Reduce, reuse, recycle. These three simple steps will benefit our society for years to come. Recycling products is energy and cost efficient. There is little difference between a brand new aluminum can and one made from recycled metal. With the massive amounts of trash produced every day, diverting as much waste to a recycling facility to be reused protects natural resources and extends the life of landfills.

Reduce: don't waste materials, buy products with minimal packaging. Print double sided and buy a reusable water bottle instead of buying single use plastic ones. Reuse: if it can be used again, don't throw it away. Nobody will judge you for bringing your lunch in a plastic grocery bag, but remember that some things, like Kleenex, can only be used so many times. Recycle: check what you are throwing away. With current technology, almost everything can be recycled. Paper bags, phonebooks, even vegetable oil, don’t need to be thrown in the trash.

I grew up watching my mom take cans out of trash bins at school and after soccer games to bring home and recycle her self. Though her actions are extreme, it isn't hard to take that one extra step to put your paper in the recycle bin. It is not necessary to pick every can, bottle, and piece of paper out of the trash can but promoting recycling will help keep those objects out of the trash in the first place. I don't think I will ever understand how a person is capable of throwing an aluminum can in the trash can when a recycling bin is cleared labeled right next to it, but hopefully, as time goes on, consumers will become more observant and eagerly participate in recycling.