2008 Woodie Awards
Public education on recycling essential for all Americans
Tomi M. Parrish
Issue date: 2/13/07 Section: Viewpoints
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My brother and his family came home to Martin for Christmas.
Culture shock quickly followed.
While many people travel during the winter holidays, my brother's family traveled halfway around the world - from Taiwan, where they have lived for a mere six months. One might think six months isn't really a long time, but apparently it's long enough for a family of five to become so entrenched in another culture that their native culture suddenly seems strange.
The biggest shock for my relatives centered upon our trash - recycling is not religiously practiced in my home or in my parents' homes. Recycling, however, is federally mandated on the island of Taiwan, so my relatives all had difficulty throwing things away.
My oldest nephew, Michael, complained constantly about our "disdain" for the environment. He preached the recycling gospel, we discussed global warming and other "green" issues, and I tried to explain to him that, even if we separated our trash, I knew of no recycling center nearby that would take it. Michael is only 13, but he was aghast at the lack of resources we have. Keep in mind that he spent part of his life in Dickson, but the bulk of his life has been lived in Philadelphia and now in Taiwan.
This experience with my family piqued my curiosity, so I went online and searched for international recycling laws. I didn't find a handy-dandy complete list of countries that mandate recycling, but I did find lots of information on various initiatives occurring around the globe, particularly among Asian nations such as Taiwan and Hong Kong.
I found www.zerowasteamerica.org, which touts a federal waste management plan for the United States and offers many ideas for people to use at home to control the amount of trash they're producing.
At UTM, our greek community is sponsoring a recycling initiative during Greek Week activities Feb. 19-25. During that week, greek organizations can earn points by collecting recyclable goods and dropping them off by 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23, at the Recycling Pavilion behind the Agriculture Building or in front of the National Guard building.
Culture shock quickly followed.
While many people travel during the winter holidays, my brother's family traveled halfway around the world - from Taiwan, where they have lived for a mere six months. One might think six months isn't really a long time, but apparently it's long enough for a family of five to become so entrenched in another culture that their native culture suddenly seems strange.
The biggest shock for my relatives centered upon our trash - recycling is not religiously practiced in my home or in my parents' homes. Recycling, however, is federally mandated on the island of Taiwan, so my relatives all had difficulty throwing things away.
My oldest nephew, Michael, complained constantly about our "disdain" for the environment. He preached the recycling gospel, we discussed global warming and other "green" issues, and I tried to explain to him that, even if we separated our trash, I knew of no recycling center nearby that would take it. Michael is only 13, but he was aghast at the lack of resources we have. Keep in mind that he spent part of his life in Dickson, but the bulk of his life has been lived in Philadelphia and now in Taiwan.
This experience with my family piqued my curiosity, so I went online and searched for international recycling laws. I didn't find a handy-dandy complete list of countries that mandate recycling, but I did find lots of information on various initiatives occurring around the globe, particularly among Asian nations such as Taiwan and Hong Kong.
I found www.zerowasteamerica.org, which touts a federal waste management plan for the United States and offers many ideas for people to use at home to control the amount of trash they're producing.
At UTM, our greek community is sponsoring a recycling initiative during Greek Week activities Feb. 19-25. During that week, greek organizations can earn points by collecting recyclable goods and dropping them off by 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23, at the Recycling Pavilion behind the Agriculture Building or in front of the National Guard building.
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