Reducing Landfill Waste Theory

Laura Boreen Neilson Intro to Public Speaking 14 November 2010 Persuasive Speech Reduce Landfill Waste by Reduce, Reuse and Recycling and the financial benefits I. Introduction A. Attention Getter: Over half of the waste that ends up in the landfill does not belong there because it could have been recycled or reused. B. Credibility Statement: Not only do I religiously practice reducing, reusing, and recycling, but I have done a great deal of research for this speech, also research for a recycling project in my Human Concerns Class.
C. Significance/Identification Statement: The survey that I conducted with this class concluded that every one of us acknowledges that recycling is beneficial, yet only 60%, a little over half, of us actually do. D. Thesis Statement: When I am through with this speech you will be convinced that reducing, reusing and recycling will keep unwanted items out of the landfill, can easily be done and while implementing the 3 R’s reduce, reuse, recycle can make and save you money. E.
Preview Statement: I will present the current problem of overusing landfills, offer specific ways to implement the 3 R’s: and how the 3 R’s can benefit your financial situation. Connective: First let us look at the landfill. Or as Daniel Pike in the state journal register calls it “the graveyard of a disposable society. ” II. Body A. Consumers are quick to buy and do not think when it comes time to dispose of the waste. 1. According to factmonster. com 62% of municipal waste is dumped in the landfill. A single individual contributes roughly 4 pounds of that waste per day.

In that waste you’ll find tons of glass, tons of paper and cardboard; also enormous tons of food residues, yard trimmings, textiles, and plastics currently, there are over 3,000 active landfills in the US. 2. A series on the history channel called “”life after people” discusses how varies landmarks, the environment, and certain “stuff” will look like or be like when this earth is no longer inhabited by people. Though I won’t share my views on the particle subject, I did find the episode about waste very empowering. I would like to share that with you. www. history. com/shows/life-after-people/videos/life-after-people-trash
Connective: Now let’s look at ways to keep waste out of the landfills. B. The answer to help alleviate the overuse of landfills are reducing, reusing, and recycling of waste. 1. Reducing your waste should be thought of first. If you don’t have the waste to begin with than you don’t have to worry about where it is going to end up. According to Monique Beaudin, who wrote the article “Putting the first “R” into action; using the ‘Reduce’ step makes a bigger impact than you would think. ” Printed in The Gazette, 2010 “Reducing is often in the shadow of the easier R-recycling.
One specific way that will reduce waste is coming up with the holidays. Giving gifts can produce lots of waste whether it be, packaging of the item and/or the wrapping paper around the packaging. In the same article mentioned above by Monique Beaudin, she encourages holiday shoppers to buy less packaged gifts and give an experience, such as concert tickets for a gift. Therefore saving waste. Something to also consider when being mindful of reducing is buying bulk food items. This will help eliminate packaging waste and will usually be cheaper per ounce. Saving you money.
Buying bulk will also help you with food waste. The important thing to remember when you want to save money and eliminate waste by buying bulk is to prepare a meal plan before you buy. A meal plan will encourage you to eat at home reducing the temptation of eating fast food resulting in wrappers that will end up in the trash. When I do my meal planning for the week I will always leave a few lunches and a dinner slot open for leftovers, so that I don’t have the option to throw food away. 2. The second rule regarding the 3R’s is reusing. This can be, but is not limited to reusing your own waste for a different purpose.
For example, using a leftover coffee can for loose nails or screws, or even washing and reusing a plastic zip-loc bag instead of throwing it in the garbage. Thrift shopping is a way of reusing someone else’s unwanted goods. As I spoke about in an earlier speech about thrifting, I included many locations and ways to thrift, also the benefits to the shopper and the donator. One place in particular was shopping at the local boys and girls club. I personally shop there, keeping my eyes open for a good deal. For example, the pair of jeans that I am wearing today was purchased from this store just a few months ago. I paid only $8. 0 for this pair of Lucky Jeans and according to buckle. com, a retailer for lucky jeans the retail price is $99. 00 that is a savings to me of $91. 00. I am not the type to worry about name brands, but quality usually does cost more. If I can get a quality pair of jeans at a fraction on the price, I am glad to shop at the thrift store. I am thankful to the person that made the donation of the lucky jeans and they can benefit from that donation. According to the IRS webpage, IRS. Gov it explains that an individual can donate items like clothing, household furniture and furnishings, a car or boat, even taxidermy.
The donations are appraised, by the donator, and recorded. At the time of filing taxes if the donation equals at least $500 for the year, the donator may take advantage of the tax benefits. Simply summarized, reusing benefits the consumer and the donator while keeping items out of the landfill. 3. Let’s now look at recycling, the most thought of way to elimate waste in the landfill. According to the Environmental Protection Agency webpage, EPA. gov “Recycling turns materials that would otherwise become waste into valuable resources.
Collecting used bottles, cans, and newspapers and taking them to the curb or to a collection facility is just the first in a series of steps that generates a host of financial, environmental, and social returns. Some of these benefits accrue locally as well as globally. ” Our family benefits from recycling so we take it somewhat serious. In terms that we recycle everything that can be. Every month we take our recyclables, all plastic, steel, glass, paper and aluminum cans, to Minnkota, the local recycling center, and except the return in the form of a check.
If you would prefer not to take cash, Minnkota has the ability to donate your profit to any local establishments. There are 54 organizations to choose from including, boy scouts, churches and the city pound. Minnkota pays a penny a pound on all material, although aluminum cans yield a higher return, which I recently received . 45 cents per pound. This past month, the check I received, for 1 month’s recycleables for our family of 3 was $7. 45. This may not seem like much, but it will add up. What I do is deposit the checks into our Christmas club savings account. This account yields a rate of . 5 percent.
After 12 months of deposits, averaging $7. 45 per month, our account will reflect roughly $89. 00. That is more than we started with and proof that recycling pays and keeps reusable goods out of the landfills. Don’t forget that buying recycled products, such as paper, helps the environment and also is really the main focus of the movement, going green. There would be no need to recycle to begin with, if we are not willing to use the product that is made from the recycled goods. Consumers that buy recycled goods “closes the loop”, states the University of Arkansas. Connective: Let’s look our own waste and what can be saved from the landfill.
DEMO. III. Conclusion A. Closure Statement/Review of Main Point: In closing, we now recognize that landfills are overly used and dumped with valuable materials and have been exposed to ways to reduce, reuse and recycle. In doing so we are turning trash to treasure and waste into money, just in the time of this speech I have benefited your wallet $180! B. Restate Thesis: Reducing, reusing, and recycling keeps valuables out of the landfill, it’s easy to do and when it influences our finances will motivate you. C. Clincher: The change starts with us. This waste has been tossed by students and staff throughout the day.
Look at the amount that would not have to be in the landfill. Next time you decide to make a purchase and then ultimately discard it or its waste; reach in your wallet and consider your funds, than ask your self, can this item be donated, reused or recycled. Works Cited Pike, Daniel. “Garbage Mountain”. State Journal Register  6  May 2005, ProQuest Newsstand, ProQuest. Web. 3 Dec. 2010. “http://www. factmonster. com/ce6/. html. ” The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. 1994, 2000-2006, on Fact Monster. 2000–2007 Pearson Education, publishing as Fact Monster. 05 Dec. 2010 . “http://www. factmonster. com/ce6/. html. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. 1994, 2000-2006, on Fact Monster. 2000–2007 Pearson Education, publishing as Fact Monster. 05 Dec. 2010 . Intro to Speech classmates. “recycle survey”. Boreen, Laura. 3. Nov. 2010 “Trash”. The History Channel website. 2010. 3 Dec. 2010. Beaudin, Monique. “Putting the first ‘R’ into action; Reduce, reuse, recycle. Using the ‘Reduce’ step makes a bigger impact than you might think. ” The Gazette  25  Oct. 2010, ProQuest Newsstand, ProQuest. Web. 7 Nov. 2010. Buckle. 3 Dec. 3 “Publication 526” Interneal Revenue Service. 3. Dec. 2010 “Recycling” Enviromental protection Agency. 5 May 2010. 3 Dec. 2010.