To the editor:

Pollution is a big deal. So, why don’t we treat it like one? Pollution hurts wildlife and the people who share their home. A possible solution to this growing threat is recycling. Recycling is when we reuse trash to make new products out of old ones.

An average American produces about 4 pounds of garbage each day. That means that one person is producing 1,460 pounds of trash a year! That’s a hefty amount of trash for a single person. In one day, America will produce around 200 million tons of garbage! Less than one-fourth of America’s trash is recycled. Think about it, 200 million tons in one day! That’s the equivalent of 100,000 average U.S. cars.

Some people think that it actually takes more energy and pollutes the air worse to recycle than to make a new product. When recycling was new, that was true, but now technology has advanced to be less harmful to the local wildlife. Also recycling plants have been built closer to the public.

The best way, in my opinion, to get people to recycle is to give them many opportunities to do so. I think that Lawrence’s main street should have a recycle bin next to every trash can. Additionally there should be a recycling service that comes and picks up your recyclable items for a small charge. This may not look like much at first, but it will grow into something big.