Helping our common home with simple selections

By Katie Shipka

Ohio certified volunteer naturalist

Trash, estimated at 250 million tons annually, damages our environment, and will continue to do so if we, as individuals, continue to ignore our personal responsibility to help prevent it.

It’s easy. Some simple changes in your daily routine can help make a big difference.

Here are three ways everyone can participate in a small way to be good stewards for this place we call home.

As festive and colorful helium balloons are, they are also a hazard for wildlife. Most balloons are made of latex, which is biodegradable, but they are unfortunately treated with preservatives to prevent decomposition. Mylar balloons are even more environmentally unfriendly as they are made of metallic foil and do not decompose. These balloons are released for many reasons, and even though they do look lovely floating into the air, what goes up must come down to Earth. Somewhere, far away, a colorful balloon will catch the attention of a wild animal who mistakes it for food, causing intestinal blockage, which eventually leads to death. The attached string or ribbon on the balloon can cause birds to become tangled, unable to free themselves, eventually dying slowly or becoming easy prey.

Much of our trash can be avoided by recycling, which fortunately has become more common. The plastic fashioned into rings to tie beverage cans and bottles together can be hazardous to wildlife. Even recycled, they can escape from the truck or bin and become dangerous to any animal that might place its head through the ring, unable to escape. A duck, goose or small mammal could be unable to free itself and the ring could catch on vegetation, making the animal easy prey or starving it to death. If you do purchase cans or bottles secured with this plastic-ring contraption, cut each circle so no complete circle remains, and only then recycle it. This is such a small thing to do that takes so little time and helps so much.

Plastic straws have been getting a lot of press lately, and for good reason. Millions of straws are used daily for probably 20-30 minutes and thrown out to eventually end up in our landfills, rivers and oceans. We never think of the consequences, but most of us have probably seen what happens when a shorebird, turtle or marine animal tries to swallow a plastic straw, only to suffer and die. Straws are unnecessary. One argument is that a person does not want to place his/her mouth on a glass – but they think nothing of drinking coffee or tea from a cup or mug. My husband and I refuse to use straws, and I’m hoping many more people will join us and refuse to use all straws in the future.

Plastic, whether in the form of balloons, plastic rings or straws creates problems for plants, wildlife and humans. Because of its toxic ingredients and its durability, it is not biodegradable. If everyone would try to become a better steward of our environment and learn to properly dispose of these items or live without them altogether, we could improve, in a small way, the place we call home.

To learn about local options for recycling, contact the Mahoning County Green Team. For tips on recycling in Ohio, visit go.osu.edu/ohiorecycles.