a composting big (one of those BIG ones that you turn the handle to keep it churning and it’s all enclosed so you don’t have to worry about animals and the hay to garbage ratio at all times). I love that we can feed our own garden with compost that we make! Our daughters also want to plant trees now that we saw Lorax, so we’re going to do just that once the weather is right.
We are big recyclers. We actually tend to over recycle , per my husband,lol. We bring our own bags to go shopping.
we recycle, turn off all our energy saving lights when not in use, bike and walk instead of car, lowered our water heater temperature, and have no TV during the week!
We recycle and all the odd numbers that the truck doesn’t take we take to Whole Foods where they collect and dispose of them properly. I also make my own laundry soap and just recently switched to cloth diapers. I ALWAYS take my grocery bags in with me and if I forget I run back out to the car! LOL