Environmental awareness is very important and has become more a part of our lives in recent years.  This awareness has added to the growth of recycling, especially in Onondaga County.  Recycling involves removing used materials from the waste stream and making them into new products.  This increase in recycling has had a positive impact on recycling plants and paper mills.  Moreover, it has improved the overall health of the general population and resulted in great energy and natural resource savings.

Students and other consumers play a vital role in promoting environmental awareness and responsibility in both their homes and their community.  As they go through the process of sorting cans, bottles, paper, and other recyclable materials into blue bins and putting the bins out for collection, people start to realize how little effort it takes to recycle and become aware of its benefits.

This awareness also causes people to share their knowledge with others which is at least as important as knowing it.  If a family knows how important recycling is and shares this idea with others, then those they talk to are more likely to do the same.  Eventually the entire community may recycle more. Almost everyone generates large quantities of recyclable materials every year.  By combining each individual’s recyclables with those of the rest of the community, there will be an improvement in the overall growth of recycling, which in return has a positive impact on the health of the environment. This will lead to conservation of our natural resources and a reduction of the amount of garbage in landfills.  According to the Northeast Recycling Council (NERC), paper recycling in the State of New York in 2004 saved 6.7 million cubic yards of landfill space.  Imagine how much more landfill space would be saved if the whole country, or world, recycled all the paper and other recyclables they use every year.

I became more aware of recycling during my junior year when I realized that not many students or staff used the blue bins correctly.  They threw non-recyclable trash in them, and threw recyclables into trash cans, where once they were added to landfills, they would take up valuable land space rather than being made into new items.  It was obvious to me that my classmates did not understand the concept of recycling or how much our environment would benefit from it.  Teachers were also part of the problem because they didn’t urge the students to recycle responsibly or promote recycling.  

This year I realized that recycling is being taken more seriously here at my high school because we are a Green Up NY school.  Although there are still some students and teachers who misuse the bins, there are more blue bins in class rooms than before and more people are using them correctly.  Some teachers have even gone so far as to have separate bins; some just for paper and others just for bottles.  I have also noticed that people in the community are recycling more.  I have seen this at the community center I used to attend and at the Eastern Farm Workers, where I now volunteer at.  They are both more aware of the concept of recycling, and have active recycling programs.

Environmental awareness is very important in today’s society, and will become increasingly important in the future.  Through recycling in the home and community students and consumers play an important role in promoting environmental awareness.  Together, by using proper recycling techniques and increasing our understanding of the concept, we can have a positive impact on the overall health and growth of recycling.