My class' theme was sustainability and my group chose to design a unit on trash and it's impact on our earth. We researched all about trash and how it effects our planet. My section of the unit was all about the trash that winds up in the ocean.
Did you know that 14 billion, (yes billion) pounds of trash makes it way into the oceans each year? Nasty right?
Did you know that much of the trash in the oceans will make its way to massive trash islands floating in the oceans and that some of those islands are larger than Texas?
What I learned really opened my eyes. Never before did I know that an aluminum can can take between 200 and 500 years to biodegrade in a landfill. Yes you read that right.
In the past two months, I have learned more than I ever thought I would about trash. No, I'm not going to get all self-righteous and live a trash free life, I recognize that is impossible and impractical. But, I have been more thoughtful in my "trash practices."
I think twice now, is this trash or recycling? Can I reuse this myself? Do I need all those ziploc bags or will a container suffice?
Smart choices and big thinking got us from homo-sapien to the age of electricity and ipads. Smart choices and big thinking can lessen the impact our trash has on our planet.
One thing I also know for sure, it's a good think we turned in this unit electronically, because we couldn't in good conscience print a 58 page unit on trash!
