• It’s a Special Day… we will take some time to discover why…and how to make everyday special!

My Belief

• Every single person can make a change…this can create a spiral effect to SAVE our world.

BE RESPONSIBLE

• I am the ONLY person RESPONSIBLE for my behavior.

• I choose to recycle…to make the world better place for my family.

• I choose today to introduce and challenge each of you to RECYCLE!

Get a Recycling Bin

Shopping Totes• I shop with canvas totes…

• I take these to the grocery store and the mall! I don’t want their plastic bags!

Statistics on Plastic Bags and Reasons to Stop Using Them!

• Plastic bags often end up in nature…and oceans• Sea turtles mistake clear plastic bags for

jellyfish. Birds swoop down and swallow the plastic. The petroleum-based plastics take decades to break down, and as long as they float on the ocean's surface, they can appear as feeding grounds.

• "These animals die because the plastic eventually fills their stomachs…It doesn't pass, and they literally starve to death.“

• Source: www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin

Plastic bags..

Don’t have to be eaten to harm the

animals

Statistics on the Amount of Time Items Take to Decompose

. The New York Times and other sources : Has the following listed:Paper: 2.5 monthsMilk Carton: 5 yearsCigarette Butt: 10-12 yearsPlastic Bag: some say 10-20 years…other sources say 100 yearsDisposable diapers: 75 years -450 yearsTin Can: 100 years-200 yearsPlastic Bottle: 450 yearsGlass Bottle: 1,000,000 yearsStyrofoam: NEVER

Sources:Nemve E Metropolitan Diary, Oct. 1,2001 www.thatdanny.com

Statistics:

• In 2006, Americans drank about 167 bottles of water each, but only recycled an average of 23 percent. That leaves 38 billion water bottles in landfills.

• Bottled water costs between $1 and $4 per gallon and 90 percent of the cost is in the bottle, lid and label.

• According to the Beverage Marketing Corp, the average American consumed 1.6 gallons of bottled water in 1976. In 2006 that number jumped to 28.3 gallons.

• It takes over 1.5 million barrels of oil to manufacture a year’s supply of bottled water. That’s enough oil to fuel 100,000 cars.

• www.franklygreen.com

Plastic Bottles

• Eight out of 10 plastic water bottles become landfill waste.

• In 2007 we spent $16 billion on bottled water. That’s more than we spent on iPods or movie tickets.

• Plastic bottles take 450-700 years before they begin to decompose in a landfill.

• If everyone in NYC gave up water bottles for one week they would save 24 million bottles from being land filled; one month would save 112 million bottles and one year would save 1.328 billion bottles from going into the landfill.

Yuck!

This Picture Represents the Amount of Plastic Bottles Thrown

Away Every 5 Minutes

My Change

• Buy a PUR water purifier for your faucet.

• Buy a large plastic container to keep in the refrigerator for a constant “cold” water supply…

• Buy a container to take places

What Other Changes Can I Do?

How To Conserve Energy and Water

• Shut the water off while brushing your teeth…or brush your teeth in the shower!

• Put a bucket in your shower to capture water…use it to water your plants.

• Shut off the water while washing the dishes (by hand)

• Use less electricity in the summer by running appliances in the early morning or late evening…run “full” loads

Changes in Household Items

• Change hazardous waste material in your house to environmentally safe materials

What happens when the landfills are full?

Is it a problem if we don’t acknowledge it?

Ideas for

Us?

If Not Us…Then Who?

• If we don’t change…then who will?

• Society tends to always think someone else will do “it”.

• “It” happens to other people, “it” doesn’t really matter…

• I THINK “IT” DOES!!!

“It” is in our

hands!

Is “It” Possible?

• Is the feat possible…or will we fail?

• Only time will tell…but without trying…

• WE FAIL.

WE Deserve a Clean Planet!

Sources• http://www.recycleitnow.net • http://filterforgood.com • http://www.plasticsresource.com • http://www.pbs.org/pov/borders/2004/water/water_disposable.html • http://refillnotlandfill.org • http://www.bottledwaterblues.com • http://www.sks-bottle.com • http://www.bottlesandcans.com • http://www.npr.org • http://www.csmonitor.com • http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/05/28/recycled-water-bottle-cascade-

chandelier/ • http://thefuntimesguide.com/2007/08/plastic_bottle_lids_and_caps.php • www.earth911.org• www.thedailygreen.com