INTRODUCTION

This publication provides an overview of the reasons and

ways to better manage garbage or other household waste.
While “recycle” may be a buzzword for an environmentally
friendly way to manage waste, a more comprehensive
approach to doing so is summarized by the “Three Rs

I. Reduce: Buy only what you need because a better way to

reduce waste is by not creating it.
II. Reuse: If you have to acquire goods, try getting used
ones or obtaining substitutes.
III. Recycle: When discarding your waste, find ways to
recycle it instead of letting it go to landfill.

As a nation, we are generating more garbage and we don’t know

what to do with it. Ineffective or irresponsible disposal of this
waste can pollute the environment and pose a public health risk.
We are running out of space in existing landfills. Citizens are
discovering that there is no easy way to get rid of the garbage they
once assumed could be buried or burned and forgotten.

Current disposal methods threaten our health, safety, and

environment, and pose additional indirect costs to society. Most
industrial, commercial, and household waste is now being placed in
landfills or surface impoundments. Waste treated in this manner
may contaminate groundwater, rivers, and streams. When waste is
burned, it releases hazardous gases into the air and leaves toxic
residues in the form of ash. These hazardous waste by products
find their way into humans and animals in one form or another.

The U.S. is currently recycling only a small percentage of its waste.

The benefits of recycling come not only from selling recycled
materials and conserving resources but also from reducing
expenses or from “avoided costs.”
 1. In New Mexico, the legislature passed the Solid Waste Act of
1990, which set a goal of diverting 25% of New Mexico’s
municipal solid waste from landfills by 1995 and 50% by July
1, 2000. In order to manage waste, the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and the Solid Waste Act favor an
integrated solid waste management strategy that includes 1)
reducing the amount of solid waste generated, 2) recycling as
much refuse as possible, 3) transforming waste in an
environmentally safe manner, and 4) continuing safe
landfilling. The strategies can be further discussed in the
“Three Rs” approach—reduce, reuse, recycle—as briefly
mentioned in the introduction.
 REDUCE Reducing the amount you buy is the most significant
of all the options to manage waste. The key is to only
purchase goods that we need and in the right amount. If we
never generate products in the first place, we do not have to
extract raw resources, manufacture goods from scratch, come
up with shipping materials, utilize additional resources for
shipping, and then devise ways to dispose of them. Table 1
lays out how long it takes to decompose typical waste
products. Reducing the amount you buy can help reduce
waste in surprising ways:

• Phone books: When was the last time you used a phone book?
The white pages alone cost 5 million trees a year. They generated
650,000 tons of waste in 2009 (EPA, 2010). You can opt out of
phone book delivery by registering your address at sites like

 • Disposable razors: More than 2 billion disposable razors are

disposed of each year in the U.S. alone (EPA, n.d.).
 • Disposable diapers: In 2010, 50,000 tons of wood pulp were
used to produce disposable diapers, and almost 4 million
diapers were discarded in landfills (EPA, 2011). As listed in
Table 1, it takes 450 years to decompose a disposable diaper.

• Cell phones: Despite great strides in manufacturing, a typical new

cellphone consists of 40% metals and 40% plastics, which use oil for
their manufacturing, as well as other resources for packaging and
transportation. EPA estimates that more than 125 million cell
phones are discarded each year, generating more than 65,000 tons
of waste (EPA, 2004). Because cell phones contain hazardous
materials, you should always trade in, donate, or recycle your old
phones.

• Light bulbs: ENERGY STAR compact florescent light bulbs save

about $6 per year and about $40 over their lifetimes (ENERGY
STAR, n.d.).
 Reduce: What Can We Do?
Each person adds to the waste management problem. If each
household reduces its waste, the problem will be reduced. You can
start by analyzing what you throw away and what goods are
needed at home.Table 1. How Long Does It Take to Decompose
(EPA, 2013a) Paper towel 2–4 weeks Plastic bag 10–20 years
Newspaper 6 weeks Plastic film container 20–30 years Apple core 2
months Tin can 50 years Waxed milk carton 3 months Rubber boot
sole 50–80 years Plywood 1–3 years Styrofoam plastic cup 50 years
Wool sock 1–5 years Aluminum can 80–200 years Cigarette butt 1–
5 years Disposable diaper 450 years Plastic beverage bottle 450
years Monofilament fishing line 600 years Glass bottle 1 million
years

Among the main steps consumers can take to reduce waste are:

• Choosing items that you need, not want: People who keep
upgrading their electronics to the latest design are very likely to
waste their money and also unnecessarily waste natural resources.

• Shopping for high-quality items: You may have to pay more, but
high-quality items may last longer, perform better, and give fewer
problems than lower-quality items. Instead of disposable items, opt
for durable ones such as silverware, reusable cups, and reusable
water bottles. •

• Using minimum packaging: Packaging materials like plastic bags,

boxes, packing peanuts, and plastic wrappers often wind up in
landfills. Bring your own shopping bags instead of using plastic
bags. If you don’t have shopping bags, use paper bags instead of
plastic because they decompose faster. Many stores have reusable
bags for sale at the register, and some stores even have used plastic
bags for consumers to use.

• Buying local products: Besides stimulating the local economy,

buying local products means we can reduce negative
environmental impacts from transportation.
• Buying local products: Besides stimulating the local economy,
buying local products means we can reduce negative
environmental impacts from transportation. You may be able to
make some of these items at home, such as shopping bags and
homemade cleaning supplies. A selection of home cleaning
products and their uses are laid out in NMSU’s Cooperative
Extension Service Guide G-304, Selection and Use of Home Cleaning
Products.
 REUSE
The idea of being wasteful makes many people uncomfortable. Yet
most of us continue to waste because we can’t think of anything
better to do with last year’s phone book, draperies that are too
short, or a closet

door that was scratched by a favourite pet. We are conditioned to

think of things that are old, empty, worn, broken, ugly, or marred
as useless, so we throw them away without much thought about
the consequences. Most Americans buy far more than they can use
effectively, as evidenced by bulging attics and garages. The process
of reusing starts with the assumption that the used materials that
flow through our lives can be a resource rather than refuse. Waste,
after all, is in the eye of the beholder. One person’s trash is another
person’s treasure. If we really look at things we are throwing away,
we can learn to see them as materials that can be reused to solve
everyday problems and satisfy everyday needs. Most of us,
however, haven’t even begun to exploit the resources in our trash.
Once you have made up your mind to use trash for positive uses,
you can begin to brainstorm and generate ideas. Reusing saves
money, conserves resources, and satisfies the human urge to be
creative. Reuse: What Can We Do?

The following are some examples of reuse. • Containers can be

reused at home or for school projects. • Reuse wrapping paper,
plastic bags, boxes, and lumber. • Give outgrown clothing to friends
or charity. • Buy beverages in returnable containers. • Donate
broken appliances to charity or a local vocational school, which can
use them for art classes or for students to practice repairing. • Offer
furniture and household items that are no longer needed to people
in need, friends, or charity. • Sheets of paper that have been used
on only one side can be used for note-taking or rough drafts. • Old,
outdated furniture can be reupholstered or slip covered. Have
padding added to the furniture to give it a new look. Often the
frame can be modified slightly to change the way it looks. • Old
towels and sheets can be cut in small pieces and used for dust
cloths. • Books and magazines can be donated to schools, public
libraries, or nursing homes. • Newspapers can be donated to pet
stores.

• Packing materials, such as polystyrene, plastic quilting, and

similar materials, can be saved and reused again for packing.

• Carry a reusable tote bag or take bags to the store when you go
shopping. There are attractive nylon mesh bags available that can
be stored easily in the glove compartment of your car. Durable
canvas bags, which take very little space to tuck away when not in
use, can also be used.

• If you buy prepared microwaveable dinners, save the plates for

outdoor parties or for children.

• Old tires can be used in the garden and in the play yard. Some of
the strategies are very closely related in these “Three Rs”
categories. For instance, we need to reduce the use of plastic bags
for grocery shopping, but we can use tote bags instead and reuse
them while making sure that they are clean.
 RECYCLE
The main benefits of recycling are:

• Recycling generates industry: As New Mexicans recycle, there will

be a growing supply of materials generated. In order to utilize these
recycled materials, manufacturing facilities will emerge to find uses
for them. As more recycling plants are built and more products are
manufactured, we will gain a greater understanding of the entire
process.

• Recycling creates jobs: EPA estimates that recycling 10,000 tons

of materials would create 36 jobs compared to six for landfilling the
same amount (EPA, 2002). Some communities have formed
working partnerships with workshops for the disabled, developed
and administered job-training partnerships, or otherwise found
work for unemployed labor in recycling programs.

Cost avoidance of recycling:

For years, recycling has been hampered by the belief that it should
make money. That may be true for some recyclables, but not for
others. Rather, recycling should be thought of as a cost-effective
disposal option. It usually requires fewer government subsidies
than landfilling or incineration. It saves natural resources and helps
protect the environment. Lower taxes, energy savings, and a
cleaner environment are the real “bottom lines” in favor of
recycling.
 COLLECTING RECYCLABLES
A lot of the things that people trash can be recycled. Prime
examples include paper, newspaper, corrugated cardboard, high-
grade paper, aluminum, steel (tin) cans, glass, plastic, motor oil,
organic waste, and scrap metals. Some notes on recycling: Paper
with residues cannot be recycled in most cases. This is why used
pizza boxes are not recyclable!

• Recycling centers will not accept light bulbs, ceramic glass, dishes,
or plate glass because these items consist of different materials
than bottles and jars.

• Recyclable items not accepted by your city recycling programs

may be accepted by local companies. For instance, glass might not
be accepted by a New Mexico city’s recycling program but might be
accepted by a supermarket. Ask your local recycling office about
recycling programs and recyclable items in your area.

MAIN RECYCLING COLLECTION METHODS ARE:

• Curb side collection requires homeowners to separate
recyclables from their garbage. Clean recyclables may need to be
placed in special containers, while the garbage goes in standard
containers. Both are placed at the curb for collection by separate
trucks.

• Drop-off centres are one of the simplest forms of collecting

recyclable materials; people can drop off their used glass, metal,
plastic, and paper at a designated recycling drop-off site. These
centers are usually placed in an easily accessible location near a
high-traffic area such as the entrances of supermarkets and parking
lots.

• Buy back enters purchase aluminium and other metals, glass,

plastic, newsprint, and sometimes batteries and other materials.
The “Three Rs” (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) effort to promote
better waste management needs to be done in an effective
manner. If converting an old pair of jeans into a shopping bag that
needs continuous repair, you are better off donating the jeans in
the first place and purchasing reusable shopping bags. Some efforts
may involve a steep learning curve and
require time to get used to. Sorting out
recyclable items may be challenging in
the beginning, but once you get the
hang of the system the related chores
will become like effortless habits are
better off donating the jeans in the first
place and purchasing reusable shopping bags. Some efforts may
involve a steep learning curve and require time to get used to.
Sorting out recyclable items may be challenging in the beginning,
but once you get the hang of the system the related chores will
become like effortless habits.
Reduce, Reuse & Recycle

Tips on reducing waste and conserving resources.

The three R's – reduce, reuse and recycle – all help to cut
down on the amount of waste we throw away. They
conserve natural resources, landfill space and energy.
Plus, the three R's save land and money communities must
use to dispose of waste in landfills. Siting a new landfill
has become difficult and more expensive due to
environmental regulations and public opposition.
REDUCE: The best way to manage waste is to not produce
it. This can be done by shopping carefully and being aware
of a few guidelines:
 Buy products in bulk. Larger, economy-size
products or ones in concentrated form use less
packaging and usually cost less per ounce.
 Avoid over-packaged goods, especially ones
packed with several materials such as foil, paper,
and plastic. They are difficult to recycle, plus you
pay more for the package.
 Avoid disposable goods, such as paper plates,
cups, napkins, razors, and lighters. Throwaways
contribute to the problem, and cost more because
they must be replaced again and again.
 Buy durable goods – ones that are well-built or that
carry good warranties. They will last longer, save
money in the long run and save landfill space.
  At work, make two-sided copies when ever
possible.
 Maintain central files rather than using several files
for individuals.
 Use electronic mail or main bulletin board.
 Remove your name from the mailing lists of
materials you no longer want to receive: write to
Mail Preference Service, c/o Direct Marketing
Assoc., P.O. Box 90008, Farmingdale, NY 11735.
 Use cloth napkins instead of paper napkins.
 Use a dish cloth instead of paper towels.

REUSE: It makes economic and environmental sense to

reuse products. Sometimes it takes creativity:
 Reuse products for the same purpose. Save paper
and plastic bags, and repair broken appliances,
furniture and toys.
 Reuse products in different ways. Use a coffee can
to pack a lunch; use plastic microwave dinner
trays as picnic dishes.
 Sell old clothes, appliances, toys, and furniture in
garage sales or ads, or donate them to charities.
 Use reseal able containers rather than plastic wrap.
 Use a ceramic coffee mug instead of paper cups.
 Reuse grocery bags or bring your own cloth bags
to the store. Do not take a bag from the store
unless you need one.

RECYCLE: Recycling is a series of steps that takes a used

material and processes, remanufactures, and sells it as a
new product. Begin recycling at home and at work:
 Buy products made from recycled material. Look
for the recycling symbol or ask store managers or
salesmen. The recycling symbol means one of two
things – either the product is made of recycled
material, or the item can be recycled. For instance,
many plastic containers have a recycling symbol
with a numbered code the identifies what type of
plastic resin it is made from. However, just
because the container has this code does not
mean it can be easily recycled locally.
  Check collection centers and curbside pickup
services to see what they accept, and begin
collecting those materials. These can include metal
cans, newspapers, paper products, glass, plastics
and oil.
 Consider purchasing recycled materials at work
when purchasing material for office supply, office
equipment or manufacturing.
 Speak to store managers and ask for products and
packaging that help cut down on waste, such as
recycled products and products that are not over
packaged.
 Buy products made from material that is collected
for recycling in your community.
 Use recycled paper for letterhead, copier paper and
newsletters.

Some Facts About San Antonio's

Recycling Program:
 Pickup of recyclables is once a week and differs
depending on your neighborhood.
 The City wants to reward households that do an
excellent job of recycling in their blue cart.
Residents that recycle consistently and correctly
can nominate themselves to be recognized as
STAR recyclers of San Antonio:
 If you live within the City of San Antonio's city
limits, call 3-1-1 to establish new service. Once
your request has been processed, your garbage
(brown) cart and recycling (blue) cart will be
delivered to your household.
 Take plastic bags back to participating retailers for
recycling. DO NOT throw them in your blue recycle
bin!
 You can learn more by going to the
City's Recycling Overview site.
Paper and Plastics:
 Paper: Most types of paper, such as ad circulars,
catalogs, carbonless paper, dry goods packaging
with liners removed (example: cereal, pasta, rice,
beer/soda cartons) envelopes, file folders, flattened
cardboard, junk mail, magazines, newspapers,
office paper, paperback books, paper bags, paper
 towel/toilet paper cores, phone books, non-metallic
gift wrap.
 Plastics: Labeled #1 through #7 on the package,
look for a recycling logo on the bottom or back of
the container. Remove lids and rinse. Examples:
beverage bottle, shampoo and lotion bottles, meat
trays, condiment bottles, prescription and
medicine bottles.
 Glass Bottles and Jars All Colors: Remove lids
and rinse all food and liquids. Examples: beverage
bottles, food and condiment bottles and jars (jelly,
mustard, mayonnaise).
 Metal Cans: Aluminum, steel and tin beverage and
food cans, rinse all food or liquids, aerosol cans,
empty and remove nozzle, baking tins, rinse and
remove remaining food.
The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) tells us these
recycling facts:
 56% of all paper used by households in America in
2007 was recycled – a whopping 360 lbs per
person!
 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 4,100 kilowatt-hours of
electricity
 Recycling paper instead of making it from new
material generates 74 percent less air pollution and
uses 50 percent less water.
 Producing recycled paper requires about 60
percent of the energy used to make paper from
virgin wood pulp.
 Conservation
The ecological mantra "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle"
describes a set if ideas that help you conserve
resources and decrease the mounting piles of waste
shipped to landfill sites around the world every day.
Nature works in a cycle so that waste becomes food for
other living systems and we should try to do the same.
Once you have the 3 R's down cold, take a look at some
of the conservation suggestions specific to: your home,
transportation, electricity, furnace and appliances.

REDUCE

By reducing your overall consumption you will also

make it easier to REUSE and RECYCLE as you'll have
less of a need in both those areas. By reducing or
limiting your consumption you will decrease the strain
on the world's resources.

Choose products that are:

 long lasting
 minimal packaging
 available in bulk
 rent or borrow rather than purchase, items that are
not used everyday (tools, vehicle, etc.)

REUSE

Reuse often starts with the purchasing stage. Rather

than buying plastic wrap that you use once and send to
a landfill site, buy a plastic container you can use again
and again, to store items in. If those plastic grocery
bags go straight to the trash after unloading in the
kitchen, then replace them with cloth bags.... and put
them right back into the car when you empty them.
That way they are with you when you need them next
time.
As part of REDUCE, you have purchased longer lasting
items...get them repaired should they break. Look at
good high-quality second hand items when you need
something "new". Look around, there are lots of uses
for empty plastic bottles, cardboard boxes, etc. Be
creative!

RECYCLE

You've reduced your total consumption, reused

the items you did purchase and yet you still
have empty cans, boxes, plastic, etc. Time to
RECYCLE. Again, the recycle process often starts at the
purchasing stage. Wherever possible, if the item you
need is available made from recycled material...that's
your choice. And of course, your own paper, cardboard,
cans, glass, most plastics, and metals can be sent to the
local recycle location. Most large appliances that have
come to the end of their lifecycle can be recycled -
fridge, stove, washer, dryer, dishwasher. Look in the
yellow pages (internet) for your nearest recycle plant.
If you have more than one item you can sometimes get
them picked up for free. If you and a few neighbours
can take a few items to the plant, you may even get
paid for your efforts.

Recycle also includes composting. Keep your "landfill

trash" to a minimum. One or two compost bins located
in the corner of the lot, can take care of your grass
clippings and kitchen scraps. Try to mix your compost...
green items with brown items and throw in a few
handfuls of dirt for every 3 or 4 inches of material. Keep
a medium sized sealable container under the kitchen
sink, where it's easy to use. If you live in a snowy
climate, keep a 5 gallon (recycled) pail in the garage or
outside a back door, to empty the kitchen compose
container into. It saves the trips to that frozen
compost, way back in the far corner of the lot.
 Caring for Planet

"As inhabitants of the earth, we are nourished and

sustained by Mother Earth who provides us our food and
all the resources for life. If she is healthy and well, we will
be healthy and well. Our fates are intertwined." —Dharma
Master Cheng Yen

In Malaysia there’s a family of four who, for over 30 years,

used to run a noodle shop selling meat noodles. They
turned to vegetarianism and switched to selling vegetarian
food, despite a decline of earnings as well as customers. In
Taiwan, a volunteer who was running a very lucrative
business selling disposable tableware closed it down,
forgoing the profit. What made these people change?

These are people who love the environment and Mother

Nature. They're making adjustments to their lives so they
can better protect the Earth. This is because they
understand how our life is connected to Mother Nature and
how our daily lifestyle impacts the environment—
something that Dharma Master Cheng Yen often tells us.
Below is a summary of the connections and impacts that
Dharma Master Cheng Yen has spoken about, which can
open our eyes to why it is important to care for our planet,
our home.
Beautiful planet undergoing destruction

Our Earth is a very beautiful planet. Among all the planets

in the universe, the Earth is the loveliest, with mountains,
oceans, and all manner of environments, each a home to
many kinds of creatures. Mother Earth sustains all life on
it, including us humans. She provides all the food we eat
and the material goods we use.

But her health is declining and she's losing her ability to

protect and provide for the creatures living on the land.
Natural disasters, such as floods, mudslides, wildfires,
drought, and earthquakes, cause damage to the Earth.
Crops are destroyed as a result of drought or flooding,
leading to food shortages and famine. People lose their
lives and their homes as a result of natural disasters.
Mother Nature can no longer provide a safe environment
for us to live in.

Global warming is causing natural disasters to happen

more frequently. The rising of the Earth's temperature has
disrupted the order of Nature, resulting in abnormal
climates and natural disasters. The increasing global
temperature is caused by greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere trapping the Earth's heat. Despite the call by
the United Nations to industrialized nations to cut down on
their greenhouse gas emissions, in the past few years,
we've seen a continued increase of greenhouse gases. If
this goes on, our planet will continue undergoing
destruction, jeopardizing the lives of all creatures,
including us humans.

What can we do to help?

Did you know that eating meat contributes to over half of

the greenhouse gases? World Watch Institute has reported
 that 51% of greenhouse gases are attributed to livestock
and their byproducts1. If we can cut down on our meat
consumption, we can help reduce the problem. Mother
Earth supports a very large human population of seven
billion. Imagine how much food we have to eat every day.
For example, a whole chicken can be eaten in just one
meal, but it takes months to raise. Imagine how many
animals need to be raised in order to feed people. Raising
animals, such as chickens, pigs, and cows, produces
wastes, such as excrement and methane gas. Scientific
research has found that methane is much more potent in
warming our planet than carbon dioxide. Due to the
increase in human population, meat consumption has
increased five-fold in the past 50 years, and so, the amount
of greenhouse gases has also greatly increased. This is
why scientists are telling us that the quickest way to
mitigate global warming is to eat vegetarian.

Eating Vegetarian

For a long time, Dharma Master Cheng Yen has been

urging people to eat vegetarian. By not eating meat, it
helps nurture kindness and compassion in our heart, as
we don't take the lives of animals. Vegetarian food is also
good for our health. And now scientists are telling us that
eating vegetarian can save the Earth. By eating vegetarian,
our demand for meat will decrease. Hence, farms won't
need to raise so many livestock. When the number of
livestock is reduced, greenhouse gases associated with
raising animals will also reduce. Therefore, to help our
planet and the whole of mankind, it's necessary that we eat
vegetarian and encourage other people to do it too.

The family in Malaysia that turned vegetarian and stopped

selling beef noodles did so after watching Da Ai TV, Tzu
Chi’s TV channel. It broadcasts many programs on
environmental protection, vegetarianism, and protecting
the life of animals. Through Da Ai TV, they learned the
harm of killing animals, eating meat, and its negative
impact on the environment. So they turned to eating
vegetarian and courageously made the switch to selling
vegetarian food even though it hurt their business. But
they insist on doing it because it gives them peace of mind
in knowing that they're no longer doing harm to the
animals and the Earth.

Here is another example. There are two Tzu Chi volunteers

who became vegetarian after taking part in last year. This
was an activity Tzu Chi held last year which required
participants to eat vegetarian for at least 108 days. The two
Tzu Chi volunteers who participated were husband and
wife. The husband was very keen on eating vegetarian, but
the wife was very resistant to it. Despite her objection, he
took the initiative to eat vegetarian anyway. To get his wife
to follow suit, he went to learn vegetarian cooking and
started cooking for her every day so that she would not
have any chance to cook and eat meat. The wife,
meanwhile, was learning about the harm of eating meat
through the sutra adaptation activity and has become
repentant of eating meat and the harms she has done to
animals. After much struggle to overcome her initial
resistance, she finally became a vegetarian. Now, the
whole family, including the children, is vegetarian.

It's not hard to eat vegetarian. Once we make the switch

and get used to our new eating habit, it can go a long way
toward protecting our environment and caring for the
Earth.

`
Human consumption, the burden of Mother Earth

Cars, computers, houses, and clothing, are some of the

things that we use every day. We drive around in a car to
get us to where we need to go. We use computers for
work. We live in a house to shelter us from the elements,
and we have to wear clothes every day. All these require
 natural resources: fuels for the car, various metals for
computer parts, brick or concrete for houses, and
synthetic fibers for cloth. The Earth provides the resources
for us to transform into these various material goods. With
our growing population, she's trying very hard to support
us. There's only one Earth and her resources are limited.
Inasmuch as she tries to provide us what we need, her
resources are dwindling. The Earth is also becoming more
and more polluted.

Take oil or petroleum for example. Our demand for oil

keeps on increasing, so we keep pumping it out of the
earth. The process of refining oil and then making
products derived from oil, such as synthetic fibers,
releases a lot of pollutants into the atmosphere, land, and
water.

The houses we live in also come at the expense of

pollution. Many houses are made from bricks and
concrete. To make bricks and concrete, we mine for clay
and various types of rocks. The process of making them
involves very hot kilns which produce air pollution. After
excavating clay and rocks, we leave permanent tunnels or
holes in the mountains. The mountains cannot regrow, so
the tunnels won’t fill themselves again with the same clay
or rocks that were excavated. It's the same with metals,
such as gold, iron, and copper. Metals ores excavated from
the earth are processed to obtain these metals. During the
process, toxic waste is generated.

Many of the material goods that we enjoy in our daily life

come at the expense of environmental damage and
pollution. As the human population grows, the demand for
resources becomes greater, and we also create more
pollution. If we continue with our current lifestyle of
consumption, and continue over-extracting materials, the
Earth's resources will be depleted within 30 years2. If we
deplete all the available resources now, we won't have
resources left for our children or our future generations to
use.

Developing a Heart of Appreciation and Recycling

The Earth provides so much to us, from food and housing

to all the material goods that we use. How can we help her
and minimize the harms we're doing to her? One very
tangible way that Dharma Master Cheng Yen tells us we
can help is by doing recycling. By recycling what we would
otherwise simply throw out with the garbage, we can
reduce the need to extract new raw materials from the
Earth and better protect the Earth from being damaged.
When recyclable materials are sorted by type, they can
serve as raw materials to be remade into new products.

In many countries, Tzu Chi

has recycling programs to
educate people about
environmental protection and
encourage them do recycling
by saving items such as cans,
plastic bottles, and cartons,
and keeping them clean. By keeping the recyclables clean
and already sorted, it makes the recycling easier for
volunteers and also saves water in cleaning.
In the programs, we share with people how to develop a
heart of appreciation when using things in our daily life
through cherishing what we have. Take drinking juice for
example. When we hold a bottle of juice in our hand, let’s
think about how much labor and effort went into producing
it. First, farmers need to grow fruit trees, and they need to
take care of them by applying fertilizers and tending to
them. Mother Nature, with her sunlight, water, soil, and air,
makes the trees grow and produce fruits. When the fruits
are ripe, workers harvest and process them. Drivers then
transport the juices to the supermarket to be put on the
shelves. So much effort went in so that we may enjoy the
juice, we should be grateful and appreciate it.

After we finish drinking, there'll be some drops left at the

bottom of the container. To cherish those drops of juice,
we can pour some water in it, shake it a little bit to rinse
the few drops, and drink the liquid. That way, we won't
waste any drops of juice that so many people worked hard
to provide. Also, by rinsing the container with water, it
keeps the container clean so that it won't attract ants, flies,
or cockroaches to our home. We can do this not just for
juice containers, but for milk cartons and other things that
can be recycled.

When the recyclables are brought to the recycling stations,

our recycling volunteers sort them by their material type. If
the recyclables are dirty, they have to be cleaned before
being sorted. Take a PET bottle for example, the volunteers
separate the cap and its plastic ring from the bottle, then
take off the label wrapping, leaving the bottle as clean and
free from impurities as possible. By keeping the
recyclables clean and sorting them in detail, they can be
turned into high quality products. For example, recycled
PET bottles can be turned into fabrics, which are then
made into clothing and blankets. It takes 70 PET bottles to
make one blanket. We then distribute these blankets to
people in need around the world, such as disaster
survivors and the poor. Instead of obtaining raw materials
to make the blankets, through recycling, we are able to
turn "garbage" into valuable resources and reuse them to
make useful products for people.

Many residents in the community take part in our recycling

effort. When they participate and personally get involved in
doing recycling, they see for themselves firsthand how
much waste we generate, how many things we throw away,
and how much we are consuming.

Mr. Chen is a recycling volunteer in Taiwan who used to

run a wholesale business providing disposable tableware
and plastic bags. In 1990, there was an increase in demand
for disposable tableware in Taiwan due to people using it
to prevent contracting hepatitis B when eating out. Mr.
Chen's business bloomed.

Later he came into contact with Tzu Chi and got involved
in recycling work. He would help transport recyclables to
the recycling station and sort them out. After doing this, he
came to realize that the disposable tableware his business
provided end up in the garbage after use. As Tzu Chi was
promoting environmental protection by cutting down on
the use of disposables, his business was doing the exact
opposite. He felt very bad.

As he still needed to support his family and it was hard for

him to switch, he continued to run the business. Many
years later, in 1997, when his financial situation became
more stable, he finally was able to fulfill his wish to close
his disposable tableware business of 26 years.

Knowing how important recycling is to protecting the

Earth, he helped set up a recycling station in his
community five years later and worked there every day.

Many people who volunteer at the recycling stations have

similar experiences to Mr. Chen. After participating in
recycling work, they come to examine their lifestyle, begin
to cut down on their consumption, and buy only the things
they need. They also cherish material goods by using them
for as long as possible instead of pursuing the latest
fashion by throwing things out and replacing them with a
newer model. They come to appreciate the goods they’re
using and appreciate the Earth for providing them with the
materials that make their life comfortable. They become
more aware of the need to protect the environment and
take actions to protect it.

Since Tzu Chi started its recycling work in 1990, many

people have joined our effort in protecting the
environment. As of 2011, we have over 100,000 recycling
volunteers in 15 countries and regions working to protect
the environment.

Conserving Water and Electricity

In addition to recycling to conserve resources, we can also cherish

other resources, such as water and electricity.

With the damage done to the environment, Nature's capacity to

retain water is becoming diminished. Water isn't going into rivers
and many are drying up. When it doesn't rain, we may face a water
crisis. Though many people have turned to using groundwater, over-
pumping of groundwater has already caused land to sink. As there
are so many people who need to use water in this world and water
resources are limited, if every one of us can use less water, the
limited water resources can last longer.

There's one volunteer who did just this. In her home, she keeps
many basins and buckets, which she uses to collect used water. She
saves the water from washing vegetables and reuses it to water
plants. She also saves the cleaner, non-soapy water from the shower
and uses it again to flush the toilet and mop the floor. When it rains,
she collects rain water and uses it to do everyday jobs too. By doing
this she is able to cut down water consumption for her family of five
by more than half. We can also do the same in our homes by reusing
water wherever possible.

We can also save on electricity. Besides the environmental reasons

for conserving, do you know how much labor and human effort is
involved in bringing electricity to us? To have this electricity, workers
have to set up transmission towers to transmit electricity from the
power plant to where it's needed. They also need to maintain them.
When there's a problem with a tower, technicians have to go up to
fix it, climbing very high and risking their lives. They do it so that our
lives won't be affected by the loss of electrical power. We can show
our appreciation by turning off lights and electrical products when
they are not in use to save electricity. It's even better if we can pull
out the plugs as well so that no electricity is drawn at all. These are
some ways in which we can cherish electricity and be grateful for it.
 SEGREGATION OF GARBAGE
Our waste minimization program consists of reducing,
reusing and recycling.

 Reducing
We work to reduce the volume and toxicity of our
waste.
We reduce our waste by:

o bulk purchasing;
o acquiring only what we need when we need it;
o working with suppliers to reduce packaging;
o using alternative products to accomplish the
same job; and
o Treating waste on board to minimize volume by
stacking, shredding, crushing and incinerating.

We reduce the toxicity of our waste by:

o purchasing non-toxic products;

o controlling material purchases with an “approved
chemicals list”; and
o Replacing older equipment with new equipment,
designed for non-toxic products.

 Reusing
We seek new opportunities to reuse materials and
equipment on board or find others who can use things
that are in good condition that we no longer need.
This extends the use of many items. For example:

o Our ships donate tons of usable items, including

mattresses and clothing, at ports-of-call around
the world.
o We receive certain supplies in plastic and metal
drums, which we reuse as waste receptacles,
thereby avoiding the need to purchase waste
containers.
 Recycling
We strive to recycle as many items as possible. We
place recycling collection containers throughout the
ship so our guests and crew can segregate the
various recycling materials. We offload collected
materials for recycling at ports around the world,
including plastic, glass, paper, cardboard, aluminum,
electronic equipment, toner cartridges, batteries,
fluorescent lamps, silver, scrap metal, oily waste and
used cooking oil.
THE END OF THE PROJECT
 INDEX
 INTRODUCTION OF REDUCE
REUSE RECYCLE
 REDUCE WHAT CAN WE DO?
 MAIN RECYCLEING
COLLECTION METHODS
 REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE
 CONSERVATION
 CARING FOR THE PLANET
 SEGREGATION OF GARBAGE
 BIBLIOGRAPHY