From small back yards to big office spring cleanups, the company prides great service. The end result? Items make it to the bin instead of the alleyway — and some will get recycled. Now, that’s a win-win, and one of many things that makes 1-800-GOT-JUNK? an easy choice, according to Scudamore, who 1-800-RECYCLING was able to slow down for a quick interview.

1-800-GOT-JUNK? founder and CEO Brian Scudamore

1-800-RECYCLING: Tell us what makes 1-800-GOT-JUNK? different from any other recycling competitor.

Scudamore: What sets us apart from other junk haulers is our exceptional customer service. Our intention is always to “wow” our customers with our professionalism. This means on-time service; friendly, uniformed drivers; up-front rates; and clean, shiny trucks.

1-800-RECYCLING: So, you’ll pick up my old sofa or office desk. What is the maximum pick-up amount, and what can’t I include?

Scudamore: We do not take hazardous materials. Other than that, we will take away whatever the customer needs. Our largest job was about 47 truckloads.

1-800-RECYCLING: What are some of the strangest things you’ve received over the years?

Scudamore: We’ve picked up hundreds of “weird” junk items, including a truckload of dentures, nudist colony awards, Clark Gable’s piano, John Wayne’s bible, anatomical skeletal parts, a mortician’s cabinet, thousands of cans of expired sardines, an antique birthing chair and many, many more.

1-800-RECYCLING: Tell us your experience with one of the most memorable odd items you’ve picked up.

Scudamore: One of our franchise partners was cleaning out a house after the customer’s father had died. They emptied a freezer full of frozen food, and ran the food back to the office and threw it in a freezer. A few days later, the customer called and explained that her father’s harvested stem cells were in the freezer in a red tea box. Luckily, we found them.

1-800-RECYCLING: One thousand trucks, 200 offices and tons of junk to pick up… Do you have busy seasons or is it constant go, go, go with all of your resources?

Scudamore: Our busy season is typically May to October, year in and year out.

1-800-RECYCLING: From one office in 1999 to over 200 now, when you look back over the last 11 years, when was the point when you said, “Ah-ha! We have our system down; 1-800-GOT-JUNK? is ready to take over the world!”?

Scudamore: We expanded into Australia in 2005, and today we have four franchise partners there. We just opened up Melbourne, and it’s been hugely successful. We do have further expansion plans for the future, so I’d say we’re ready for the world!

1-800-RECYCLING: What does the future hold for 1-800-GOT-JUNK?

Scudamore: We have a vision of being a globally admired brand — admired for our customer experience, as well as for being a leader in community charity and good will. We do have an international expansion plan and will grow the business by one exceptional customer experience at a time.

For example, let’s look at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles. Naturally, a California-based concert venue is going to have quite a long list of environmental measures that it follows. The state has strong recycling mandates and the STAPLES Center fully complies with assembly bill AB 2176, which specifically mandates recycling at large events held in California.

The STAPLES Center’s Going Green program mandates several waste reduction and recycling measures, including the on-site separation and collection of cardboard, wood pallets, electronic waste, glass containers, plastic bottles and aluminum cans. The arena works with the city of Los Angeles and Waste Management to recycle these products and continually increase the amount of waste diverted from area landfills.

The Wachovia Center in Philadelphia has a single-stream recycling system in place.

In addition to the strong recycling program at the venue, the STAPLES Center also includes measures to mitigate its energy and water use. The facility replaced 178 traditional urinals with water-free urinals, saving 40,000 gallons of fresh water per urinal per year. The STAPLES Center also takes advantage of that famous California sunshine by using a 1,727-panel solar array to help reduce the facility’s dependence on the local electric grid.

The STAPLES Center isn’t the only major venue doing things right. The Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, PA, also operates with the environment in mind. The facility is owned by Comcast-Spectacor and managed by Global Spectrum.

In order to help facilitate recycling by concertgoers, the Wachovia Center has single-stream recycling bins. These bins collect glass, plastic, aluminum cans, paper, cardboard and anything else that can be recycling into one container. Consumers aren’t stuck at the recycling bins trying to figure out what goes where when they’d rather be inside the arena watching the show.

Even the facility’s information technology department is getting in on the recycling trend. The IT department uses a local recycling facility to recycle all of the old or unused computer equipment, ensuring that these products don’t end up in local landfills.

In addition to the strong recycling program used at the Wachovia Center, the facility is also pursuing LEED for Existing Buildings certification. The LEED rating system is a product of the U.S. Green Building Council and is known worldwide.

Although concert venues produce a significant amount of waste in a short amount of time, facility managers can mitigate this waste through strong on-site and partnered recycling programs.

Reuse

One of the reasons people throw their old discs in the trash is because they become worn and scratched. The good news is that if you want to hold on to your scratched discs, most of them can easily be repaired with mild abrasive materials. Give it a try — take a small amount of toothpaste or baking soda paste and apply it to the underside of the disc. Rub with a clean, smooth cloth in a circular motion until all of the residue is removed. Put in back in your player and give it a try.

If you don’t want your old CDs or DVDs anymore, you can always sell them to a secondhand store that can effectively resell them. This keeps your unwanted discs out of the trash, provides you with a little extra cash and gives someone else the pleasure of the disc.

Recycle

You can recycle your old CDs and DVDs. Some companies can take your old discs and turn them into useful products. According to the CD Recycling Center, your old discs can be used in:

• automotive industry parts
• raw materials to make plastics (discs are ground into a gravel-like substance, which is sold to companies that melt it down and convert it to plastic)
• office equipment
• alarm boxes and panels, streetlights and electrical cable insulation
• jewel cases

If you have old discs that you want to recycle the first thing to do is to talk with your local CD or DVD store and see if they participate in a recycling program. Many companies willfully take your old discs and have them recycled for you at no charge. If you come up short in this venture, 1-800-RECYCLING’s recycling location search will help you find a nearby place that takes them.

Ford’s overall grade was a breath of fresh air; it rated second to Toyota, maker of the ever-popular Prius. So, what would happen if I went to have my parts recycled? I looked at the difference in points between Toyota and Ford. Bio-based materials are definitely a strong suit of Toyota. With the brand’s use of Eco Plastic, a sugar and corn substance, and an industry first of creating a plant to produce it, Toyota made the interior much less wasteful after being stripped for parts. Not to be outdone, Ford has developed a soy-based foam, and seating made of bio-fabric, made with genetically engineered bacteria that “eat odors, absorb sweat, and continually regenerate dirt and dust repellents.”

Still, Toyota’s reduction of unused plastic made it a winner.

Cars still have a long way to go for less of a reliance on plastic, though. The report recommends that automakers take the following measures:

• Increase the use of sustainably sourced bio-based materials;
• certify all vehicles to an interior air quality standard; and
• accelerate efforts to eliminate problematic halogenated substances, such as PVC and brominated flame retardants.

Ford is now using Eco Plastic in several of its models.

While plastic is an important component of recycling vehicles, it is just one of many factors that make the automotive recycling business a $22-billion business annually, according to the Automotive Recyclers Association.

Other big resources saved, other than new auto parts to service old cars, are oil and steel. Recycling vehicles has produced enough steel to make almost 13 million new vehicles. As far as oil dependence, by saving the oil that would have been spent on new or replacement parts, an estimated 85 million barrels of oil a year are spared.

While this means more cars on the road and even less parking near my already squeezed-in parking situation for blocks and blocks by my apartment, it put my mind at ease about my Mustang. Still, when I’m ready to turn her in, I may just search for the right place to recycle my used oil filter and other parts by using 1-800-RECYCLING’s automotive recycling locator.

In 1997, a directive was established by the European Union called the End of Life Vehicle Directive to ensure the most eco-friendly and sustainable ways to discard or recycle vehicles. Companies concerned with the environment and promoting recycling jumped on board with the E.U. initiative and abide by the same regulations. One of the nation’s largest alliances with the End of Life Vehicle Directive is greenvehicledisposal.com.

Find a green disposal program

Various companies and programs have been established throughout the country that offer competitive compensation for your junked vehicle. These green disposal participants differ from the typical junkyard because they adhere to strict policies that ensure the safest and most earth-friendly ways to recycle the vehicle.

The process is simple. You contact a participant in the program and unregister your car, then they pick up your car for free and compensate you for it. From there, your car is taken to a facility where it undergoes a de-pollution procedure. This procedure safely removes and disposes of all liquids and potentially hazardous materials found in the car, including the battery. The vehicle is then set to be donated to a recycling facility where the plastic, glass and scrap metal are all remade into new products.

Donate the vehicle

If your car is not at the end of its life (meaning it still runs) you can donate your car to a local agency that will repair the vehicle and in turn donate it to a family in need. This solves two major issues: You can easily get rid of your car and a family that can’t afford a vehicle receives one free of charge. You can also claim the estimated worth of your donated car on your taxes.

Many donation services have implemented green practices to refurbish the vehicle and get it in its best shape. Green vehicle donation services also provide the recipient of the vehicle with a contact number in case the car does come to its end of life, in which case the donation service will pick up the vehicle free of charge and have it recycled.

Junkyard

Junkyards have gotten with the program. They no longer take end-of-life cars and let them sit and rot; they too have taken advantage of the ability to reuse and recycle every part of a car. Contact your local junkyard and speak to them about their policies and philosophy of recycling. You will discover that many modern junkyards will strip the car of all its useful parts and sell them to local auto shops. After the car is stripped, all remaining materials are made ready to be recycled. Many junkyards will also compensate you for your end-of-life vehicle and provide a free towing service. Choosing a junkyard is a viable choice; you’ll just have to do your homework and ask the right questions to ensure its practices are earth friendly.

Although your car won’t fit in your recycling bin at home, it can still be recycled and reused to promote a healthier earth. Recycling your car will prevent toxic chemicals from mixing and seeping into the earth’s soil and it will put your old junker to good use. Who knows, maybe one day your repurchase the scrap metal from your car in its reincarnated state as a coffeemaker!

RecycleMania started at Miami University and Ohio University in 2001. These two schools began the friendly recycling competition and Miami University triumphed. Each year the competition grew, and in 2004 RecycleMania partnered with the EPA’s WasteWise program, further increasing the competition’s popularity.

Miami University was the inaugural RecycleMania winner, and has been a leader ever since.

This year’s competition is the biggest one yet; so far 607 schools have registered to compete. The race began on January 17 and schools have until March 27 to prove they are the greenest university around.

Schools are divided into two separate divisions to level the playing field. The Competition Division participants are actively tracking their weekly recycling data. The Benchmark Division participants can track their data, but are bound to less formal rules.

Different areas of competition allow for more winners and more flexibility in focus. The Grand Champion prize goes to the school with the highest recycling rate compared to its waste. The Stephen K. Glasi Per Capita Classic rewards the university with the most recycled materials per capita. The school that records the lowest total waste per capita, including trash and recycling, receives the Waste Minimization award.

Bigger schools may be contenders for the Gorilla Prize; this award goes to the school with the highest volume of recycled materials, regardless of population. The Targeted Materials prize involves four categories of specific materials. Schools can win in the following areas: most paper recycled per capita, most corrugated cardboard recycled per capita, most bottles and cans recycled per capita and most food service organics per capita (including compostable dinnerware, pre- and post-consumer food waste, etc.).

Category winners will receive awards made from recycled materials.

Schools up the ante

The George Washington University has some exciting RecycleMania events scheduled. One basketball game will focus on recycling by having a halftime recycling relay race and recycling trivia questions. Resident hall advisors will be “dorm storming” by knocking on doors and collecting recycling from students. Students can also participate in the eco treasure hunt and follow the clues to find a prize.

GW graduate student Jessica Bryant says her school promotes recycling by making it easy. “There are bins designated for recycling glass, paper and aluminum all over campus. The library seems to do a good job of encouraging students to recycle paper in large containers in and around printing and copying areas.”

Jay Price, Environmental Coordinator from the University of Tennessee, says this is the fifth year the Volunteers have competed in RecycleMania. To encourage students to recycle more, UT’s personal goal in the competition is to beat one of their main athletic rivals, the University of Florida. For the first week of RecycleMania, the Volunteers have done just that. The school’s efforts include obtaining recycling bins for every classroom, storming residence halls to gather recycling door to door, including recycling results weekly in the student newspaper and creating a competition for recycling between campus residence halls.

At Google’s London office, employees aren’t allowed to have trashcans at their desk. This prevents employees from quickly throwing away something that should be recycled. Instead, employees visit a centralized recycling station to sort out their garbage and recyclables. This one low-tech idea has led to a 50% increase in recycled products at the London location. Other Google locations have also picked up on the no trashcans idea, including the three Google offices in Santa Monica, CA.

Once employees get to one of these centralized recycling stations, they have several choices. Office paper is placed into shredding bins. After company documents have been safely shredded, they are sent to local recycling plants. There are also bins to collect glass, cans and plastic bottles. Instead of being delivered to a local landfill, these products are recycled accordingly. Although the company collects plastic bottles for recycling, these aren’t likely to be empty water bottles. Google does not use bottled water at any of its worldwide offices.

Google's London office doesn't offer trashbins.

Google is a technology company and naturally encourages the recycling of electronic equipment. To help foster this, the company hosts at least one computer parts collection day each year. The company recycles monitors, laptops, copiers, hard drives, CDs, telephone equipment, laser printer toner cartridges and even high-end networking equipment.

Google employees can also compost items used at many of its campuses. In addition to food compostables, the plate ware and cutlery provided in the on-site cafés is compostable.

Google’s recycling and composting efforts help the company reduce its carbon footprint and allow the company to divert tons of waste from local landfills.

Schnitzer is recycling more than ever at its Portland, OR-based facility. Image courtesy of OregonLive.com.

That’s not to say the current operations of Schnitzer are harmful to our planet — far from it. This company takes to heart one of the cornerstones of eco-friendliness daily (and in massive quantities) when it recycles tons (literally) of scrap materials that come mostly in the form of unwanted automobiles. Recycling and reuse are about the best practices we as a society can do to preserve our natural surroundings and the Schnitzer website informs us why this is true when it offers the following statistics:

Our businesses take obsolete machinery and end-of-life cars and recycle their metal so it can be used to create new finished steel products. Consider the following benefits:

• By using recycled metals, the steel industry saves enough energy each year to power 18 million households
• Recycling one ton of steel conserves:
  • 2,500 pounds of iron ore
  • 1,400 pounds of coal
  • 120 pounds of limestone
• Using recycled iron and steel instead of virgin ore to make new steel results in:
  • 74% savings in energy
  • 90% savings in virgin materials use
  • 40% reduction in water use
  • 97% reduction in mining wastes

In the same way someone wouldn’t recognize corporate higher-ups to be so down to earth in jeans and work boots, many would fail to realize that the fields of junk a mega scrap metal company owns could be a site of one of the greenest businesses in our country. And, with the way this company pursues making its operations even more environmentally conscious, it’s no cheap talk that its motto is, “Strength, Sustainability, Success.”

According to Recycle Works, “From Thanksgiving to New Years Day, household waste increases by more than 25 percent. Added food waste, shopping bags, packaging, wrapping paper, bows and ribbons — it all adds up to an additional 1 million tons a week to our landfills.” There are various ways you can encourage recycling by making it easy and readily available.

Make it easy

The best way to make your gathering easy on the earth is to make it obvious and easy to recycle. Instead of having five trashcans throughout the house or meeting space, place small blue or green containers clearly marked for recycling. Place these little containers in obvious spots that are easy and convenient to use. For example, place a recycling container by the food table, in the kitchen and other places people are going to sit and chat.

Only have one trashcan in a central location where people can discard any non-recyclable material. Place a recyclable bin next to the trashcan with a sign on the trashcan that says, “Can I be recycled?” with an arrow pointing toward the recycling container. You may also want to have a bin next to the trashcan for unused food that can be used in your backyard compost or to use as food for your pets.

Use recycled goods

Buy or use recycled items for your decorations, dishware and gift-wrapping. Avoid spending money on new items as much as possible, as this will only add to the waste accumulated by holiday season. Use or make decorations from everyday household items such as brown paper bags. Purchase recycled paper or plastic dishware that can be recycled again. You can find recycled paper and plastic products at most health food stores and even at some big box stores. Encourage recycling by collecting all gift-wrap as people open gifts, and either reuse the paper yourself or place it in the recycling bin.

Do the dirty work

Unfortunately, most good deeds come with sacrifice, and at the end of the night someone will have to rummage through all the recycling and trash to make sure things ended up where they should go. Have someone (or you yourself) go through each recycling bin to make sure there isn’t any trash that’s been thrown in it by mistake. Separate the plastic, paper and aluminum for easy pick-up. Go through the trashcan as well and pull out any recyclable items that accidentally got thrown out.

Note if there are any items that you can recycle, such as used coffee and tea, brown paper or food byproducts. Used coffee and tea are great for a garden or as a soil conditioner. Brown paper bags and food byproducts make great additions to a compost. Try to eliminate as much waste as possible by finding creative and innovative ways to use the stuff left over. Everything else either needs to go into the trash or the recycling bin.

Your holiday party this season doesn’t have to add to the 25% more waste that Americans produce during the season. By implementing a few simple ideas and a little work to your party, you can encourage recycling and make a difference this year. It’s these small steps combined that can make a real impact on people and the earth.

For most people, this time of year also indicates the beginning of the age-old tradition of digging up the boxes of festive lights, wreaths and wintry decorative detritus. This year, when rooting around in my mom’s attic for the above-mentioned ornamentation, I noticed something that quickly became too omnipresent to ignore: a large collection of unused, old and outdated machines. While I was in the merry mood to sift through dusty crevices of an old house to find decorations for Christmas, I quickly concluded that the house was already decorated in a way I hadn’t previously noticed: with useless electronics.

Printers, old cell phones, a jumble of cords and more were all strewn across the attic like a museum display honoring the 1990s. Being a writer for a recycling website, I was understandably irked by such a collection; a hoard that served only as blight and a reminder of our nation’s typical habits of consumption and discard — out of sight, out of mind. But, according to an article in the Christian Science Monitor (of all places), the EPA has estimated that “Americans generated 3.01 million tons of electronic waste, or e-waste, in 2007, but only 13.6 percent of it was recycled… the rest went into incinerators and dumps.” Knowing that many of these products contain highly toxic materials such as lead, cadmium and mercury makes this a statistic that forces you to really stop and think. How many of us have a collection of old electronics right now? While writing this article, I can count a computer, cellular phone and MP3 music player — all of which will be outdated within the next six months, no doubt. And, while advancement in technology is by no means an evil pursuit, it certainly could be if we continue to collect and discard electronics at our current rate. But, like most good stories, the article gives us hope — and hope is a welcomed companion when sitting in an old, dark attic feeling guilty.

Policy for what to do with e-waste is being pushed through Congress as you read this. At the time of the Christian Science Monitor article’s writing, the U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson challenged Congress to keep an eye on such wasteful, dangerous materials. Thompson’s resolution includes stipulations to mandate the legislature’s participation in e-waste recycling programs by any one of the recyclers certified by the environmental watchdog organization e-Stewards. Eco-friendly ideas like this expand beyond the Capitol as many communities and municipalities are looking to start e-waste recycling and take-back programs as well. However, it’s not all smooth sailing from here on out.

Complications contend Thompson’s resolution since, according to the article, estimates of a door-to-door collection program hover around $200 million annually and arguments that recycling trucks will greatly increase air pollution and traffic trigger concerns. These disputes, nonetheless, indicate that our nation’s leaders are taking a sincere look at how to tackle the rising issue of dangerous electronics in our landfills.

Countless others must have found themselves in my same position within the last few weeks — sifting through boxes of needless e-waste. While I sat and took in the tangle of wires, forgotten toys and outdated appliances, I realized that the scene in my mom’s attic wasn’t one to make me cringe, but rather one that sheds light on how these unwanted electronics can still be salvaged in an environmentally friendly manner. If you are also looking for a way to sustainably free up some storage space this holiday season, I suggest taking a look at where your e-waste goes and your region’s list of electronic recyclers here on 1-800-RECYCLING. This way you can be sure that this season of giving includes giving your old electronics to responsible recyclers.

Not recycling? That’s garbage: Worldwide stances on taking out your own trash

What are other countries doing to make sure that their trash doesn’t pile up? Everything from fines to social snubs is commonplace in competing countries; just ask the English bus driver who was fined a good portion of his wages for the month for not complying with trash laws. A June 2008 New York Times article titled “Take Out the Trash Precisely, Now. It’s the Law.” spotlighted Whitehaven, England’s Gareth Corkhill, who was fined $215 and a further $225 delinquent fine on top of a criminal record note for a tiny garbage offense. What did he do? He left his garbage can lid slightly ajar.

According to the article, residents were so outraged that they raised money and complained. The incident shed light on the fact that resources are dwindling, and governments worldwide know the fact to be true, according to Copeland Borough Council spokesman Ian Curwen.

“Ultimately as a country, we have to do more. We can’t just keep producing and throwing things away,” Curwen says.

So, if landfills aren’t an option, as they are filling up around the world, what is each individual country to do? Should they pay? Should they be snubbed? Many articles have since raised the question by citing social practices throughout the world that might raise more than a few eyebrows if known about.

Recycle or pay: Wacky and weird practices that work!

Imagine a society where recycling or other green efforts are known about, but not really practiced or mentioned. (Senegal)

Now, picture (if you can) a place where environmental sustainability isn’t widely used as a marketing scheme. Going a little green with envy at this country yet? (Greece)

Take it one step further, and try to fathom recycling as a practice rumored to be affiliated with organized crime. (Southern Italy)

These three extremes come from the world’s biggest countries, according to a BBC article titled “Recycling Around the World.”

Recycling is commonplace in Germany.

If you were a German citizen who insisted on wasting trash, what would happen to you? Well, first of all, you would be a shame to the government, according to the article. Citing at least five different types of garbage bins outside of a typical building, a bad recycler is a shame to his or her community. If you are a visitor to the country, you better be on your best behavior — or prepare to be shown no mercy for the wasteful faux pas.

“As a foreigner living in Berlin, you can easily be embarrassed by your German friends who will berate you for not separating your rubbish,” the article says.

This is true 90% of the time, according to the article, citing surveys. Where does this put the U.S.? Well, in 2005, the bad news is, it was far behind that statistic.

At publishing time of the 2005 article, states at the bottom of the recycling effort were Alaska, Wyoming and Montana. They recycled less than 9% of waste. The top states, New York, Virginia and five others, still only recycled 40% of waste.

The good news is that now even states that weren’t leading the pack are shooting for goals as high at 75% by the year 2020. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection cited The Energy, Climate Change, and Economic Security Act of 2008 (House Bill 7135) as the goal-setting legislation.

So, while the U.S. might not be a leader in recycling practices, it is making strides that, fortunately, may be pretty hard for the rest of the world to follow. What can you do to help? It starts by going to a recycling facility near you.

Practice what you preach

No one can stand a hypocrite — even children. Leave it to your kids to point out your loopholes, your inconsistencies and your faults. I’m not sure why children are so good at smelling out a phony, but they are. When you begin teaching your children about recycling, make sure your teaching is consistent with your lifestyle. This means that whether you’re at home or out and about, you go out of your way to demonstrate your conviction about recycling.

The moment you cut a corner, you’ve taught your children that it’s OK to be half-hearted about the environment. It’s difficult at times trying to get the kids in the car, answer your cell phone and find a recycling container to throw away your morning coffee cup. In these situations, don’t skimp out and throw it in the trash; instead, simply hold it in your car until you get home and then place it in your recycling bin. This not only teaches your children to recycle, but it also demonstrates the life lesson of staying committed even when it’s inconvenient.

Begin young

Your child is never too young to begin learning about recycling. Children typically learn things way before they can communicate it. There are times when your child will talk about an event that happened months before he or she could even talk. In your mind, you had no idea that he or she was even paying attention at the time. No matter if your baby is 6 months old or 2 years, he or she is an observant sponge, soaking up every action, word and deed you and your household perform.

Create their perspective

As your child ages, create their perspective for him or her. Provide him or her with the perspective that most things can either be recycled or reused. Set up two small containers specifically for your child. Mark one as “plastic” and the other as “paper.” Every time you are ready to throw something away, ask your child where the trash belongs. Have him or her decide whether it is something to recycle, something to reuse or something that needs to be thrown away. This will help him or her choose the best option and help your child with his or her critical thinking skills. Turn every item that has been used into a fun game of discovery and reward.

Tell them why

When a person has a reason why he or she is told to do something, they will have more motivation to actually do it when no one is looking. Teaching your child from a young age the benefits of recycling, how it works and the consequences of not recycling will provide a stable foundation of the purpose behind recycling and why it is so important. If your child is old enough, see if your local recycling plant allows visitors. If they do, take a tour with a few other children and make a trip out of it. This will help your child have a visual experience of how recycling works and how incredible it is for the planet.

Teaching children about the importance of conservation not only educates them on the importance of recycling, but it also demonstrates the reward in sacrifice, conviction and following through on the right decision. What you teach your children they will teach their children, and so on. Making an investment in teaching your children about recycling and reusing will have an impact on your future genealogy.