Goodwill Manasota: Cut waste, boost recycling, aid nonprofits

Goodwill believes recycling should be an everyday action.

While Americans represent just 5 percent of the world’s population, our country generates approximately 30 percent of the world’s garbage. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the average person generates 4.4 pounds of waste per day, totaling about 1,600 pounds per year; in 2013, Americans generated about 254 tons of trash.

Much of that waste ends up in one of the more than 1,900 solid-waste landfills in the country and, in some regions, landfill capacity is becoming more limited.

America Recycles Day, which takes place annually on Nov. 15, is the only nationally recognized day devoted to environmental citizenship and recycling. The benefits of recycling are tremendous: it reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills, prevents pollution, conserves natural resources, saves energy and money, and reduces greenhouse gasses. Unfortunately, while the EPA estimates that 75 percent of the American waste stream is recyclable, we only recycle about 30 percent of it.

Locally, Goodwill Manasota is proud to be a leader of the “reduce, reuse, recycle” movement all year long. Our organization subsidizes our mission of changing lives through the power of work through the sale of unwanted goods donated by community members. In 2015, we diverted more than 41 million pounds of unwanted goods from area landfills.

Every item that is donated to Goodwill helps to fund job training programs and services in communities throughout our service area. And whatever is donated to Goodwill and can’t be sold is recycled.

I hope community members will make a commitment to reduce waste, recycle more, donate unwanted items to worthy nonprofits, and buy more products made with recycled content. Future generations will thank you.

This story was originally published November 17, 2016 at 4:42 PM with the headline "Goodwill Manasota: Cut waste, boost recycling, aid nonprofits."