BECKLEY — Bryanna Davis, a sixth-grader who attends St. Francis de Sales, submitted the winning entry during the 2010 America Recycles Day essay contest sponsored by the Recycling Coalition of West Virginia.

From 5,000 entries received, Davis was selected the state winner in the fourth through sixth grade classification.

She received $150, which entitled her teacher, Patrice Bobbin, to receive a $200 gift card to Staples for classroom supplies.



To RECYCLE



By Bryanna Davis



To recycle is to use again in the original form or with minimal alteration. I think if we recycle more, we would have less waste, the world would look as beautiful as it is supposed to.

One issue of importance is carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that is a major contributor to global warming. It is a colorless, odorless, incombustible gas. It is also known as CO2. The making of certain products releases a lot more carbon dioxide than recycling would. Cans are the best example of this.

Manufacturing new aluminum goods produces 95 percent more carbon dioxide than recycling old aluminum objects. One big reason why we recycle paper is that for each ton of paper that is recycled 15 trees are saved from being cut down. Trees use up carbon dioxide from atmosphere to make food through the process of photosynthesis. It is estimated that one tree absorbs almost 250 pounds of carbon dioxide each year.

Another reason why you should recycle is that it saves energy. Recycling most of the products that we use involves a much lesser amount of energy than making them new. For example, recycling paper saves almost 65 percent of energy than making new sheets of paper.

A lot of gaseous waste is expelled every day by industry. Factories and industries manufacturing items made from plastic and metals release large amounts of toxic gases. Population demands for these goods also keep rising. If we do not recycle these objects, then we have to set up new industries to manufacture these goods. This means more air pollution.

I personally think we should all recycle because I do not want our future to be ruined. I could not imagine there being trash everywhere, air pollution, nothing on earth, not even water. We could not let that happen to our planet. Also, we don’t recycle much. We are getting in the habit, like me, but some people don’t have time enough to care.

I love our planet and don’t want it to be destroyed, because people don’t take the time to think about the earth, or what will happen to them. Recycling is important. Sometimes I think it’s fun because I feel like I’m doing something good for the world. But it is a lot of work. However, I think we are all worth it.