Wastewater Treatment and Water Recycling

Our waterways are the lifeline of the earth and our oceans are the heart at which these ways meet. Much like we have to watch the fuel we put in our bodies, the same can be said about our water cycle. Our water cycle, though, cannot pick and choose the items that enter its environment. It must rely on its caretakers. But who might these caretakers be? Us, of course. Water provides so much for us and its care comes second to convenient dumping. Islands of trash float in our oceans; entire ecosystems decimated by the idea of the mighty dollar. But there’s still hope. I have come up with 3 ways that you give back to our waterways:

  1. Buying a reusable water bottle
    1. One of the most common pieces of trash floating in our oceans is plastic. Plastic is one of many pollutants that take decades to decompose and can be harmful to the wildlife that calls the water home. The Recycling Coalition of Utah put out a statistic on how much our bad habits affect our waterways. America alone “throws away 35 billion plastic bottles each year.” They go on to state that with all these bottles we could circle the Earth 4 times. This means that the average person goes through 107 water bottles each year. With this simple solution, we could drastically decrease this number if not bring it down to merely 1 thereby reducing the amount of plastic that enter our rivers and oceans. Reusable water bottles range in price and completely depend on how much you want to spend on them
  2. Buying locally
    • Some of you may be thinking- “how can my grocery affect the pollution of our waterways?” It’s quite simple, actually. You see, large farming corporations use extensive amounts of fertilizers to help produce large amounts of vegetation to meet public demand. What happens when the fields have had their fill of fertilizer? The excess finds its way into our waterways when it rains. This outcome can possess a threat to entire ecosystems. When waterways receive large amounts of fertilizer it can deprive the water of oxygen, killing most animals that live there. How does buying local play into all of this? Local farms typical use a more modest amount of fertilizer or support organic farms. These farmers are usually found at local farmers markets, which can be a great social event and an excellent place to buy high-quality foods.
  3. Get involved
    • Our waterways don’t have a voice of their own and it’s up to us to be that voice. Don’t support policies that aid industries dumping habits. Invest some time in cleaning your local bodies of water. What may seem minuscule and pointless may be a world of difference for the creatures in your area. If everyone invested just a small portion of their time, the world would be changed for the better.  It’s up to us to be that change. We are the next generation that will ultimately decide the fate of our world. Don’t wait until the last minute. Invest a little now so it will not be a problem in the future.

Recycle ▶ The Facts: Plastic, utahrecycles.org/get-the-facts/the-facts-plastic/.

Research by: Tony Nelson

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