PROPOSAL FOR SCHOOL RECYCLING PROGRAM ORGANISE ...

PROPOSAL FOR SCHOOL RECYCLING PROGRAM

ORGANISE & ADMINSTRATE BY: MARCOM RECYCLING POINT

CONTACT PERSON: PEARLIE TAN

CONTACT DETAILS: 63431270 (TEL)
62340176 (FAX)
96180879 (HP)
[email protected] (EMAIL)

OBJECTIVE:
1. To cultivate a good life time recycling habit – everyone should play a part
2. To be keening aware of the environment (not just keep Singapore clean but
less waste) – to pick up thrown away recyclables whenever possible
3. To change mind set or attitude that recycling is not a dirty or low-class job but
it’s a responsibility & lifestyle
4. To understand that recycling is not a simple process.

CURRENT SITUATION:
1. Papers, plastic bottles and drink cans are thrown as waste instead of recycling
them. – can be seen everywhere on the floor, stairways, road sides, etc.
2. Too many plastic bags kept in the house and many just throw them away.
3. Unaware that cds can be recycled

We are not asking to up turn every dustbin to find papers or other recyclables.
Simply look around, if spot a paper/empty can/plastic bottle lying on the ground just
pick it up. E.g. If see a “clean” paper in the trash pick it up before it is contaminated.
Always carry with you a plastic bag to put these items and bring them to school to
throw into the respective recycle bags.

This exercise helps the new generation to understand that recycling is everyone’s
responsibility and should not be afraid of getting one’s hand dirty. Secondly, as
recycling is not a simple process, not a “one bag throws all things” concept, one needs
to understand how to take part in it. Lastly, to be sensitive to the environment and do
something that is RIGHT.

THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR RECYCLING:

Plastic bags – Check your house if there are mountains of plastic bags and need to
do something about it. Fold them into a triangle and drop into the recycling bag.

CD-ROM – Many bought pirated cds and realized that quality is bad and don’t know
what to do. Separate the casing and the cd-rom. The transparent and coloured
plastics are to be thrown into separate bags. If the casing is made of paper, throw
them into the respective recycling bag for white or colored. NOTE: IF THE CASING
OR PAPER ENVELOPE IS STILL NEW, PUT ASIDE TO REUSE INSTEAD (TO BE
ADVICE BY TEACHER).

Papers – Separate into different categories - WHITE, COLOURED, NEWSPAPER
AND CARTON. Remove any staples, clips, files or folders. Reuse them if possible.
Remove the plastics on envelopes and put into the recycle bag for plastic.

Plastic bottles (optional) – Mineral water plastic bottles are not supposed to reuse
because of the toxic/chemical release from the plastic – recycle them.

Aluminum drink cans (optional) – To avoid attracting ants and other unwanted
pest, always rinse the cans and flatten them before throwing into the recycle bag.

LOGISTICS:
10 reusable bags (if applicable) with holders (16.75" x 11.75" x 35.5") will be given
for the various items. Every week or twice a month, these bags will be replaced
depending on how fast they are filled. In case the bags overflow before our collection
day, extra bags are kept in the office. Collection schedule can be adjusted.

All the bags will be weighed and recorded. A monthly/yearly report on the progress
of the recycle program will be provided. To provide an accurate account of the
collected items, the recyclable items/bags should not be removed.

FACTS YOU MAY OR MAY NOT KNOW

LIKE IT OR NOT!

PAPER - THE NUMBER ONE TRASH

What is the number one material in the solid waste stream? Before you say plastics,
look around your school classroom. What do you see? Posters? Notebooks?
Cardboard boxes? Textbooks? Test papers? You get the picture. Paper is everywhere!
Paper is the number one material that we throw away. For every 100 pounds of trash
we throw away, 35 pounds is paper. Newspapers take up about 14 percent of landfill
space, and paper in packaging accounts for another 15 to 20 percent.

DOES PAPER RECYCLING SAVE ENERGY?

Yes it does, although the energy savings are not as spectacular as they are with
aluminum and steel recycling. Paper mill uses 40 percent less energy to make paper
from recycled paper than it does to make paper from fresh lumber. Lower quality
paper, such as newsprint and packaging paper, require less energy to manufacture
than office paper.

CONSERVING through recycling

A ton of paper made from recycled fibers instead of virgin fibers conserves:

7,000 17-31 4,000 KWh 60 pounds
gallons trees of of air
of water
electricity pollutants

What we are doing is not enough - Environmental Impact.

Paper is a biodegradable material; this means that when it goes to landfill it will rot;
bacteria will form and produce methane. This is a powerful greenhouse gas
that is 23 times more potent than CO2 (carbon dioxide) and contributes to climate
change.

Mistake we constantly make.

Items often mistakenly put to recycle are:

• Pizza boxes – often contaminated with food residue
• Cartonboard trays and ovenable boards – these are often laminated with plastic

liner materials
• Drink packs - these are not made from paper alone but comprise of about 75%

paper, 20% plastic (polyethylene) and 5% aluminum foil (for long-life products).
As they are an amalgam of materials, they cannot be recycled along with ordinary
paper.

Hence by simply recycling our paper we can:

• Reduce the consumption of energy
• Reduce the consumption of rainforest
• Reduce the amount of paper waste going to landfill
• Reduce the emission of gasses like methane into the atmosphere

E.g. recycling a ton of paper spares 17 trees, which can absorb a total of 250 pounds of
carbon dioxide from air each year. Burning the same ton of paper creates 1500 pounds of
carbon dioxide, which contributes to pollution by greenhouse gases.

That’s not all – what should be the practice

Sorting
The paper needs to be sorted, so that items such as plastic wrapping strips, paper
clips and staples should be removed. Successful recycling requires clean recovered
paper, so you must keep your paper free from contaminants, such as food, and other
trash, which make paper difficult to recycle. Unfortunately, contaminated paper
which cannot be recycled must be composted, burned for energy, or land filled.

Separation
Waste paper is divided into categories such as newspaper; typing and computer
paper; carton boxes; and magazines, which have shiny paper and coloured inks and
need special treatment. For example, newspapers and cardboard boxes cannot be
mixed together for recycling.

Different grades of paper are recycled into different types of new products. Example,
old newspapers are usually made into new newsprint, egg cartons, or paperboard.
Old corrugated boxes are made into new corrugated boxes or paperboard. High-
grade white office paper can be made into almost any new paper product—stationery,
newsprint, or paper for magazines and books.

SUMMARY

So, where do we go from here?

Observation – Many are recycling but majority are not. Look around you, on the
streets, even at home. Where do you throw a piece of paper? To get rid of it, the most
convenient way is to throw into a trash bin.

If you see any kind of “clean” paper on the floor or in the trash bin and pick them up
before it gets contaminated, keep till you find a recycle bin to throw. You would have
helped contribute in saving the environment.

The little we do now, after a period of time, we would have done much.

RECYCLING IS NOT FOR A HAND FULL OF ENVIRONMENTALIST OR A GROUP
OF CONCERN INDIVIDUAL BUT IT IS A RESPONSIBILITY OF EVERYONE WHO
IS LIVING ON PLANET EARTH. Most of the wastages are from the
corporate offices. If the young are not taught now and cultivate the habit and
concern, it will be too late when they grow up. When a good habit is form, the new
generation will be able to solve the problem this current generation is facing.

We encourage every school that is not in any recycling program to participate in our
program. We are open for schools to partially adapt our program too.

Recycling should be a lifestyle and hence there should not be a time frame to put into
a recycling program. It is our life long assignment. Thank you for taking the time to
read this. We hope to receive favorable news from your school.

Participation Form

To: Marcom Recycling Point
Fax: 6234 0176

We would like to participate in your recycling project for the schools and also to
support the using of used stationeries to reduce wastage.

Name: ________________________________________________________
School: _____________________________________________________
Address: ______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Tel: ________________________ Hp: ___________________________
Email: _____________________________________________________

We would like to contribute the following recyclables (delete where applicable):
[ ] Papers – include white, coloured/magazine, newspaper, carton boxes
[ ] Plastic – plastic bags, transparent plastic, coloured plastic, plastic bottles
[ ] Aluminum cans / CDs
[ ] Others: _________________________________________________
I need ______ numbers of bags & holders for them.
Stationeries we can reuse: _____________________________________________

Please note that used stationeries are given on a first-come first-serve basis
and subject to availability. Schedule for collection will be fixed at a later date.
Sign by:

_________________________________
Signature/Company Stamp/Date