Wellness Wednesday: Waste, your waist, & a song about recycling
Who would have thought that the little song I crafted back
in early 1990s for an Odyssey of the
Mind sketch would still be haunting me today. Only I could have come up
with embarrassing lyrics that went a little something like, ‘R-E-C-Y-C-L-E,
find out what it means to me!’ and watch my teammates perform them on stage
because there was NO WAY I would be caught dead doing that. Too bad I didn't know
Courtney back then because I am sure she would have been up to the task. After
all, I somehow got her to meow at a small bird trying to eat her dinner.[note from Courtney: this is true. It was a fat, rude bird that was not intimidated by meowing] Anyway…
An email floated across my desk just the other day
explaining how Governor Jerry Brown has signed new
restrictions on California’s
bottle bill. In a nutshell this bill serves two main points: one, deter
those cheater, cheater, pumpkin eaters from crossing state lines, importing
bottles, and exploiting the system; and two, encourage (fair) recycling. When
consumers purchase canned or bottled beverages and some packaged food products,
they pay a fee. This fee can then be redeemed upon recycling. I remember
gathering all the cans and bottles our family would accumulate and taking them
to the recycling center with my dad. For our efforts he would let me keep the
few bucks we received in exchange for our waste.
 |
| minimize waste = minimized waist |
In addition to the benefit of the spare change as a reward
for recycling, it is important to note that recycling can help to save energy.
Making something from scratch takes far more energy and produces much more
pollution than if a manufacturer were to use recycled materials. The best
solution, however, is to simply use less. Yes, we are talking about those three
R’s – reduce, reuse, recycle – and you can bet that was incorporated into my
song. Not only does cutting down on what you use help to shed those pounds of
greenhouse gas emissions, it can also help to shed those unwanted pounds of fat
on your body! This is Wellness Wednesday, people. You should have expected
that.
While it sounds silly, it is true. Packages, boxes, bags,
cans, and bottles mean extra trash and a greater carbon footprint. They also
signal that a food item has been processed and this typically means chemicals, preservatives,
and sugar. Stick to Mother Nature’s packaging and opt for foods that come in
their natural state – think fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.
Try to shop the bulk section of your grocery store and when you have to use
packaging opt for the biodegradable brown bags over plastic.
So, no matter which waste/waist concerns you more you should
always practice those three R’s and you (and the planet) will be reap the
rewards.
Photo from California Integrated Waste Management Board