The earth’s temperature is getting warmer at a significant rate. What does this mean for you? An increase in natural disasters, flooding, tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, drought and forest fires. By participating in WeLoveU’s Clean Action Campaign, you can help reduce the warming of the planet’s temperature by practicing sustainable habits.

Each month there is a new challenge on how to integrate more sustainable habits into your life. This month, there is the recycling challenge. The challenge is to separate recyclables like paper, plastic and aluminum from waste materials and discard them properly. 

There are many different materials that are able to be recycled that may be mistaken as trash. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mentions some common examples are pizza boxes, takeout containers, books, plastic bags and even glass. 

Some things you can do at College of DuPage (COD) is separate paper from plastic in different containers. Same thing goes for aluminum as well. COD has recycling bins all throughout campus, many of them labeled with which material the bin is recycling. Most times, it’ll be for cans.

More specific information on how to properly organize recyclable materials: How Do I Recycle?: Common Recyclables | US EPA

According to the WeLoveU Foundation, by recycling for one month there is a potential to reduce 16 pounds of carbon emissions, which is equivalent to planting almost 1.5 trees.  Also according to the EPA, through recycling it reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators. It conserves natural resources, increases economic security, prevents pollution, saves energy and helps create jobs.

Another way to integrate more sustainable habits is to use a reusable water bottle instead of plastic. College of DuPage has refill water stations planted all throughout the campus in main areas. However, if you do use a plastic water bottle, recycle it and take a picture!

The way to participate is to take a photo of yourself recycling and posting it to Instagram using the hashtags, #Recycling #CleanAction #WeLoveU. When posting, you include your country name and a few words about how you feel participating in the challenge. Alternatively, email the photo and caption to [email protected]. By participating, you not only help out the earth, but can also be featured on WeLoveU’s Instagram.

For additional information about the monthly Clean Action Challenges: weloveuusa.org