Post 12: And the outcomes are......

So, we have took some pictures form 2 weeks past and some pictures from this week to make a little comparison on our project's progress. And this are the outcomes. The pictures was took in Desasiswa Saujana    by the way. This desasiswa has already provided some place for the students to recycle in the pantry.

These are the pictures from two weeks ago.

And these are the pictures from this week. 

It's not much of a progress but it is still something. We'd like to thank everyone who recycles their stuff instead of throwing it away :-)

Entry 11 : THANK YOU GUYS! :-)

We have received two pictures from our fellow USM students both residing in Desasiswa Saujana.

Here is the first one, sent to us by Norhayati Binti Fadzil, a first year student from the School of Social Sciences. See guys, this is what we want. Don't throw the bottles away!

The second picture was sent to us by Siti Nabilah Binti Mohd. Yusof, a first year student of School of Mathematical Sciences. She even gathered the paper shred from her cutting. Way to go, Nabilah! Don't recycle the plastic bag together though! :-)

And last but not least, a picture from yours truly. Hahaha. This is a take out I ordered form McDonalds. They are made up from recyclable materials, so why don't YOU recycle them too if you order a take out from McDonalds, Pizza Hut, KFC and etc.

Thank you guys for sharing. The rest of you, send us your picture too! We would GREATLY appreciate it!

xxx

Entry 10 : What you should NOT recycle

Here is a list of items that most curbside recycling centers will not take:

1. Styrofoam and Packaging Supplies - It is best to reuse or donate these items.

2. Gift Wrapping Paper - This type of paper is of such poor quality that it is not accepted by recycling centers. Most paper that is coated in wax, aluminum, or plastic is not accepted because the recycling process is too expensive to be profitable.

3. Pizza Boxes and Take-Out Food Boxes - Whether it is cardboard, Styrofoam or plastic, these items are not accepted by recycling centers because the food can contaminate the recyclable materials. Also, wet or greasy cardboard can jam recycling machines so it is best to let the cardboard dry out before recycling and to protect it from rainfall while waiting for curbside pick-up (Source: RiverWired).

4. Plastic Credit Cards - Fake or real, these cannot be recycled due to the type of plastic the card is made out of.

5. Plastic Hangers - Not enough plastic hangers are being recycled for it to be profitable. It is best to reuse or donate any unwanted hangers (Source: Real Simple).

6. Mirrors - The chemicals in this type of glass cannot be mixed with glass bottles and jars. It is best to donate unused mirrors to your local thrift shop.

7. Mustard-Colored Envelopes - The dye in these envelopes is too difficult to remove for it to be recycled. This is an item that I had recycled for many months until I was notified at work that these envelopes are not accepted. Don't worry if you have recycled these though, the recycling centers can filter these of their system.

8. Shower Curtains and Liners - Most shower curtains and liners are made of PVC which is not accepted by recycling centers because when it is melted down it can contaminate the chemical makeup of the recycled material (Source: Real Simple).

9. Deodorant Sticks - The plastic dial on the bottom of the stick is not recyclable therefore recycling centers will not accept these items (Source: Real Simple).

10. Plastic Lids - These items are made of a different plastic than the rest of the bottle so they can not be recycled. Make sure to remove all lids from soda bottles, juice containers, milk cartons, and other food products and toss them.

11. Wipes and Sponges - Any type of cleaning cloth cannot be recycled because of the cleaning chemicals in the cloth.

12. Batteries and Car Parts - Even though your curbside recycling center might not accept these items; many other places will properly recycle or discard of them.

13. Broken Glass - There are obvious dangers for workers handling broken glass so it is not accepted.

14. Mobile Phones - Curbside recycling won't accept cell phones, but you always have the option of mailing the phone back to your cell phone company with the prepaid envelops the offer when you purchase a new phone.

15. Ink Cartridges - It is best to have these refilled; it not only saves the earth but saves you money.

Entry 9 : Some fun facts!

1. Every year nearly 900,000,000 trees are cut down to provide raw materials for American paper and  pulp mills.

2. Every year we generate around 14 million tons of food waste which is 106 pounds of food waste per person 570,000 tons of this is composted for a 4.1% recovery rate. The rest, or 13.4 million tons is incinerated or landfilled and occupies 6.3 million cubic yards of landfilled MSW.

3. Americans throw away about 28 billion bottles and jars every year.

4. Americans make more than 200 million tons of garbage each year, enough to fill Bush Stadium from top to bottom twice a day!

5. It takes a 15-year-old tree to produce 700 grocery bags.

6. Disposable diapers last centuries in landfills. An average baby will go through 8,000 of them!

7. Each year American throw away 25,000,000,000 Styrofoam cups. Even 500 years from now, the foam coffee cup you used this morning will be sitting in a landfill.

8. In 1995, Americans recycled 9.5% of all plastic packaging, including 26% of all plastic bottles. Most of the plastic recycled is #1 PETE soda bottles and #2 HDPE milk bottles. Most of the #3 through 7 plastics are not easily recyclable.

9. In 1996 Americans recycled 21.6 million tons of corrugated cardboard for a 73% recovery rate in 1996 (industry data) By tonnage, corrugated boxes are the most recycled product in the waste stream. Corrugated boxes produced in the U.S contain 37% recycled content.

10. In 1998, 62.8% of the 102 billion aluminum cans produced were recycled. That totals 64 billion cans , 46 billion more than in 1991, Aluminum can recycling saves 95% of the energy needed to make aluminum from bauxite ore. Energy savings in 1998 alone were enough to light a city the size of Pittsburgh for ten years.

11. The Container Recycling Institute (CRI) estimates that the 36 billion aluminum cans landfilled last year had a scrap value of more than $600 million. Over the past twenty years we've worth over $12 billion on today's market. Some day we may be mining our landfills for the resources we've buried.

12. There were 270 million scrap tires discarded in 1998, 84% of which were passenger car tires, 15% were from light and heavy trucks. These tires weigh 3.4 million tons. 177.5 million of these tires are being reused, mostly chipped and burnt for their high BTU content. Somewhere between 500 and 800 million scrap tires are in scrap tire piles across the US. Each passenger car tire contains 7 gallons of oil.

13. 98% of lead acid or car batteries are being recycled. Also a large number of rechargeable Ni-Cd batteries are being recycled. You can usually take these batteries back to where you bought them for recycling too.

Credit to http://www.epa.gov/reg3wcmd/solidwasterecyclingfacts.htm for their informations :)

Entry 8: Send us your pictures!

If you guys have any pictures of recyclable materials that you gather before you recycle them all together, please, send us the picture by tweeting the picture to us or by simply commenting in any of our post. We would love to share your efforts to recycle with other readers :-)

This is our twitter address https://twitter.com/#!/recycleUSM

Share guys! After all sharing is caring.

Click click away! :-)

Entry 7: Sustainable Campus

What is a sustainable campus?

The university is seen as a microcosm of the local and global community. In the campus, social relationships thrive in the population, there are governing structures, resources are consume and waste generated, and economic activities and transactions take place. More significantly, the university is a place where knowledge is created and transferred and ideas and creative solutions take root.The campus is a fertile ground where the seeds of social change are sowed amongst the campus, local  and global  communities. Cultivating better and more informed decision making is crucial to the achievement of sustainability.

     

A sustainable campus is not only the protection of the local ecosystem. One framework visualizes the ecosystem enveloping and supporting the people within the campus community. Both subsystems must be mutually supportive for the entire system to be healthy.  Each of the subsystem has five major issues which must be monitored and assessed to achieve campus sustainability. The ecosystem comprises air, water, land, materials and energy while the people system is made up of knowledge, community, health and well-being, governance and economy and wealth. In operational terms campus sustainability must  involve three major  activities, namely, administration (or operations), education (or academic departments) and research. It must also extend its reach to the local community. 

The administration’s actions have major impact on sustainability through appropriate design, repair, maintenance and renovation of  buildings, landscaping, procurement policies, waste management, energy management, transportation policies, health services and lodging, food and catering services.  Education is the key to change unsustainable lifestyles. Students and staff must be provided with learning opportunities in the real world environment to integrate knowledge and concepts of sustainability to local practices and applications.  Research at the university in the areas of ecology, environmental issues, green design, ethics, culture, food production and so on will contribute to short and long-term impacts. 

The local community including alumni, the business community,  utility suppliers, transportation providers, vendors, community organisations, and local chapters of professional associations can contribute  towards campus sustainability by providing expertise and support.  In turn, outreach programmes by the university will extend sustainability to the local community

Source: http://redac.eng.usm.my/html/USWM/SUDS/KampusSejahtera-Lestari-2007.pdf

Entry 6: The Recycling Loop

What Is The Recycling Loop?

The three symbols is actually stands for the three steps in recycling process.

1st step : Collection of the recyclable materials through curbside or other kinds of collection facilities.

 2nd step : Taking the old materials and making it into new products. 

3rd step : Buy products made from materials taken from products that you would have thrown away. 

Entry 5: What Will Happen If We Don't Recycle?

So, just want to share this lovely article on what will happen if we don't recycle with our dear readers.
One little effort, even one plastic bottle recycled, can make a change for the future. Do your part in saving the mother Earth :-)

Landfills

The landfills are filling up fast. Most of them are getting full and closing down.  In New York, 14 sites have closed in the past 10 years. All of Seattle's sites will soon be full. We're running out of space to put all the trash. Some of the hazardous waste in landfills gets into the groundwater and pollutes it. When common garbage is burned, it can release dangerous gases into the air. Each year Americans throw away 1.6 billion pens, 2 billion razors and blades and 220 million tires. They discard enough aluminum to rebuild the entire U.S. commercial airline fleet.

Greenhouse Effect

The greenhouse effect keeps the earth warm when functioning normally. For the first time in history, human activities are altering the climate of our entire planet. In less than 2 centuries, humans have increased the total amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by 25% from the burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of forests. Almost 20 years after the clean air act passed, millions of Americans still breathe dirty air. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, over seventy six million people live in areas where the clean air standard is exceeded.

Ozone

Ozone, the primary component of smog, is a gas formed when nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbons combine in sunlight. In the atmosphere, ozone occurs naturally as a thin layer that protects us from the sun's ultraviolet rays. But when it's formed at ground level, it's deadly. Lung damage from ozone polluted air is a risk faced by roughly 3 out of 5 Americans. Ozone smog is responsible for extensive damage to pines in California and in the Eastern United States. It's also to blame for crop losses in many agricultural states. As ozone diminishes in the upper atmosphere, the earth receives more ultraviolet radiation which depresses the human immune system. It will affect the well being of every person on the planet.

Hazardous Waste

Advanced nations manufacture some 70,000 different chemicals, most of which have not been thoroughly tested. Careless use and disposal of these substances contaminate our food, water, and air. We enjoy the convenience of such chemically derived products as plastics, detergents, and aerosols and yet we are often unaware of the hidden price tag associated with them. Eventually they find their way into water and/or the ground via landfills and drains.

Groundwater

Because we have not understood groundwater, and how vulnerable it is, we have been careless. Gasoline and other harmful liquids have been allowed to leak from underground storage tanks into the groundwater supply. Pollutants seep from poorly constructed landfills. Groundwater is polluted by runoff from fertilized fields and industrial areas. Homeowners contribute by dumping household chemicals down the drain or on the ground.

Plastic

No one really knows how much plastic is fouling the oceans, but a recent report estimated that up to 350 million pounds of packaging and fishing gear may be lost or dumped by fisherman and sailors each year. Millions of pounds more may come from individuals, private boats, and factories.

Pollutants

Sulfur and nitrogen oxide pollutants released by coal burning electric power plants or motor vehicles are spewed into the atmosphere. There they are changed chemically and they fall back to earth as acid rain or snow. This destroys plant and animal life in streams, damages forests, and even erodes buildings.  Every day people move into places on the planet where only plants and animals used to live. Forests are cut down. Wetlands, oceans, ice caps, and prairies are invaded.

Thanks to: http://www.squidoo.com/recycle-pollution#module88088151 for the lovely article.

Entry 4: The 3 Rs

We all know that waste cannot be eliminated entirely but we do can prevent waste. Waste is anything we throw away or get rid of, that doesn’t get used.

How do we do it? We do it with the 3Rs- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

 

Reduce the amount and toxicity of trash you throw away, Reuse containers and products, Recycle as much as possible and buy products with recycled content. 

It’s time to link up our projects for the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Challenge!

Before we proceed to the 3-Rs, we need to identify to re-use plastic for food packaging/storage pose some level of danger to our health. Look around! TOXIC food packaging is everywhere.

Now by practicing all three of the 3Rs activities every day is not only important for a healthy environment, but it can also be fun too. So let's take a minute right now to learn more about waste and waste management, so you can become a key player in making our world a safe and healthy place.

Reduce/Reduction: to make something smaller or use less, resulting in a smaller amount of waste.

"Source reduction" is reducing waste before you purchase it, or by purchasing products that are not wasteful in their packaging or use.

A key part of waste "reduction" is "conservation"—using natural resources wisely, and using less than usual in order avoid waste.

"Reduce" means using fewer resources in the first place. This is the most effective of the three R's and the place to begin. You don't need to let go completely or all at once. "Reduce" is a comparative word. It says: cut back from where you are now.  

You can practice reduction by selecting products that do not have to be added to landfills or the waste stream in general. This is really easy to do...

• First and foremost, buy and use less! Buy only what you need and use all of what you buy. Or make sure that when you are through with something, you pass it along to other people who can continue to put it to good use. When you shop, shop differently. Look for things that will last -- things that are not just durable and well-made, but useful and beautiful enough to please you for a long time. The extra money you spend on their acquisition will be offset by the money you do not spend replacing them. 
• Start making wise "package" selections. Why is it important to consider how something is packaged when you consider what to buy? You can reduce waste by selecting products that are not wasteful in their packaging. This is especially important when it comes things that can be dangerous to our environment, such as paint and chemicals. Precycle by purchasing products in materials/packaging that can be readily recycled. 
• Refuse store bags! When you buy one or two items at a store, carry them out in your hands; or take a reusable bag with you to carry the items you buy. And don't forget to take your old plastic and paper bags back to the grocery store for reuse or recycling. Most grocery stores have convenient paper and plastic recycling bins located near the entrance.
• You can reduce waste by using a computer! Many newspapers and magazines are online now. Instead of buying the paper versions, you can find them on the Internet. Also remember that you should print out only what you need. Everything you print that you don't really need is a waste of paper.
• Save energy by turning off lights that you are not using.  

You can "reuse" materials in their original form instead of throwing them away, or pass those materials on to others who could use them too! Remember, one man's trash is another man's treasure! Here are some examples of reuse...

• Take along washable cups or travel mugs instead of disposables; a lot of restaurants and stores will be glad to fill or refill your own mug.
• When you do use disposables like plastic cups, plates, utensils, and plastic food storage bags, don't throw them away! Wash and reuse them—most of them will last for a long time with many uses. They may not cost much to replace, but it doesn't make any more sense to throw away those things than it does to throw away your bicycle after one use.
• Coffee cans, shoe boxes, margarine containers, and other types of containers people throw away can be used to store things or can become fun arts and crafts projects. Use your imagination!
• Don't throw out clothes, toys, furniture, and other things that you don't want anymore. Somebody else can probably use them. You can bring them to a center that collects donations, give them to friends, or even have a yard sale.
• Use all writing paper on both sides.

Before you recycle or dispose of anything, consider whether it has life left in it. A jam jar can store leftovers. Food scraps can become compost. An old shirt can become a pajama top. An opened envelope can become a shopping list. A magazine can be shared. DVDs can be traded. A dishwasher can be repaired. A computer can be upgraded. A car can be resold. A cell phone can be donated. Returnable bottles can be, well... returned.

Reusing keeps new resources from being used for a while longer, and old resources from entering the waste stream. It's as important as it is unglamorous. Think about how you can do it more. 

Recycling is the "R" that has caught on the best. Partly, this is because there are so many recycling programs today which makes recycling so easy.You just have to start doing it!

Recycling turns materials that would otherwise become waste into valuable resources. Collecting used bottles, cans, and newspapers and taking them to the curb or to a collection facility is just the first in a series of steps that generates a host of financial, environmental, and social returns. Some of these benefits accrue locally as well as globally.

Many of the things we use every day, like paper bags, soda cans, and milk cartons, are made out of materials that can be recycled. Recycled items are put through a process that makes it possible to create new products out of the materials from the old ones.

In addition to recycling the things you buy, you can help the environment by buying products that contain recycled materials. Many brands of paper towels, garbage bags, greeting cards, and toilet paper, to name a few examples, will tell you on their labels if they are made from recycled materials.

In some towns you can leave your recyclables in bins outside your home, and a truck will come and collect them regularly. Other towns have recycling centers where you can drop off the materials you've collected. Things like paper and plastic grocery bags, and plastic and aluminum cans and bottles can often be brought to the grocery store for recycling. Whatever your system is, it's important to remember to rinse out and sort your recyclables!

Entry 3: Setting up an example

Trying to encourage other students by setting up an example. These are plastic bottles and cans that I collected and just waiting to be put in the recycle bin in the pantry.

Entry 2: Fliers!

Here is the flyers that we are distributing around in most Desasiswa in USM. We are hoping to encourage the students that are already provided with recycle bins in their desa to recycle such as in Desa Saujana, Tekun and Bakti Permai. We want them to make full use of the bins that are already provided by their desa's administration.

Entry 1: Introductory Post

Welcome!

We are a group of students from Globalization, Cyber Cultures, and Future Studies class from Universiti Sains Malaysia under supervision of Dr. Reevany Bustami from the School of Social Science. The purpose of us, making this blog is to encourage recycling among students in USM. Here is our proposal. It'd be a great delight to us if you guys can show some support for this movement.

Title:

To encourage recycling among students.

Introduction:

USM is known as a sustainable campus where we work towards a sustainable environment. And this is closely related to recycling habit apart from doing a lot others environment friendly practices. But, we can see that most students still aren’t practicing recycling regularly although most of them know what recycling is all about and the effects  it have on the environment. Therefore, we would like to provide a place for them to recycle starting from the very basic place, their Desasiswa. We think it might encourage them to recycle if they have the medium provided to do so. And we also would like to enhance their knowledge regarding recycling.

Objective:

1. To improve student’s awareness and knowledge regarding recycling because although USM is a sustainable campus, not many students practice recycling in their daily life.

2. To protect the environment.

3. To provide a place for students to recycle in Desasiswa for their recyclable stuffs to make it easier and encouraging them to recycle. 

Desired impacts:

1. A place is provided for students to recycle in most Desasiswa if not all in USM.

2. Students knowledge regarding recycle is improved.

3. Long term effects; the campus environment is kept clean.