Recycling Poem

Recycling Poem by Supernova-Exploding

Recycling is the third step of the plan
You all know the three Rs, you all understand
Reduce your consumption, you don't actually need
All of that crap, so curb in your greed.

Reusing is next on the agenda
Disposable products are the end of
The line for our natural resources
So for the love of our planet, don't be a horse's
ass, create less waste in the first place!

But for now we have all of these materials
Are we going to heap them in a pile like cereal
With leachate as a poisonous milk
Or if you prefer hexane-processed Silk
Meanwhile cutting down huge swathes of trees
Instead of recycling paper to meet future needs
Are we going to extract even more metal from the ground
Go look at a mine, tell me if you think that sounds
Like a good idea, from how much energy is used
From a land use, water use, pollution point of view!

The United States throws away enough iron and steel
To continuously supply all their makers of automobiles
Recycling one ton of plastic will
Save well over 16 barrels of oil
Recycling white paper uses 75% less energy
Than production that takes paper fibres' virginity
And the real star of the recycling system
Aluminum cans - not even Mike challenges this wisdom
They use 95% less energy when recycled
Than producing new cans does in the same style.

Have I convinced you yet?
Should I pull out more stats to prove recycling is best?
For those who are inclined to agree
Could somebody tell me, please

In a world of Hummers and SUVs
Hot tubs and high-def plasma TVs
Where the average American uses 600 litres of water a day
How has living green become a rich person's game?

It costs almost two hundred dollars a year
Per household to carpool recyclables here
Yes, right here in Saskatoon
Curbside recycling is a private business boom
While garbage is picked up, covered by tax
Go ahead, toss it in the dumpster out back
No upward limit, no personal expense
Toss it, ignore the landfill's immense
Crater biting deep into the Earth
The mountain of waste creating a dearth
Of land for farms, trees, people's homes
How much about landfills is publicly known?
Remember when I mentioned leachate?
A toxic soup from rain and snow on waste
Then contaminates groundwater, poisons our lakes
We're running out of room to repeat mistakes!

Those in Saskatoon who cannot afford to pay
Two hundred bucks to have their recyclables taken away
Must take them themselves to depots afar
And just how do we lug all this without a car?
As any new resident to the city will remind you
It is preposterous from an eco-conscious view
To have our only recycling system
Built on economic discrimination!