Editor’s note: Today’s letters to the editor are from Southwest Junior High students learning about persuasive writing.

To the editor:

As a community, I feel that we can do more to help trim down the materials that we waste. The average American produces about 4 pounds of garbage a day. We need to step up and take action on this growing problem.

We need to raise these percentages: 22 percent of glass and 5 percent of plastic products produced in the U.S. are recycled. We need to pitch in and save our environment by recycling. Recycling is very easy and almost anyone can do it. All you need is a place to store the every day things that you would normally throw away. Cardboard, plastic bags, glass containers and bottles, milk cartons, and most plastic containers are every day things that you can recycle. You can also recycle old clothes, toys, books, and other belongings by taking them to Salvation Army, Goodwill, Planet Aid boxes, or other organizations.

Theses small steps really do make a difference. Recycling one ton of garbage saves 1,000 to 2,000 gallons of gasoline each year. If we recycle one pound of steel, it saves enough energy to light a 60-watt light bulb for 26 hours.

So why not recycle? It helps the environment, it subtracts from the amount of smelly garbage bags that you have to take out to the curb, and you get that good feeling of knowing that you are helping make a difference.

Madeline Chestnut,

Southwest Junior High