Reduce,Reuse,Recycle

Sean Maloney Civics Dr. Walsh “Recycle” __What is the problem?__ The problem that I am dealing with is recycling throughout Rhode Island but basing it around North Kingstown. Also why is this going to help later in our life’s as citizens of Rhode Island. __Why is this a problem?__ In a short 10 years the Johnston Landfill is going to be full and would require Rhode Island to make a new landfill. The Johnston Landfill is already an eye sore and is not the best way to deal with trash. Would anyone really support a new landfill that would take away from the beauty of Rhode Island? Recycling would put this process almost to a complete stop. It would slow down the industry at Johnston Landfill and allow them to manage the waste properly. Do you really want your front yard to be a big trash pile in 30 years? What are some ways of dealing with the situation? 1. Keep it the same 2. Change the state plans to what Warwick has done with recycling. The ideas of the city paying for industrial sized recycle bins for paper and plastic to every household. The bins would rotate every week so paper one week and the next is plastic. This plan is working very well in Warwick and the recycle rate has gone up because of it. 3. The new plan that has been introduced to Providence and is already in play in East Providence. There plan is that the trash man will not take your trash unless you have recycled earlier that day. The plan forces people to recycle or have the trash add up on your doorstep. 4. The last plan is that if you do not recycle you will be charged a fee. The collector of the recyclables will note down who is and who is not recycling. The fee will start at $200 bucks a month. Every month that you do not recycle it will raise $50. This plan will pretty much force people to recycle because no one really wants to pay to not do something that so simple. __Which way do you think it should be solved? Why?__ I think that this problem should be solved by the state adopting the Warwick plan. The plan would take a while to gain momentum because it would need to gain funding from taxes. It would take about 2 months or less to gain enough money to buy the bins for the households. No one really needs to buy that bins unless they break or are misplaced. This is a very simple solution to the problem and has done wonders in Warwick already so it should in theory work well in the whole state. __Reflections on Project__ a. I have learned multiple new things in democracy class to help me support this project and get the word out. I have learned on ways how to act and how to get support on my cause. b. I have learned that anyone can put together meeting for a reason. A middle school kid could put up a strike if he/she wanted to. Almost anyone can put together a demonstration if they do it right. c. I did not work with anybody else on this project __Ways of Acting__ Here is a list of possible ways that I could act: 1. Public Education: -Leaflets, Flyers, Posters -Film or video screenings -Internet, blogs, Pod casts 2. Citizen lobbying - Writing a bill & finding a sponsor -Persuading Legislators 3. The Media -Letters to the Editor -PSAs -Radio Shows -Media Events