Written By: Jessica Jane Robinson
I will break down the top 10 universal items that can be recycled no matter where you are in the State of California.
NUMBER FOUR: MAIL
FACTS:
- 5,867,782 tons of paper was thrown away in 2014 in the State of California.
- That is estimated to be $20 a ton, $117,355,641 a year that was thrown away from paper alone in the state of California.
According to The Zero Waste Brain Trust Divertability Tool Results, in 2014, the whole state of California threw away 47% of what could have been recycled into the landfill, aka trash (which will never get recycled or composted). The 47% that was sent to the landfill, consisted of an estimated 17% paper, 5% metal, 3% glass, 13% polymers, 5% textiles, 0.4% chemicals, 23% putrescible, 13% wood, 4% ceramics, 4% soils, 8% plant debris.
The statistics tell me, though I want to go into more unique and clever ways to reduce waste, most Californians still need to work on the basics of recycling and composting. In response to what people are still throwing away, I have created these short quick videos to help the average California catch up to speed on how to reduce waste, support the planet and move toward a zero wasting aka a zero waste lifestyle.