| Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Remember | | | | plastic and paper refuse alone. Wouldn't it be far |
| Often, when we think about the environment, we | | | | better to be involved with a solution, one that |
| tend to think about it in broad, sweeping terms, | | | | doesn't burn away the massive quantities of oil, |
| like the state of natural resources is something | | | | trees and minerals that have to taken from the |
| only governments and large organizations have to | | | | earth to satisfy the unquenchable product thirst |
| deal with. If not, we tend to casually dismiss | | | | of human civilization? |
| environmental concerns as trivial, problems that | | | | A workplace recycling program is an excellent |
| seem too isolated or far into the future to worry | | | | way to be part of the answer. Regardless of the |
| about compared to the daily challenges we face | | | | size of one's enterprise, the effectiveness of such |
| at work or at home. Sadly, this is typical | | | | a program depends on three things: the ease of |
| narrow-minded, short-term thinking, the kind of | | | | the program, the communication with employees |
| attitude that has plunged our world into so much | | | | of the policy, and simple explanations for how and |
| trouble. Pollution levels are much higher than they | | | | why the recycling program exists. Recycling |
| were just a couple of decades ago, the earth | | | | nowadays is as easy as providing the appropriate |
| seems to be teetering on the verge of an energy | | | | recycle bins, which come in a variety of |
| crisis, and so-called natural disasters, are now | | | | aesthetically pleasing colors and designs, and |
| being linked to ecological devastation. There is no | | | | encouraging workers to participate accordingly. |
| time like the present to enact change for the | | | | Research conducted on the matter shows that |
| planet, and the first thing that needs to be done is | | | | perhaps the cheapest and most consistently |
| for all of us to realize that it is the little things we | | | | efficient way to reinforce the recycling policy is |
| do, or do not do, that actually count. | | | | through the use of recycling signs. The popular |
| Recycling, for instance, has long been recognized | | | | "reduce, reuse, recycle" slogan of the recycling |
| as one of the pillars of any sustainable | | | | effort may have been repeated to death, but it |
| development program. Simply put, if you don't | | | | embodies the fundamentals of what recycling is all |
| keep tossing materials into the trash, and instead | | | | about. Having these recycling signs around the |
| send them back to where they can be re-used, | | | | workplace, at or near designated recycling bins |
| not only will you reduce the amount of new | | | | that are accessible to all employees, ensures that |
| resources that must be spend or taken, you also | | | | people will be reminded at least several times a |
| lower the amount of useless waste that forms | | | | day that they should recycle the waste that they |
| into mountains and islands of garbage. Conversely, | | | | can. It may be a little more tedious on their part, |
| if you continue to be careless about where your | | | | but it is barely any extra effort for a habit that |
| trash ends up, you become part of the 250 million | | | | may just end up saving our planet from becoming |
| ton-strong annual waste problem of the United | | | | a dirty, lifeless ball of garbage. |
| States, with about half of that load coming from | | | | |