Rhythm is a pattern that repeats. From the gentle ebb and flow of the
tides, to the daily bustle of commuters shuttling in and out of cities, to the bouncing of a basketball, to the beating of a drum,
to the balance of work and play, to the oscillation of life and death in everything from amoebas to
empires--the awesome power of rhythm gives shape to our lives and has captured the attention of Junkyard Symphony since our creation in 1992. Rhythm is everywhere. It surrounds us. It drives us.
It's at the very center of our being; the beating of our hearts gives us life. When we drum, we
give life back to our hearts.
Feeling the connection to the rhythm of life that
comes when you drum is Junkyard Symphony's passion. It is this sense of connection that drives us to investigate
the ways humans can better harmonize their own patterns of production, consumption and waste
disposal with the naturally occurring recycling patterns of the Earth. Think of our Earth as playing a song
with wonderful rhythms. Environmental degradation occurs when our rhythms don't fit with those of the Earth.
Being environmentally friendly isn't just a way of life, it's
a way for life. Our planet depends on us just as much as we depend on it, so let's find rhythms that work.
Here is a list of some everyday rhythms that you can do to help our planet.
Play along...it's fun, and let's give life back to the Earth! |

Recycling Knowledge
Learn what items can be recycled. Putting things in the box that don't belong there only make
the job more diffuclt and costly. Also there may be some items that you are tossing in the
garbage that you can be putting the recycle box. You can search your city's wibsite to find the answers.
Visit these thinks:
City of Ottawa Recyling
Blueboxmore.ca
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Recycle Cooler
Keep a small cooler in your vehicle. You can use this as a recycle bin to collect all your recyclables
when you are away from home. Often when you are out and about the town there are plenty of garbage bins but no recycle boxes, so
keeping a recycle cooler in your vehicle will allow you to bring items home to recycle. A cooler is better
than a box because it keeps the items out of sight, holds in the smell, and doubles as a drink holder.
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Enviro-Bag
Keep reusable enviro-bags in your vehicle for when you are out shopping. The enviro-bags are stronger
and hold more than the plastic bags that vendors give out, plus they prevent all those plastic bags
from ending up in the landfill. They have many other uses like keeping your dirty laundry separate from the clean
clothes in your suitcase when you are away on trips. Many stores like Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire and Loblaws sell these bags.
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Garbage-Grouping
Instead of placing your garbage and reyclables on their own and the end of your driveway, group your garbage and recyclables
together with your neighbors, so that the garbage truck makes one stop instead of two or three. This way the garbage truck
will use less gas and the route will take less time which cuts down on your taxes.
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Save Gas
If you are not in a rush, drive 85. Your vehicle will consume less gas if you drive 85km/hr rather than 100km/hr or more.
You can do this on highways where there are several lanes, just move into the slow lane and let the gas guzzlers
pass by. Drving slower also reduces your risk of a serious accident. On highways with one lane however, it is safer
to speed up and move with the flow of traffic. Gas guzzlers can get upset easily.
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Through with Drive-Thru
Get off your keester and go into the restaurant. Idling cars waiting in the drive-thru spew
green house gases into the atmosphere contributing to global warming. Often times there is a bigger line-up for the drive-thru than
there is inside. Besides, it's not healthy to eat in a rush, and dangerous to eat while driving.
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More Stay-In, Less Take-Out
Our take-out habits create lots of garbage. Chose restaurants where food is served on dishes rather than take-out containers. If you
must take take-out, then chose restaurants that have recyclable take-out containers. If they don't have a recycle bin
to recycle their containers, bring them back to your vehicle recycle cooler.
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Reusable Coffee Mugs
Bring your reusable coffee mugs to the coffee shop and eliminate the need for a take out cup.
Reusable mugs have great insulation, and are easier on the
hands when dealing with hot coffee. Often you will see coffee shops double up the cups to prevent you from getting
burned. It's a nice thought, but very wasteful.
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Don't Litter!
This one's a no brainer, yet for some reason roadside trash is found everywhere! Yuck!
Please keep your trash in your car until you get home or come to a gas station. Every gas
station is equiped with a trash can. Tossing trash by the roadside only makes your taxes
go higher to pay clean-up crews. Also, properly secure loads on your vehicle so they don't fall off!
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Walk for Waste.
Go for a walk and bring a waste bag with you. If you see some waste, pick it up and take
it home to your recycle bin or trash can. The karma points for each piece of waste you pick
up is huge, and will bring you great luck for the rest of the week, plus going for a walk is healthy,
mentally and physically. In Star Wars they talk about a power called 'the force'.
Its is real, and created by the good things that you do. May the Force be with you.
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