TIS THE SEASON TO RECYCLE

     In October of this year the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (the IPCC) came out with a report on our planets future based on different degrees of planetary warming. The world right now is on pace to warm by 3.4 degrees Celsius. With the Paris Climate Accord pledges, we will only warm to about 2.9 degrees Celsius. The IPCC report states that 1.5 degree increase causes less damage than a 2 or 3 degree increase. No kidding right? However, at a 1.5 degree increase we will still have frequent and longer lasting heat waves, more damaging storms and higher oceans. Miami is already under water often https://www.businessinsider.com/miami-floods-sea-level-rise-solutions-2018-4. Just imagine what a higher degree of increased global climate change can do. Here in West Virginia, the report states that we are at risk for more frequent high precipitation events. I have experienced one of those, and I got off easy (my basement flooded). Others in my community did not fare as well during the flood of 2016. I'm sure you remember the CNN video of the house on fire floating down the river. The town of White Sulphur Springs underwater. That happened here, in Greenbrier county WV. I would prefer that sort of thing happen less frequently. Go to this link for more on the IPCC report https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/special-reports/sr15/sr15_spm_final.pdf  or https://www.vox.com/2018/10/5/17934174/climate-change-global-warming-un-ipcc-report-1-5-degrees . 

     My co-worker and I both saw the report, as I'm sure many of you did. It is frightening. So, we decided to do what we could to help, being persons of action that we are. We decided that we would recycle plastic bottles from our place of business. If our fellow employees voluntarily participate (they have jumped on board), we can recycle at our peak capability. Our facility has a couple of Soda machines, as I'm sure most places of business do. After recycling for 7 weeks so far, we have collected and recycled 170 bottles. Now, the bottles aren't all the same, though most are the 16 ounce variety. At this rate, we will meet the goal we have set for ourselves of 1200 plastic bottles saved from being buried in a landfill. That in itself is great, but how does this help prevent global climate change?

     According to the effort by Stanford University and its own recycling, each ton of plastic recycled saves 5,774 kwh of energy, 16.3 barrels of oil, 98 million BTUs of energy, and 30 cubic yards of landfill space. For more, go to https://lbre.stanford.edu/pssistanford-recycling/frequently-asked-questions/frequently-asked-questions-benefits-recycling  From what I could find, 19 of the 16 ounce plastic bottles equals one pound. So, 1200 (the goal of plastic bottles) divided by 19 (how many it takes to make a pound) equals about 63 pounds of plastic saved from the landfill. If it takes two thousand pounds of plastic to save 16.3 barrels of oil, then each barrel is 123 pounds of plastic saved. So with our 63 pounds of plastic, we will have saved a half of a barrel of oil. You can do the math on how much energy and landfill space we will save, but you get the drift. Recycling does help to curb oil production/save energy, which means less carbon in the atmosphere, and thus helps with global climate change.

     So that is what my little place of business is doing what it can to help. I was pleased that my bosses were happy to jump on board. I think when offered the opportunity to do something good and easy, most people will jump at the chance. Having said that, what my place of employment is doing, is not enough to keep the world from warming passed the 2 degree marker that the Paris climate accord is aiming for. However, if you, my loyal reader, start to recycle at your work as well, and if more and more Americans are choosing to recycle at work, then that can be a small part of the solution. If you can't recycle all the plastic at your place of business, thats okay, just do what you can do. If that is just collecting the plastic bottles that you use and saving/recycling those, then that is great. As my boss at work likes to say "many hands make lighter work".