A Word About Recycling with Ollie Maier
Although it is still over 6 weeks away, I wanted to mention that April 22 will be the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day.
According the Earth Day website (EarthDay.org), the first Earth Day was in 1970 and mobilized millions of Americans for the protection of the planet.
"On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans — 10% of the U.S. population at the time — took to the streets, college campuses and hundreds of cities to protest environmental ignorance and demand a new way forward for our planet,” the website bio says. “The first Earth Day is credited with launching the modern environmental movement and is now recognized as the planet’s largest civic event.”
However, there is still more work to be done. The world is in a dire waste crisis. Far too often, what we consume and purchase ends up in landfills or the natural environment. And plastic exacerbates our pollution crisis — UN Environment estimates that over 90% of all plastic ever produced has not been recycled.
“Last year, we coordinated over 5,000 cleanups in the US, Canada and India," promoters of Earth Day said. "For the 50th anniversary of Earth Day this year, the Great Global Cleanup has expanded worldwide.”
Thus they are aiming to have 100,000 cleanups worldwide — no small effort. They ask for the help of everyone who is interested and can assist in this effort. For more information go to the Earth Day website (EarthDay.org).
Now to a brief good-news item from a recent Resource Recycling newsletter. It pertains to exports of recycled paper to China — which, when they recently placed serious restrictions on it, almost completely stopped US exports of it. “One major U.S. mill op
“One major U.S. mill operator is actively shipping recycled paper pulp to China, and another is installing equipment to bring in lower grades of paper feedstock,” the article said.
It appears that by taking measures and installing new equipment to insure any recycled paper for export meets the highest quality economically possible, China is willing to accept it.
A spokesperson for the U.S. company mentioned a recent amount of their improved quality pulp has been shipped to China to meet their need for cost-effective, high-quality recycled fiber.”
Till next week, do have an enjoyable and safe one,
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Ollie is a local citizen concerned with the environment and helping others. A retired Air Force fighter and instructor pilot, he is a graduate of Leadership San Marcos and received his degrees at Texas State University where he worked on staff before totally retiring. For questions or comments, he invites you to call him at 512-353-7432.
