Now please, dear readers, please don’t be alarmed,
and hopefully not too disappointed if that’s your take.
The reputation of any persons won’t here be harmed,
nor any occurances or events will this story partake,
and you’ll not be reading about porn for goodness sake.
But you’ll learn about trash, more than you wanted to know,
and if you prefer the term “garbage”, it’s still apropos.
In the United States at least, trash is a growing affliction,
each of us, at home and at work, creating 4.5 pounds a day
of a commodity we’d as soon not have, without contradiction.
A 70 year old has generated 50 tons of trash, says one survey,
as much as 10 African bull elephants together would weigh.
And, although recycling trash in the US has steadily grown,
two-thirds still wind up in a landfill or incinerator it’s known.
In terms of weight, “yard trimmings” top the list of trash created,
and it’s no surprise “food scraps” follow closely at second place,
while “newspapers, books and magazines” are bronze metal rated,
and “glass and metal food containers” 4th, in an unwelcome chase,
there can’t be many whose generation of trash paints a happy face.
But acquiring trash is inevitable, a natural part of the human scene,
and the real problem today is in not nearly enough “thinking green”.
The two-thirds of waste, that could be, but isn’t recycled today
fuels a multitude of environmental problems already out of control,
and the time is now to achieve higher recycling numbers to display.
It’s simple really, if it’s recyclable, allow recycling to be your goal,
not only in the United States, but around the globe as a whole.
Recycling is an easy way to do your part, help save planet earth,
it’s hard to imagine an easier effort with so much worth.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Poet’s Note:
The table below indicates the top 10 categories
of recyclable trash, in terms of the total weight
generated by a person 70 years old living in
the United States, as well as the percentage
of these items actually recycled today, in 2008.
If you question the percentage recycled for # 9,
Electric Appliances, I’m in full agreement with
you, but 65% is what I read when I did my
research to write this poem.
- Eugene
WEIGHT in LBs
BY AGE 70 % RECYCLED TODAY
1) Yard Trimmings 15,450 62
2) Food Scraps 11,500 2
3) Newspapers, Books 8,100 76
and Magazines
4) Glass and Metal 3,700 40
Food Containers
5) Beer and Soft Drink 3,600 35
Bottles and Cans
6) Furniture and 3,200 .05
Furnishings
7) Clothing and 2,400 15
Footware
Snail Mail 2,200 39
9) Electric Appliances 1,850 65
10) Plastic Bags 1,600 8
and Wrap
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
If you liked my post, feel free to subscribe to my rss feeds
BlogoSquare
5 Comments so far (Add 1 more)