We have already mentioned that people are less likely to do something if it doesn’t benefit them directly or isn’t super easy. So how do we convince people to jump aboard and start recycling? RecycleBank is a great program to get the residents of Wichita involved. RecycleBank is the premier rewards and loyalty program that motivates people to recycle and to engage in environmentally virtuous activities. Members of the RecycleBank program can earn Points by home recycling and recycling e-waste. In the home recycling program, your RecycleBank cart will be weighed each week upon pick-up and the weight will be translated to RecycleBank Points. The more you recycle, the more your household can earn! The points you earn can be redeemed for coupons to numerous stores—local, online, and even well known franchises. RecycleBank partners with over 2,400 retailers, so everyone in your family is sure to benefit from recycling. RecycleBank is a great way to get the residents of Wichita involved and motivated to participate in recycling.
JW
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Why Don't We Recycle?
Men’s Health recently ranked Wichita last (of 100 cities) in recycling. Why is it that more people don’t recycle? The answer is simple. If people aren’t presented with an easy, convenient way to do something, they are most likely not going to do it. This is true with recycling. Wichitans don’t want to have to drive all over the city in order to drop-off their recyclables, and I can’t blame them. The goal of recycling is to improve the environment, but getting in your car and driving 10 miles to the closest recycling facility has an inverse effect than what we are hoping for. The members of Student Recycling Initiative and I are working to incorporate an incentive plan for the residents of Wichita. By implementing an incentive program along with providing a single-stream recycling container, we eliminate the convenience factor, and increase the city’s participation in recycling immensely.
JW
JW
Recycling - What's the Big Deal?
Recycling is sort of like exercising. We all know we should do it, but not all of us do it as often as we should—and some of us don’t do it at all. However, there are lots of reasons why you should make an effort to recycle as much as possible. If you haven’t been diligent about recycling your garbage, here are a few good reasons why you should start.
The benefits of recycling include:
• It cuts back on global warming.
• It makes us more energy-efficient
• It keeps our landfills from overflowing
• It improves the quality of our groundwater
• It reduces air pollution
• It creates jobs
One person can make a difference. With so many good causes, it’s easy to get discouraged—especially when the problem is so widespread that it’s hard to see what difference your individual effort is making. Many people think this is true with recycling, too, but the truth is that small acts of recycling make a big difference. For example, recycling just one large newspaper would save around 75,000 trees. On average, each person in the U.S. produces around 1,600 lbs. of waste each year. If you recycled all of that, you could save around 1,100 lbs. of waste per year. That’s over half a ton just by yourself!
We hope that after reading this article, you’ll be inspired to become a recycling advocate—or at least be certain to recycle in the future. Recycling benefits everybody, and takes only a little trash-sorting to put into effect. With our limited space for landfills and dwindling resources, it’s a sure thing that recycling is here to stay.
JW
The benefits of recycling include:
• It cuts back on global warming.
• It makes us more energy-efficient
• It keeps our landfills from overflowing
• It improves the quality of our groundwater
• It reduces air pollution
• It creates jobs
One person can make a difference. With so many good causes, it’s easy to get discouraged—especially when the problem is so widespread that it’s hard to see what difference your individual effort is making. Many people think this is true with recycling, too, but the truth is that small acts of recycling make a big difference. For example, recycling just one large newspaper would save around 75,000 trees. On average, each person in the U.S. produces around 1,600 lbs. of waste each year. If you recycled all of that, you could save around 1,100 lbs. of waste per year. That’s over half a ton just by yourself!
We hope that after reading this article, you’ll be inspired to become a recycling advocate—or at least be certain to recycle in the future. Recycling benefits everybody, and takes only a little trash-sorting to put into effect. With our limited space for landfills and dwindling resources, it’s a sure thing that recycling is here to stay.
JW
Join Our Group
SRI is looking for people who share our same interests. We hold weekly meetings to keep all members of the group informed. The meetings will be held each Tuesday at 1:30 pm and will be located at the Ablah Library, third floor in study room 302. Meetings will not be held on any Wichita State University-observed holidays or breaks. If a meeting is cancelled for any reason, email notification will be sent to all members as soon as possible and an announcement will be posted here as well. Lastly, attendance is not mandatory. If you miss a meeting and want to get in touch with the group, your best bet is to post a blog here regarding your ideas. Hope to see you at the next meeting!
JW
JW
Student Recycling Initiative - What We're All About
The Student Recycling Initiative is a group from Wichita State University that focuses on making changes to the way our city handles recycling. Most recently, we are known for proposing a plan that would monopolize the city’s waste management services and enforce mandatory curbside recycling. Our goal is to raise awareness of the community to the benefits recycling would provide our city, as well as the environmental gains we could make by establishing a more sustainable lifestyle.
JW
JW
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