Lesson 3 Small Things Matter
Wishful Recycling
Most people agree with the idea that recycling is an easy way to make a positive impact on the ____
It makes you feel good about ____ too.
But your efforts may sometimes be harming ____ environment instead.
How can this be? ____ it is because you might be a wishcycler.
What Is Wishcycling?
____ the following situation.
On your way home ____ school, someone hands you a piece of paper.
You glance at the shiny flyer ____ a new study café.
As you ____ about to throw it into the garbage, you decide to put it into the recycling bin instead.
You think flyers can be recycled because ____ made of paper.
What ____ happened is a case of wishcycling.
It is the act ____ trying to recycle something that should not be recycled.
Wishcycling is usually done with good intentions, but it often causes more harm than ____
Why Is It a Problem?
The biggest ____ with wishcycling is that it creates more waste.
For example, if you wishcycle ____ greasy pizza box, it can soak clean paper products with oil.
Then everything in the recycling bin will become non-recyclable and ____ up in a landfill.
Creating more waste is not the only ____ however.
Wishcycling ____ leads to costly delays.
To process recyclable items, non-recyclable items must be sorted ____ first.
The more non-recyclable items are mixed with recyclable items, ____ longer it will take to pick them out.
Wishcycled items can also damage the sorting machines, causing ____ to be temporarily shut down for repairs.
How Can We Stop Wishcycling?
With a little effort, we can put an end ____ wishcycling.
First, make sure ____ recyclables are empty, clean, and dry.
Shake out any ____ liquid from bottles and jars.
____ that, wash them out and wait for them to dry.
You also ____ to remove the labels.
Now they are ____ to be tossed in the recycling bin.
This simple process will ensure that all the items in the recycling ____ can be recycled.
Second, learn about the meanings ____ various recycling symbols.
They tell you about the material of the item ____ whether it can be recycled or not.
____ you ever seen a recycling symbol with the number “7” and the word “other” under it?
This symbol means the product is made of two different materials and will be difficult to ____
Checking the recycling symbols like this ____ help you stop wishcycling.
Third,
Third, check the recycling guidelines for your local ____
Different ____ have different rules on what can be recycled.
You can easily learn about the guidelines for your area by visiting your local government ____
You can also look for recycling posters near ____ bins.
Lastly, don’t recycle an ____ when in doubt.
Even after you check the symbols and guidelines, you might still be unsure whether it ____ recyclable.
In that case, you should put it in the ____
You might feel bad that you may be ____ away a recyclable item.
However, doing so may actually be ____ for the environment.
Take comfort in the fact that you are ____ wishcycling.
We all know that living without producing ____ is impossible.
The good news is that about 75 percent of our waste can ____ recycled when it is done properly.
This is ____ we need to stop wishcycling and start recycling.
So hop on the #stopwishcycling movement and ____ keep our planet green!