Kayla Jelliff
Recycling paper products
Step 3:
Diary describing successes, failures, thoughts, feelings
1 10/23: Recycled two shoppers, 4 construction paper scraps, 1 piece of waxy
paper, ½ a piece of cardstock, and a brown paper bag.
2 10/24: a small envelope
3 10/25: an envelope, two sheets of notebook paper, two paper bags, two
pieces of printer paper
4 10/26: 5 pieces of computer paper
5 10/27: two magazines, 12 pieces of computer paper, 1 envelope
6 10/28: paper bag, 1 cardstock paper, 5 pieces of computer paper
7 10/29: 3 envelopes. Magazine, 2 pamphlets, 2 sticky notes, computer paper, 2
post cards/flyers
8 10/30: 10 pieces of scrap paper from contact paper, 5 almost whole pieces of
construction paper, an envelope, 2 sheets computer paper
9 10/31 an envelope
1 11/1: 10 pieces of computer paper, 2 pieces of cardstock, 2 pieces of
0 construction paper
1 11/2: a paper bag
1
1 11/3: 8 card envelopes, 1 small paper, 2 sheets of tissue paper, 4 pieces of
2 computer paper, 1 piece of newspaper
1 11/4: 4 sheets of computer paper, 1 envelope
3
1 11/5: none
4
1 11/6 none
5
1 11/7: 8 computer papers, 2 envelopes, 1 newspaper, 2 receipts, 1 newsletter
6
1 11/8: 16 pieces of computer paper, 5 pieces of cardstock, 5 envelopes, a
7 newspaper
1 11/9: none
8
1 11/10: 78 pieces of computer paper, 4 pieces of cardstock, small paper bag,
9 15 pieces of notebook paper
2 11/11: two paper bags
0
2 11/12: none
1
2 11/13: newspaper, 3 pieces of computer paper
2
2 11/14: 1 paper bag, 2 pieces of computer paper
3
2 11/15: 3 pieces of computer paper
4
2 11/16: envelope
5
2 11/17: none
6
2 11/18: 2 sheets computer paper
7
2 11/19: newspaper, envelope, 3 pieces of computer paper
8
2 11/20: 1 envelope, 1 piece computer paper
9
3 11/21: 2 pieces computer paper
0
3 11/22: 3 pieces of computer paper
1
3 11/23: none
2
Step 4:
I chose to start recycling paper because that was one thing we don’t recycle
in our home and I am not sure why. We recycle glass, alluminum, plastic, and
cardboard. We even take back cans and bottles. I run a daycare so I know I go
through a ton of paper and it accumulates to how much trash we have. I saved a
huge box from something we received and that was where I put all the paper I
recycled. I did not expect to fill the box full. I feel like I was successful every day for
the most part. There was many times that I had to go back to the garbage can and
get out the paper that I threw away out of habit. Also constantly reminding
everyone in my house to not throw paper away. There were some days that I didn’t
recycle any paper and that was because there were none to recycle. The biggest
challenge was making it a habbit to not throw paper away. It was easy when I was in
the daycare and had the recycle bin right there, but outside of that there are so
many times during the day that paper is thrown away. The amount of mail we
receive that just gets tossed in the garbage instead of recycled. Another challenge
was getting my children to understand how important it is and that its okay to use
the whole paper instead of just scribbling on one part and then being done with it
and throwing it away. My daughter caught on and she was given the job to dump all
the paper we recycled that day into the big box.
I felt really good about this project and I plan to continue recycling paper. You
don’t realize how much paper gets thrown away everyday even though it is
something so easy to recycle. I feel like I made a positive impact on the planet. In
just 32 days I recycled so much paper. Imagine how much I will recycle in one year,
five years, ten years. If everyone did something so small like recycle paper, we
could save so many trees.
After taking this class and learning about different ways to have a more
sustainable life I want to change many more habbits. I also want to talk to my fire
department about recycling paper and doing other changes that could benefit our
planet. My fiance and I were talking about getting solar panels and other things we
could do. We have a barrel to collect rain water, have a compost, have a garden,
blueberry bushes, and recycle. There is still so much more we can do. I have also
used this project to talk to my parents and other people in my family about
recycling and different ways they can help the plantet. I feel like everyone should be
made to take this couse because I truly didn’t understand how much our choices are
harming the planet. I feel like people don’t know how easy it is to make a difference.
Overall, I really enjoyed this class and this project. It truly opened my eyes
and made me want to do better. I want to set a good example for my children and
have a better impact on the world they are growing up in.