OSW -- Matt Hale -- 3Rs

Judy Pino:
For many of us, practicing the three Rs, that is reduce, reuse, and recycle, comes naturally.  We try to recycle our newspapers, our bottles and our cans when were at home, but when it comes to recycling our other waste, such as electronics, cereal boxes or furniture, it can all become confusing, but you know, its never been easier to incorporate the three Rs into our busy life.  And whats more, by reducing your waste and recycling, you can help curb climate change and save our nations energy resources.  Hi, Im Judy Pino with the EPAs office of multimedia, and this is Green Tips.

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Did you know that each American produces a little more than four pounds of waste each day?  Thanks to the efforts from cities and companies across the country, practicing the three Rs, reduce, reuse and recycle has become an easy and simple way to make a big difference.  And Im sure Matt Hale will agree with me.  He is EPAs director for the office of solid waste.  Hi, Matt, thanks for being with us.

Matt Hale:
Hi, its a pleasure to be here.

Judy Pino:
Lets explain what the three Rs are all about.

Matt Hale:
Yes, lets start with reduce.  This means preventing waste in the first place.  For instance, instead of having to choose between paper or plastic when you go to the grocery store, bring your own reusable bag.  So eliminating waste in the first place is a preferred approach to cutting down on waste.

Judy Pino:
Yes.

Matt Hale:
Our second preference is for reuse.  For example, take your old computer thats sitting in the garage.  You can take that computer and e-cycle it.  There are likely many charitable organizations, such as Good Will, that may be happy to accept it for reuse.  This way youre extending a products life, while giving some one else access to technology who might not otherwise afford it.  Finally, we come to the last R: recycle.  Recycling is the process of taking reusable material and making it into a new product.  For instance, our recycled cans can become new cans.  Plastic soda bottles can be made into new bottles, or they can be recycled into fleece jackets.

Judy Pino:
Well, thats fantastic.  I did not know that.  Now, lets face it, picking just what to recycle can become confusing at times, how do we sort it all out, if you will.

Matt Hale:
Well, most of us are familiar with recycling materials like newspapers and container bottles, but also think of other things, plastic bags from the grocery store, or film from the laundry, they can often be taken back to grocery stores.  Or the magazines can be recycled, many people dont realize that.  Each town may have different recycling guidelines, so check with your local solid waste department to learn what you can recycle.  Also, the Web site, earth911.org, is a great resource to find your nearest recycler or upcoming collection event. 

Judy Pino:
Okay, we all know that we should recycle our bottles and cans, but at the end of the day, does it really matter, Matt?

Matt Hale:
Yes, it does.  These actions may seem small on their own, but our collective effort can yield huge energy savings and climate change benefits.  Manufacturing goods from recycling material typically requires less energy than producing that same product from virgin material.  So by recycling that can, you can help us save our energy resources.  In fact, if you take what we recycled in 2006, about 80 million tons of municipal solid waste, we saved enough energy to power 14 percent of our nations residential energy demand.  

Judy Pino:
That is a lot of energy savings.  Now, we hear so much about climate change nowadays.  Briefly explain just what is climate change and why recycling can help to reduce it.

Matt Hale:
Yes, for over the past 200 years, the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil and deforestation have caused concentration of heat trapping greenhouse gases to significantly increase in our atmosphere.  These gases prevent heat from escaping to space.  Somewhat like glass panels of a greenhouse.  The rise in the earths temperature, or global warming can cause climate change.  By practicing the three Rs, you can help prevent or reduce greenhouse gases associated with those activities.  And by recycling your paper products, you allow more trees to remain standing in the forest where they can continue to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Judy Pino:
Absolutely, were doing the right thing.  Okay, so now lets talk about what we can do to incorporate the three Rs into our daily lives.

Matt Hale:
Its easy.  First when youre done using a product, you shouldnt view it as a waste, but view it as a material that can be recycled or reused.  Instead of pitching out old sporting equipment, or furniture, how about giving them away for free, by posting an add on freecycle.org.  Also, many local governments collect these items for reuse or recycling.  It seems like we all have a couple of old cell phones and chargers stashed away in our desk drawer.  Why not drop them off for reuse or recycling?  Our Web site can tell you where to drop these off or mail in your phone.

Judy Pino:
Yeah, after all, what do you do when youre done with your phone, right?  Recycle it. 

Matt Hale:
When youre at the grocery store, try to buy products in bulk packaging.  This means less packaging waste, and fewer trips to the store.  And finally, dont leave your three R ethic at the door.  Look for recycling bins at your local airport, sports stadiums or in movie theaters.  

Judy Pino:
Recycling, its all around us.  Well, for more information on the three Rs, reduce, reuse, recycling, please visit epa.gov/msw.  And to find out how you can recycle your electronics, visit epa.gov/plugin, and to find out more about opportunities on recycling while away from home, please visit epa.gov/recycleonthego.  Thank you, Matt Hale, director of EPAs office of solid waste, for your green tips.

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[end of transcript]
OSW -- Matt Hale -- 3Rs	1	4/23/2008

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