1. Minimizing Waste in Lamar County, Georgia
Good afternoon. My name is Trisha Walker and I am a student at Walden University. Today I am going to share with you ways to minimize waste in Lamar County, Georgia.
Trisha Walker
Walden University
January 2013

2. Agenda Learning Outcomes Why Recycle? Benefits of Minimizing Waste
Reduce & Reuse
Recycle
Existing Recycling Programs
Outside-of-the-Box Recycling
Conclusion
References & Additional Reading
(This project is aimed at educating adult community members of Lamar County, Georgia.)
I will cover learning outcomes; the environmental and community benefits of minimizing waste; methods to reduce and reuse; and methods for recycling, to include existing programs and ways that are outside-of-the-box. I will also provide you a list of websites you can go to for additional reading and resources.

3. Learning Outcomes
Motivate you to reduce, reuse, and recycle; regardless of how far you live outside of town
Provide you with a knowledge base of local businesses you can support by recycling
Show you how to promote charity and earn money in Lamar County through recycling
This is a list of things that I want you to walk away with. It is my hope that you will take this knowledge with you and work towards making our community a healthy place to live for years to come. It does not matter how rural your living arrangements are. I will discuss ways you can still recycle, which will reduce the amount of waste you are sending to our landfill. There are many businesses you can support through recycling. Charitable donations are a method of minimizing waste and you can even earn money through recycling.

4. Why Recycle? 4.5 pounds of waste/person/day =
1,642.5 pounds of waste/person/year
300,000 tons of landfill waste are plastic bags
275 million tires in stockpile
Breeding sites for mosquitoes
Why should we recycle? This presentation is going to cover some of the main reasons. Overall, it is good management of our environment. Each one of us generates approximately 1,642.5 pounds of waste each year, most of which goes into landfills. For example, 300,000 tons were plastic bags alone. We can easily reuse plastic bags or use cloth bags to reduce this number. Only 1% of plastic bags get recycled although places like Walmart have recycling bins set up at their door for any type of plastic bag. This is one small example of waste accumulation, which puts our sanitation at risk. Another example is stockpiles of tires that become breeding sites for mosquitoes, which carry diseases that are becoming more common in the United States like West Nile Virus. Check out the Clean Air Council website for a compiled listing of facts associated with waste and recycling. You will see that we are not doing very well as a nation in minimizing our impact and protecting our future.
References
Clean Air Council. (n.d.). Waste and recycling facts. Retrieved January 31, 2013, from

5. This pie chart represents percentages of municipal solid waste generated in 2010 by material. Looking at each one of these categories, you can see they are all recyclable.
References
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2012). Wastes: Basic information. Retrieved January 31, 2013, from

6. This diagram represents the percentage of material we send to the landfill, which is 54.2% and how much we recycle, 34.1%. These numbers should be flipped to show we are recycling more and sending less to the landfill. Let’s work toward that goal!
References
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2012). Recycling basics. Retrieved January 15, 2013, from

7.
The left side of the screen shows our waste accumulated at a landfill. As you can see, this is prime breeding ground for a variety of diseases that can reach the human population through water runoff, birds, rodents, and mosquitoes. The bottom right of the screen shows how most waste can be neatly compacted and ready for reuse. Simple recycling on your part can decrease the amount of waste going into landfills. Not only is this good for our environment, but it also creates jobs and boosts our economy.

8. Benefits of Minimizing Waste
Prevents pollution
Saves energy
Reduces climate change
Cleaner environment for your children and their children
There are many benefits to our community when you minimize the amount of waste going from your home to our landfill. As you know, the less trash you have, the less pollution that goes into the environment. Recycling saves energy and slows down climate change. The way it slows down climate change is through the reduction of greenhouse gases needed to make new products. This is also a way to prevent pollution. You need to consider how decisions you make now effect the environment of future generations. You want your grandchildren’s grandchildren to enjoy clean air and the natural environment as much as you are able to.
References
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2012). Recycling basics. Retrieved January 15, 2013, from
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2012). Reducing and reusing basics. Retrieved January 15, 2013,
from

9. Benefits of Minimizing Waste (Cont.)
Saves money and helps others in need
Reduces crowding at landfills
Conserves natural resources
Creates new jobs
Buying used items saves money and donating used items helps people in need. By using items to their fullest extent, you are conserving resources used to make new products. Recycling also creates new jobs in the recycling business, which has been growing with the societal realization that our environment cannot hold all the waste we produce. We must come up with ways to reuse it. You may think that one person does not make an impact, but you can make an impact by being an example to the people around you and informing people you know about how easy it can be to make a difference.
References
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2012). Recycling basics. Retrieved January 15, 2013, from
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2012). Reducing and reusing basics. Retrieved January 15, 2013,
from

10. Reduce & Reuse Buy and donate used items Purchase bulk items or items
with less packaging
Maintain and repair
The terms “reduce” and “reuse” are often grouped with the idea of recycling. Understanding how to reduce and reuse can make a great impact on lowering the amount of waste that needs to be recycled. Buying and donating used items are a healthy cycle and a way to use items to their maximum potential, such as buying a used car. If you purchase items in bulk at a grocery or retail store, you are reducing the amount of pollution created to package those items. When you take good care of items that you have and repair them as needed, you are minimizing waste by reducing your need for new products. As you are aware, this is also helpful to your pocket since it is not reasonable to buy something new because you failed to take care of it, especially if it is expensive.
References
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2012). Reducing and reusing basics. Retrieved January 15, 2013,
from

11. Reduce & Reuse (Cont.) Borrow, rent, and share
Buy reusable over disposable
Tax benefits
Federal Trade Commission
You can borrow, rent, or share items with people you know to reduce the demand for new items. You probably do this quite a bit with expensive equipment that are only used during certain seasons, such as a pressure washer or log splitter. Items that can be reused, such as wash cloths over paper towels, are more environmentally friendly and reduce waste from your household. Besides the benefit that reducing and reusing can bring to you financially, you can also get tax breaks for donating certain items. I have placed a link to the Federal Trade Commission’s website in additional reading for you to locate information on how to benefit from your charitable donations.
References
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2012). Reducing and reusing basics. Retrieved January 15, 2013,
from

12. Reduce & Reuse (Cont.) Consignment and thrift stores
Lamar County Activity Center, Inc.
Goodwill
Yard sales/Pawn shops
Here are examples of how you can help benefit Lamar County through reducing and reusing. The Lamar County Activity Center, Inc. is a community center where you can donate anything from your home and receive tax benefits for a charitable donation. The activity center sells the items at their thrift store and uses the money to host an after school program. You can also help them out by purchasing items from their store. I have donated items there that were in good condition but I had no use for anymore. There are consignment stores located in town that you can take in your gently used items to make money or buy used items. There is also the Goodwill in Griffin that accepts donations and that you can purchase used items from. Yard sales are a great way to make some extra money or to buy items for really cheap. You can always utilize the pawn shop to make some extra cash and ensure your used goods are getting reused.
References
Charity Blossom. (2012). Lamar County Activity Center, Inc. Retrieved January 15, 2013, from
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2012). Reducing and reusing basics. Retrieved January 15, 2013,
from

13. Reduce & Reuse (Cont.) Churches Organic Compost
Building Materials Reuse Association
Churches are usually hosting consignment or yard sales, so be sure to support your local churches by finding out what they have going on. food, You can also create a compost to consolidate food, yard, and wood waste instead of sending it to the landfill. Creating organic compost is a great way to enhance your yard and garden. You can also remodel your home or business through recycled building materials from the Building Materials Reuse Association. I have included a link to their website in additional reading materials for you to visit in case you are interested.
References
Greenco Environmental. (2008). Solutions for organic recycling. Retrieved January 17, 2013, from
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2012). Reducing and reusing basics. Retrieved January 15, 2013,
from

14. Recycling 3 Steps: Collection and Processing Manufacturing
Purchasing new products made from recycled material
Now I am going to shift gears to the actual process of recycling. There are three steps that occur for recycled material. Collection and processing occurs when the county recycling center either conducts curbside collection or you drop off your recyclables at the recycling center. Common household items are glass, aluminum, cardboard, paper, and plastic. The Lamar County recycling center does not even require you to separate your items. These items are then broken down to their raw form so they can be used to manufacture new items.
References
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2012). Recycling basics. Retrieved January 15, 2013, from

15. Recycling (Cont.) Common items from recycled material
Newspapers/Paper towels
Aluminum, plastic, and glass containers
Steel cans
Laundry detergent bottles
Items you may not have realized are recycled, but use on a weekly basis, often include newspapers, paper towels, and containers used for bottled products. These items have the recycling symbol located on them to represent the cycle.
References
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2012). Recycling basics. Retrieved January 15, 2013, from

16. Existing Recycling Programs
LCRSA- Lamar County Regional Solid Waste Authority
Barnesville-Lamar County Recycling Center
Our landfill is controlled by the Lamar County Regional Solid Waste Authority or LCRSA, which is the acronym your are used to seeing on your trash cans. The more you recycle, the less you are sending their way and the easier you are making their job in maintaining space for years to come. I know that in my home, I only have on average one trash bag a week for three people because of the recycling that I do. I live in the country where curbside pickup is not an option, so I load my recyclables when I am going to town and drop them off at the recycling center. You should make sure to observe the sign posted at the Barnesville-Lamar County Recycling Center for items they do and do not accept.
References
Lamar County Regional Solid Waste Authority. (n.d.). Lamar County Regional Solid Waste Authority. Retrieved
January 15, 2013 from,

17. Outside-the-Box Recycling
Make money from scrap metals
Forsyth Recycling Center
Blaze Recycling and Metals, LLC
Johnson Auto Salvage
For your out-of-the box recycling, you can take your scrap metals to a local business and get paid cash right away. My family loaded a trailer full of old farm material and made $200 at the Forsyth Recycling Center. They weigh your vehicle before and after dumping the metal and then pay you cash based on weight. They take anything, to include old rusted pieces of metal from appliances, fencing, and cars. Other local businesses for scrap metal are Blaze Recycling and Metals, LLC and Johnson Auto Salvage.

18. Outside-the-Box Recycling (Cont.)
Recycle tires at Quality Tire Recycling Inc.
EZ on the Earth
Go Green Recycling & Hauling
You can recycle tires at Quality Tire Recycling Inc.. EZ on the Earth is a website you can visit to learn how to recycle batteries, lighting materials, and electronics for a fee. If you want old junk picked up and hauled from your home, you can contact Go Green Recycling & Hauling for electronics, furniture, exercise equipment, or anything the recycling center will not accept. This also requires a fee based on what you are getting rid of.

19. Conclusion Clean up the Environment Help Community Businesses
Make Charitable Contributions
Make Money
I would like to conclude with how minimizing waste through reducing, reusing, and recycling can help our community. Not only are we making the environment more hospitable for years to come, but there are many businesses that rely on us doing our part to recycle. I have only named a few of the varieties that are out there. Reusing materials through donations can be a rewarding event for you by helping other community members in need. And, you may not have realized it, but recycling is a money making venture.

20. References
Charity Blossom. (2012). Lamar County Activity Center, Inc. Retrieved January 15, 2013, from county-activity-center-inc-barnesville-ga /
Clean Air Council. (n.d.). Waste and recycling facts. Retrieved January 31, 2013, from
Greenco Environmental. (2008). Solutions for organic recycling. Retrieved January 17, 2013, from
Thank you for your time. Here are my references.

21. References (Cont.)
Lamar County Regional Solid Waste Authority. (n.d.). Lamar County Regional Solid Waste Authority. Retrieved January 15, 2013, from
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2012). Recycling basics. Retrieved January 15, 2013, from
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2012). Reducing and reusing basics. Retrieved January 15, 2013, from
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2012). Wastes: Basic information. Retrieved January 31, 2013, from o.htm

22. Additional Reading
Clean Air Council. Waste and recycling facts. .html
Federal Trade Commission-Donating to Charity giving-charity
These are links to websites for more information to make recycling easy for you.

23. Additional Reading (Cont.)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2012). Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Common Recyclable Items: Learn how to recycle more.
Building Material Reuse Association.

24. Questions?
What are your questions?