I've given myself a great gift this year; call it a field trip, if you like, but I took myself to my town's landfill and had my eyes opened for the first time. Maybe the concept of someone reaching their 40s and still not being contentious of recycling is one that sounds far-fetched, well, it's the truth. I didn't grow up imagining the Earth covered in over-flowing landfills, piles and piles of garbage as high as the tallest building that was not my experience. But because the idea of leaving too much waste for the Earth to handle is a bitter reality today, I've begun to educate myself.

Seeing, with my own eyes, the area designated for my community's left overs was like a big slap of reality. I was finally able to comprehend the thought; "if I'm not the only one throwing things away carelessly, and if others are doing it too, this space will not last too long."

Grab some kids, or some elders and take yourself on a field trip that may very well, do for you what it did for me; make the changes necessary for me to see what the reality of our situation is and change the way I do things.

Let's keep the environment safe from harmful chemicals

Think about recycling and maybe the first thing to pop into your head isn't damage that's done to the earth when we use products with harmful chemicals, but that's part of the cycle, too. As well as reducing waste, recycling products and reusing what can be reused, protecting the earth from harm is all a part of the same cause.

Many chemicals are unable to breakdown after they have been used and may make their ways into the streams and have a disastrous affect on any forms of life that inhabit the stream. It will only take a little effort on the part of consumers to prevent something like this from happening, but we must start somewhere.

How to prevent the excess

Be aware of the items you purchase and how they are packaged. Some manufacturers use layers of wrapping that will just get tossed into the trash because there isn't another use for it. Try not to purchase such items. Do a little looking, a little digging, a little research and find items that have less packaging and stick to only buying them. I believe the manufacturers will get the hint when consumers start paying attention to the waste one product makes and opt for its competitor.

If you have to buy something that has an excess of packaging, stretch your mind a little and figure out what you can use that excess for and then put it to good use.