Art Beat: the art of recycling

Hi, my name is Jacob Mann. I cover the Art beat for the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.

I’d like to dedicate this week’s column to Mollie Boyer, who always made the art of recycling look fun while educating and inspiring those around her to make the most of what’s around them for a better future.

“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”

Robert Swan, Author

“Recycling is more than just a response to the environmental crisis and has assumed a symbolic role in beginning to change the nature of western societies and the culture of consumerism. Indeed many environmentalists assume that there will be an inevitable shift from our ‘throwaway’ society to a post-industrial ‘recycling’ society of the future.”

— Matthew Gandy

“While recycling is great in a lot of ways, the ultimate goal is to get people to prevent waste in the first place.”

— McKenzie Jones

“When you put the whole picture together, recycling is the right thing to do.”

— Pam Shoemaker

“We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”

— Native American Proverb

“If it can’t be reduced, reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, resold, recycled, or composted, then it should be restricted, designed or removed from production.”

— Pete Seeger,

“At its core, the issue of a clean environment is a matter of public health.”

— Gina McCarthy

“Waste does not exist in nature because ecosystems reuse everything that grows in a never-ending cycle of efficiency and purpose.”

— Frans van Houten

“There is no such thing as ‘away’. When we throw anything away it must go somewhere.”

— Annie Leonard