REDUCE, REUSE, RECYLE

1. REDUCE, REUSE, RECYLE YOU are inheriting this Earth! It is up to you to help make it a safe place for you to grow up in!

2. JL LONG LEADERSHIP TEAM Give a shout out to the 2012-13 Leadership Team who helped put together and deliver your new recycling boxes! Now help us begin to make difference here at Long and around the world as we REDUCE, REUSE & RECYCLE! • 7th Grade: • Lesley Renneker • Mili Ramirez • Sebastian Olivarias • Angelica Isas • Rosa Rendon • Marc Pacheco • James Garcia • Maria Lerma • DJ Salazar • Edgar Martinez • Stuart Vega And thanks to Canyon Kidd for his assistance!

3. Watch this video first……….. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/23/oprah-shines-light-on-gre_n_190552.html • Interesting Recycling Facts/ Paper • Recycling 1 ton of paper saves 17 mature trees, 7,000 gallons of water, 3 cubic • yards of landfill space, 2 barrels of oil, and 4000 kilowatt hours of electricity.  • This is enough energy to power the average American home for 5 months. • The process of recycling paper instead of making it from new materials generates • 74 percent less air pollution and uses 50 percent less water. • Manufacturing recycled paper uses 60 percent of the energy needed to make • paper from new materials. • Interesting Recycling Facts/ Metal • Americans throw away enough aluminum every month to rebuild our entire commercial • air fleet. • Americans throw out enough iron and steel to continuously supply all the auto makers • in the entire nation. • Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a 100 watt light bulb for • 20 hours, a computer for 3 hours, and a TV for 2 hours.

4. Interesting Recycling Facts/ Plastic • Enough plastic is produced in the United States each year to shrink wrap Texas. • In 1998 Americans used 2 billion pounds of HDPE to make plastic bottles for household products. That’s the equivalent weight of 90,000 Honda civics. • Approximately 88 percent of the energy is saved when plastic is made from plastic rather than from the raw materials of gas and oil. • Enough plastic bottles are thrown away in the United States each year  to circle the Earth four times. • Different kinds of plastic can degrade at different times, but the average time for a plastic bottle to completely degrade is at least 450 years. It can even take some bottles 1000 years to biodegrade! That’s a long time for even the smallest bottle. 90% of bottles aren’t even recycled. Makes you think twice about that water or soda, right? • Facts about decomposition: • Styrofoam takes thousands of years • Baby diapers take 355 years

5. http://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/ess05_vid_recycleplant/ Paper Recycling at JL Long DO: put paper in the recycling box DO NOT: put kleenex, tissues, paper towels, or anything other then PAPER. The paper CAN be colored, printed on, staples in it, written on. The paper CANNOT have paint, Spiral binding, gum or anything else on it.

6. What can YOU do to make a difference: 1. Choose to use cloth bags instead of plastic at the grocery store, Wal-Mart & other places. 2. At meals, only put on your plate what you will eat. You can always go back for more! 3. Don’t buy single serving items. For example, buy large containers of yogurt or chips and break them into smaller packages for your lunch. 4. Turn the water off when you brush your teethe. 5. If you use have to use a plastic water bottle, reuse it! Better yet, buy a reusable water container and personalize it!

7. Brainstorm with a neighbor: • What other items can we reduce, reuse and • recycle here at school? • What ways can you help reduce waste at school? • What other items can we think about recycling • here at school? • Does your family recycle at home? • What ways can you influence your family to • begin to recycle at home? • FINALLY: What commitments to reducing, • reusing & recycling, as an individual • and as a class, are you willing to make? • MAKE A LIST ON THE BOARD & CHECK BACK WEEKLY • TO SEE HOW YOU ARE DOING.