Imagine a small fire has broken out in your kitchen. Panicked to save your house and yourself, you see a cup of water, a container of flour, and a box of baking soda. THINK FAST! What’s the best option to use?
Did you find yourself wondering what type of fire it was? Or maybe you found yourself trying to remember what you’ve read on how to put the fire out? Well, at times, this is the confusion we meet when walking up to a section of trash vs recycling bins in stores or at events. Each instance cues a climatic movie scene where the fate of Earth is in distress (dramatic music builds in the background for some razzle dazzle) and in my hand I hold something that (when placed correctly) can be a small contribution to help save it but, where does it go?
Sometimes the whole idea of recycling, remembering what item goes where, and what condition it has to be in to even be considered eligible for recycling can get frustrating. Even at home when holding something in our hands to be disposed of, we may pause briefly and look between our recycling container and trashcan wondering, “Is this item even recyclable?”
It's no wonder why so many of us start out with good intentions to do our part to save the planet but get so frustrated we just acquiesce to defeat and toss everything in the trash. But, think about this: if you had the tools to extinguish that small fire that broke out in your kitchen, would you just give up and let it eventually burn everything to the ground or would you do what was in your power to try to save yourself, your kitchen, your home, and the homes (and lives) of those that live around you?
Put your cape back on, we're here to help! In an effort to reduce some of the confusion that comes with recycling, Afro-Vegan Society held a talk discussing recycling myths, reuse/repurpose ideas for single use items, the dangers of plastics, and more!
Here’s just a few gems that were dropped during this talk:
-aluminum foil is recyclable
-electronics can be recycled too
-the presence of microplastics in bottled water and food storage containers
-avoiding BPA is great, but there are several OTHER types of dangerous BPs to avoid
Check out our live video below and let us know what you learned!