Hey Yamile, I think that if I were to find gift cards, I would probably ask the store if there is any way on contacting the owners of it. If there is nothing that can be done, then I would most likely use them on things for my family on for myself. But if it were cash alone, I would probably keep it, unless someone came up to me and asked for it saying it was theirs.

Dear yamile, I am very interested in your post about “finders keepers” because I feel like these types of situations are an everyday thing. I think that If i were to be in this situation I would not spend the money at all because I would feel guilty for some reason.

I would feel guilty because while that other person is hoping to find their card, I would just be wasting their money so that is why I would not use that card. But in reality if nothing can be done to give the card to the owner then I would use it for only emergencies for family not to spend for myself. Thank you for writing about this and for sharing this little story with us, I look forward to seeing more of your posts in the future.I like how you give a brief summary and make it sound very interesting.
Dulce C

Dear Yamile,
I have found your post very interesting. All this time, I have been doing my part and recycling to better the environment, but now you are telling me that I am actually doing more harm than good? Even though this was surprising to me, I agree with you that we should stop using recyclable water bottles and start using reusable water bottles. It will be hard to eliminate all plastic products, but it is a good start. Thank you for bringing awareness and giving some solutions to this problem. I look forward to reading about more ways that we can avoid plastics from ending up in the ocean.

Dear Yamile:

I am interested and in agreement of the value of your post “What Happens to the Plastic that we Recycle into Blue Bins?” because I think of this often as well. I have seen commercials of how straws, plastic lids, and other plastics get bundled up, and shipped to other countries, not being recycled at all, OR finding their way into our oceans as a result of slipping through recycled processing machines. It makes me feel defeated when I am trying to do the right thing!

One sentence you wrote that stands out for me is: “Instead of constantly purchasing plastic water bottles, buy a reusable water bottle instead of plastic. With a reusable water bottle, you can just refill it whenever you want and you are helping reduce the amount of plastic being thrown out.” I think this is correct because this reduces the amount of material we are putting into the earth, This is my question, I am afraid of where to get the water, to insure it is as clean as the bottled water I am purchasing (how do I really know the bottled water is exceptional as well?) SO I am thinking, it is probably the best move to purchase a filter for my faucet, would you agree?
Another sentence (actually questions) that reached out to me was: “So what’s the point of recycling?.” This stood out for me because I think until more people in the community realize the value of recycling AND making sue the items are being recycled, then things will not change.

Have you seen this video on a plastic shredder? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9OuNUuVbdI   I obtained this idea from this idea found here:    I thought you might be interested in this because I have been entertaining the idea of obtaining a shredder to shred the plastics that cannot be recycled. Then I would like to move onto the step of turning those shredded bits into useful items. I am stuck. I need to find a place that can help me obtain or build a plastic shredder to provide this service.  I am still working on that first step.  

Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next because this topic is important and valuable to the world around us. AND I do believe ideas like this can cause new initiatives and opportunities for youth to create businesses and see how an idea can benefit the world around us – through first ideas, then action.