Earth Day 2014

This past week my daughter told me that at our granddaughter's preschool they planted tree saplings for Earth Day. I was happy to hear that even at the young age of four the school was taking advantage of this activity. My granddaughter has participated for all of her four years at my house when it comes to recycling. She happily takes plastics, cereal boxes, glass, paper and puts them in the two bins I have in my laundry room. Not only does it teach her about recycling but also it gives her a knowledge already into doing household chores. Killing two birds with one stone is always a plus.

My daughter-in-law this past weekend shared a story of how she received a tree sapling when she was in school and without her parents knowledge decided to plant it herself in front of her bedroom window so she could watch it grow. This didn't have such a great ending as over the years the tree grew so large it cracked the house foundation.

Several years ago, I participated in the city wide hazardous waste roundup they have at our state fairgrounds. I remember sitting in my car in line to drop off items for longer than anticipated but was just glad that our city had finally took the plunge into being more environmentally aware. It has definitely taken a while to catch on here but now when I go to drop off at our local sites sometimes I have to wait for a parking space. That I like to see. After dropping off my old printer, hard drive, scanner and large bag of various batteries and a few paint items I was handed a booklet by a volunteer Emergency Management person entitled, "Recycle in Missouri" published by the Missouri Recycling Association.

 I was shocked to read that way back in 1990 SB 530 established a statewide goal of reducing waste by 40 percent.  Not until a few years ago was it even actually visible here in my city but I guess better late than never and it does seem like more and more people are actually participating. 

Also in this publication it stated that Missouri's waste and scrap is one of Missouri's top ten exports totally $451 million dollars in 2012. 

Since 2008, the Missouri State Fair has participated in recycling by having separate recycling drop barrels during the time of the fair. In 2012 alone, 6.6 tons of recycling was collected from 330 receptacles.

I am glad to hear and see that our city has stepped forward to help recycle, reuse and help our environment.