From the Editor China has stopped taking our recycling in retaliation to the tariff wars. The ocean is full of micro-particles of plastic that are being consumed by animals, which are, in turn, then consumed by humans. These are just a few of the stories gaining traction in the media lately. As with so much of the information coming out of news outlets, sometimes these stories leave us with more questions than answers. At this point, we just don’t know enough about the harmful effects of consuming plastic particles, though most scientists agree there is cause for concern. Apparently, we even breathe them. With the spiking production of plastic and, therefore, plastic waste, the environmental and health effects are being studied. Regardless of the outcome of those studies, I think most of us agree that we don’t want to be surrounded by heaps of smelly and potentially harmful garbage. If you live on the south side of Rapid City, you know that with certain wind directions, you can smell the dump. Imagine if that was all the time and for all of us. The fact is that single-use plastic (which can take up to 450 years to decompose) is accumulating at a high rate; not enough of us are recycling and those of us who are recycling are probably not doing it properly. So, we’ve created a cheat sheet to help you recycle better. Cut it out and put it on your refrigerator. And of course, while recycling is important, if you can reduce the amount of waste you produce, particularly single-use plastic, that’s even better. If the option is there, choose bio-degradable materials. I promise, once you get used to making simple changes like bringing your own shopping bags, you’ll lose sight of the small inconvenience you feel in the beginning. Even at Tout Advertising, we try to practice what we preach by recycling all of our retrieved magazines amd boxes. We also partner with a printer who participates in meaningful reforestation efforts. Let’s all do our part to keep the Black Hills beautiful and garbage free.
Tracy Bernard 8
From the Editor
