Lesson 3 Small Things Matter
Wishful Recycling
Most ____ agree with the idea that recycling is an easy way to make a positive impact on the planet.
It makes you feel ____ about yourself, too.
But your efforts may sometimes be harming the environment ____.
How can this be? ____, it is because you might be a wishcycler.
____ Is Wishcycling?
Imagine the following ____.
On your way home from ____, someone hands you a piece of paper.
You glance at the shiny flyer advertising a ____ study café.
As you are about to throw it into the garbage, ____ decide to put it into the recycling bin instead.
You think flyers ____ be recycled because they’re made of paper.
What just happened is a case of ____.
It is the act of trying to recycle something that ____ not be recycled.
Wishcycling is usually done with good intentions, but it often causes ____ harm than good.
____ Is It a Problem?
The biggest problem with wishcycling is that it creates more ____.
For example, if ____ wishcycle a greasy pizza box, it can soak clean paper products with oil.
Then ____ in the recycling bin will become non-recyclable and end up in a landfill.
Creating more waste is ____ the only problem, however.
Wishcycling also leads to costly ____.
To process recyclable items, non-recyclable items must be sorted ____ first.
The more non-recyclable items are mixed with recyclable items, the ____ it will take to pick them out.
Wishcycled items can also damage the sorting ____, causing them to be temporarily shut down for repairs.
How Can We Stop Wishcycling?
With a little effort, we ____ put an end to wishcycling.
First, make sure your ____ are empty, clean, and dry.
Shake out any remaining liquid ____ bottles and jars.
____ that, wash them out and wait for them to dry.
You ____ need to remove the labels.
Now they are ready to be tossed in the recycling ____.
This simple process will ensure that ____ the items in the recycling bin can be recycled.
Second, ____ about the meanings of various recycling symbols.
They ____ you about the material of the item and whether it can be recycled or not.
Have you ever seen a recycling symbol with the number “7” and the word “____” under it?
This symbol means the product is made of two different materials and will be difficult to ____.
Checking the recycling ____ like this will help you stop wishcycling.
____, check the recycling guidelines for your local area.
Different areas have different rules on ____ can be recycled.
You can easily learn about the guidelines for your area by visiting your local ____ website.
You can also look for recycling posters near recycling ____.
Lastly, don’t recycle an item when in ____.
Even after you check the symbols and guidelines, you might still be unsure whether it is ____.
In that case, you ____ put it in the trash.
You might feel bad that you may be throwing away a ____ item.
____, doing so may actually be better for the environment.
Take comfort in the fact that you are ____ wishcycling.
We all ____ that living without producing trash is impossible.
The good news is that about 75 percent of our waste can be recycled when it is ____ properly.
This is why we ____ to stop wishcycling and start recycling.
So hop on the #stopwishcycling movement and help keep our ____ green!