Recycling for Cycling

Vital Stats

Muktha N

Athens, GA

people helped1000
People Doing It 30

The Problem

Our dependence on high emissions transportation has caused climate change and severe health problems in our society and around the globe. Small cities, such as Athens, GA, are particularly affected by motor vehicles because there is very little use of or education about alternative forms of transportation. Part of the problem is lifestyle and behavior. Most people depend on cars to go short distances within town, but if just 10% of students living within two miles of school used alternative transportation, such as biking instead of driving, it would save 2 million miles of driving per day, preventing 200,000 tons of harmful greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere. It has been proven that the environmental degradation caused by overconsumption in the western world and in quickly developing nations affects those in developing countries more than anyone else. With over 25% of the population living below $1 a day, the collective and individual voices of Namibians often fall silent on the ears of the global community. Looking at these figures, I have realized that the way to promote sustainable lifestyles worldwide and protect both our precious environmental resources and the health of our global population is through innovative educational and incentivizing campaigns.

Plan of Action

Our plan is to purchase these PVC bracelets and bring them to the U.S. The impact of bringing these bracelets to the United States is through demonstrating to Americans the viability of a product and business model based on recycling, open the eyes of consumers to the entire life-cycle of the products they buy, give American consumers direct involvement in the climate change movement, and provide education & incentives to keep them involved in a lifestyle that avoids wasteful practices. Through B.E.N. we can support an alternative transportation form, our goal is to encourage lifestyle changes in our community and the Namibian community that will benefit the planet. Everyone must know the way to a clean energy future is to change our detrimental habits to ones that benefit both the environment and our health. Participants will gain knowledge on the ease and accessibility of alternative transportation and the negative effects of landfill crowding.