Recycling project to reduce the carbon footprint in Belding
Each year the U.S produces about 292.4 million tons of total
trash, and as of 2019, the population of Belding was 5,718 meaning
that an average of
62 tons of trash per person was produced just in Belding.
Therefore on average Belding produces
354,516 tons of trash each year alone.
This information is frightening because with a simple plan of action
we would be able to reduce the amount of trash that Belding’s
residents produce by a massive number all just by recycling. The
problem is that
Belding doesn't have a recycling program in place. A solution to this issue would be simple.
Implementing a recycling program in Belding
Implementing a recycling program in Belding is not really hard and it would reduce most of the trash dumped in landfills that Belding produces. The town would, however, have to follow an implemented action plan:
Action Plan
1 Contact nearby cities
Many cities near Belding already have a recycling program, so the easiest way to implement recycling in the city would be to contact the recycling companies near Belding and reach out to them to see what needs to be done.
2 Expand their routes
The next step would be to ask these companies to expand their recycling routes so they go through Belding, home to home, taking the recycling that people would have in their respective container outside their houses.
3 Decide what to recycle
The town would have to decide what materials are going to be recycled in Belding. They would be: paper, plastic, glass, cans, and organic items. Each material would have its own container so people could throw the trash in the appropriate container.
4 Let people know
The final and hardest step is to convince people and let them know that a new recycling program is running in Belding so they would buy new containers and start to recycle. The easiest way to contact the citizens would be to send letters to all of Belding's citizens, hanging flyers around the town and by making advertisements for residents to see.
Results of implementing recycling in Belding
Each year the U.S on average only recycles 31% of all waste this means that since belding has about 5,718 people and produces around 354,516 tons of trash each year we could recycle upwards of 100,000 tons of trash in Belding alone. Greatly reducing the waste creating carbon emissions.
How does recycling reduce the carbon footprint?
Recycling helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions. By reducing energy consumption and using recycled materials to make new products, the need for raw materials is reduced and recyclables can be used. Manufacturing products from recycled material typically requires less energy than making products from virgin materials.
A recycling program would not only help all of Belding, but it would give members of the community a feeling of contribution. Starting a recycling program is a somewhat easy task and would be extremely beneficial to all people and would lower the carbon footprint of Belding immensely.