32. Recycle Right: What to and What Not to Recycle!

Shelby Ward a public interest environmental lawyer as well as Director of Sustainable Tennessee and Staff Attorney at the Tennessee Environmental Council (TEC). She is dedicated to serving communities in Tennessee through environmental education and advocacy. She collaborates with stakeholders who share a vision for a sustainable Tennessee and directs the Council’s law and policy program. She is also in charge of the TEC’s Recycle Right, Tennessee program, and it’s goal is to help you understand how to recycle right in your area so we can keep recyclables out of the landfill and in our economy.

And here are some quick facts on recycling:

• A single plastic water bottle saves enough energy to run a laptop for 2.5 hours and and creates 20% air pollution and 50% less water pollution than would be created when making a new bottle
  
  


• Landfills are one of the biggest contributors to soil pollution and the majority of what’s in the landfill could be avoided or recycled
  
  


• Clean prescription bottles can be often donated to animal and other shelters, veterinary, and other clinics
  
  

With Shelby we talk about how to properly recycle, resources to know what not to recycle, economics of recycling, the lifecycle of products and how much goes into landfills, and what’s happening with recycling on a state and local level.

Contact and connect with Shelby: [email protected]

Tennessee Environmental Council: tectc.org

Learn more about Recycle Right: https://www.tectn.org/recyclerighttennessee.html

Why China is not accepting our recycling: https://e360.yale.edu/features/piling-up-how-chinas-ban-on-importing-waste-has-stalled-global-recycling

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/03/china-has-stopped-accepting-our-trash/584131/

Landfill facts: https://www.usi.edu/recycle/solid-waste-landfill-facts/ https://www.rubicon.com/blog/statistics-trash-recycling/

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music