Recycling Scholarship Applications - Recycle Awards

"I am a very environmentally conscious person so when it comes to recycling, I do my part. I make sure that I recycle all materials that can be. Sometimes it can be hard due to the lack of support for certain recyclable elements such as VCR tapes or light bulbs and batteries. Even so, I manage to recycle quite a lot of items and in doing so; it creates a sense of accomplishment for me. I believe everyone should do their part to recycle and better the environment because we can’t do it all by ourselves."

"I reduce, reuse and recycle everyday of my life! I believe to be able to go green, we have to begin by recycling what we already use! To begin with, I will cover every area I can think of that pertains to most areas of our lives where we can save energy, as well as how to recycle by resuing and reducing what we already are using! To start with, almost everybody does their own laundry by washing and drying their clothes. With most people averaging about 400 loads a year of laundry, an easy way to reduce energy would be to either eliminate using a dryer and instead drying clothes on an old fashioned dry rack which would save an average family of about $100 a year plus save a lot of energy, or simply buy an energy efficient dryer at any appliance store. An easy way to recycle, is to store all the plastics and glass in specialized, separate bins. Me and my boyfriend label ours one for plastic, and one for non plastics, including metal cans, aluminum or anything else that is classified under non plastics categorys. If you allow it to become a habit, it will be much easier to habitually recycle your goods. If we all come together and recycle, the world would be conserving a whole lot more, for a whole lot less. Another easy way to begin recycling is recycling paper by keeping grocery bags in a specified place and when you come across unwanted mail, throw those mail in a grocery bag until its full and ready to be sent to recycling. Furthermore, old bedsheets make great dropcloths for painting and can be kept for arts and crafts or household repairs as well. Plastic fruit cups can be used for small odd jobs around the house too. Another way to reduce, reuse and recycle can be to take worn cotton items such as towels, washcloths or cloths and make perfect cleaning, dusting, or polishing rags. Used plastic containers can be kept for leftovers to be put in or any other side dish that would be considered for a few days. Lastly, coffee grounds can be spread over the fire or sprinkled over the garden to add extra nutrients to the soil. There are so many ways to recycle our goods, that would lead to helping out the environment tremendously. You will then find recycling to conserve our resources takes minimal effort, and the rewards are unlimited!"

"In my house I make sure that we separate the paper from the other waste in our house. In each room certain objects go into each garbage can, we have three in total. In the kitchen goes the food waste. On a bag on our door we take out plastic and cans that don’t belong with the other waste. In the bathroom we only put toilet paper or paper products. We try to separate all objects into their certain place to make sure that we do our part in the environment."

"I have always loved using or reusing as many products as possible. Prior to living in New Brunswick New Jersey, a city with a wonderful recycling program, I lived in South Easter Ohio, where they offered little recycling option. While living in Ohio, I found a nearby place where you could drop off mixed recycling any time you wanted. Being that I had a truck, I convinced my friends to separate their recyclable materials as well. Roughly once a week, I would drive around and pick up every body's recycling around our small town and take it to the dump. Now that I'm living in a place that has picks up recycling once a week, it's wonderful! I go as far as to separate small pieces of paper packaging from plastic packaging in an effort to maximize recycling. I also collect recycling from my parents who live in a town that doesn't offer to pick it up. I rinse and recycle every plastic or glass container that I can and feel good every time I do it. My parents are also big into reusing anything. Most of the toys and clothing my two year old niece sports are second hand from local thrift stores. What's so wonderful about buying 'gently used' item is that they are of the same quality but less than half the cost, which is perfect for a struggling college student or an expanding family, like my sisters. Currently I am studying equine science and hope to one day be a veterinarian. I am also studying and cataloging the most eco-friendly and inexpensive ways to manage your horses. Things like composting your household food products to reusing manure for arena material, trail cover or even as an energy source are extremely important methods for managing an equine facility."

"Recycling is an important thing, an i don't a lot of people understand or even care how much recycling does for our planet. My family got new toilets, the kind that don't hardly use as much water when you flush, we also got showers that turn off after 3 minutes to reduce water use. we have a new kenmore thermostat that cuts off on its own to save energy, we have two different types of garbage cans ones for recycling and the other for all the nasty stuff. we reuse printable paper instead of throwing it away, we buy recycled paper so that we knoo its not using more trees...i mean there's a million things i do to reduce, reuse and recycle we just need everyone to jump on board to make our planet a better place."

"I know the world is built on saving our trees. I feel it is our job to help those defenseless trees. To allow us to reuse and recycle so that we can keep our country growing strong. When we recycle we prevent the atmosphere from running out of trees, we have to make an stand and this is the start. I feel that it starts with us that the youth can take focus and follow us and also help to save our world. We have to start somewhere and we have to start today. I know through our efforts that our God can help us to achieve if we only believe. Trees help to produce oxygen, we have to keep the oxygen sharing in our lives nom atter what it takes."

"As a person who attains too much sensitivity and too much heart, I have always striven to make the world a better place to live. During the warmer seasons my boyfriend, Thomas, and I would walk through the trails in the park and fill about five trash bags with garbage that infested the ground. With a Chemistry teacher who stressed the importance of recycling paper, I do not believe I ever once threw away a single piece of paper. Working at a grocery store who owned a bailer in the back, recycling cardboard has become a habit. Most importantly, having a second mother that strongly believes in reducing, reusing and recycling has taught me how imperative it is to take care of my planet since it takes care of me. Having her as my teacher, she has taught me to use reusable shopping bags, glass water bottles and recycle bins. Together, we recycle paper, plastic, Styrofoam, cardboard, glasses, food and whatever else we think can be recycled. Our planet is in need of help and it is up to us to keep it living strong and healthy."