Recycling
Recycling - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
2021 Recycle your Christmas Tree - Forsyth County!
Bring One for the Chipper is a program that was started by Keep Forsyth Beautiful. You can bring your Christmas tree to one of their locations to be recycled into wood chips! Please visit their website to find a location near you!
What is recycling?
Recycling is the process of collecting and processing materials that would otherwise be thrown away as trash and turning them into new products. Recycling can benefit your community and the environment.
Why should I recycle?
Prevents Pollution
Saves Energy
Reduces Waste
Conserves Natural Resources
Creates Jobs and Saves Money
These are just a few of the reasons you should recycle, reduce and reuse at home, school, and work.
What can I recycle?
Clean bottles, cans, paper and cardboard. Some recycle centers accept glass but check your local recycling service to see what is accepted.
Why can't I recycle my plastic bags?
You CAN recycle and reuse your plastic bags, however, you should not put them in with your regular recycle because they get caught in the equipment used to sort and may break the equipment and instead may end up in a land-fill. To learn how to recycle your plastic bags visit Plastic Film Recycling.
Sawnee Green Team -
Sawnee Elementary's Green Team is a group of volunteer 5th graders who are committed to recycling, reducing and reusing at Sawnee. Every Friday morning, the Green Team picks up classroom and building recyclables. These students are helping to promote responsible recycling in the classroom. The team is led by Becky Chatham. To join Green Team please talk to your 5th grade teacher! We take 4 volunteers from each 5th grade homeroom.
Plastic Bags -
Plastic bags, while convenient to carry your purchases wreak havoc on the environment!
Plastic bags jam the machines that sort recyclable material, when they make their way into a landfill they do not biodegrade, it can take hundreds of years for them to decompose in a landfill. Plastic bags are also one of the most common ocean debris - meaning that they float around the ocean and animals can mistake them for food. Birds and fish die from ingesting the bags or they get caught in the debris and get injured.
"Properly recycling bags saves about 11 barrels of oil per ton of bags recycled. It also prevents unsightly litter and hazards to wildlife."
Many grocery stores have collection bins where you can recycle them for free. To find other places to recycle your plastic bags visit Plastic Film Recycling.
Plastic Drink Ring Holder -
If you find a plastic drink ring holder, please cut it up into small pieces or at least cut the rings before you dispose of them. The reason you need to cut them into small pieces is because animals mistake them for food and they can get the rings caught around their necks or other body parts. Many birds and sea animals find these and are injured or die but if you dispose of them properly then you may just save a life!
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch -
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of plastic, floating trash that is twice (2) the size of the state of Texas! This trash island is located in the Pacific Ocean halfway between California and Hawaii. It is more than 600,000 square miles. The trash comes from countries around the Pacific Rim - Nations in Asia, and North and South America. It includes about 1.8 trillion pieces and weighs in around 88,000 tons!!
The Ocean Cleanup -
The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit organization that was created by Dutch inventor Boyan Slat who founded The Ocean Cleanup at the age of 18 in his hometown of Delft, the Netherlands. "The Ocean Cleanup's team consists of more than 90 engineers, researchers, scientists and computational modelers working daily to rid the world's oceans of plastic."
Five Large Ocean Garbage Patches -
There are 5 large ocean garbage patches and unless they are cleaned-up they will impact our ecosystems, health and economies.