Lyssasue
Registered: December 2007 Posts: 1
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Death by Styrofoam
By Melissa
Every year, approximately 25 billion used Styrofoam cups are thrown away; if Jesus was around today, he would say, "Let this (Styrofoam) cup pass from my lips." One Styrofoam cup contains over one billion chlorofluorocarbons. That disastrous stuff is putting a hole in our atmosphere and causing all kinds of problems from skin cancer to global warming. Humans, we need to start taking responsibilities for our actions! It may not seem like much, but doing recycling in your home can have huge ramifications in the long run. Many people say it is too time consuming, or that it takes up too much room to recycle. But if you recycle think of how much room you’re saving in a landfill. Personally, I am considered an at-risk child, but I don’t let that stop me. At my house, my family does things like heat with wood, which is a renewable resource, and grow our own pesticide free vegetables. In my school, I am part of our “Green Team;” we call ourselves the “Students Going Green.” We are trying to promote Earth friendly practices in our school. I am one of the main students who convinced the teachers to stop using Styrofoam cups in the Teacher’s Lounge. An agreement was reached with the teachers that they would stop using Styrofoam cups, if students would come in and wash regular, ceramic cups. Three out five days a week I go down to the lounge and wash cups. It only takes me about five minutes, but it saves approximately twenty-five Styrofoam cups from being used. There are several students, including me, who are trying to get the company that does our school lunches to stop using Styrofoam trays and bowls. There are recycling bins placed around the school, which I check and take to recycle once a week. Soon I will be doing recycling drives. Every week there will be a different item we are encouraging students to bring in, like batteries. Students who do participate will be given a small prize. I like to take walks in the recreational pathways near my house, and I always bring a bag to collect trash with me. I sometimes will make some money picking up discarded beer cans, which I donate to a worthy cause. I may only be one student trying to help improve our world, but there is only one small planet we can live on, and unfortunately we are ruining it with trash.
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