The controversy is based on the fact that Nestle gets its palm oil from the Sinar Mas company in Indonesia who destroys the natural forests in order to have room to plant the tropical palm plant. Once Nestle was convinced that the activists at Greenpeace were correct in their allegations about the forest destruction, it has dropped their association with that company. The problem has not gone away for the big corporation however, as it still buys its palm oil from Cargill, which in turn, also gets its supply from Sinar Mas.

Nestle was successful in the removal of one of Greenpeace’s videos from the popular YouTube site relating to the issue, but the video spread over the Internet, while Facebook and Twitter were soon flooded with massive messages of protest. In the beginning, Nestle’s top personnel dismissed the activity which only made things worse, resulting in the Swiss food giant receiving nearly a quarter of a million emails regarding the issue.

On April 15th at the Nestle shareholder meeting, Greenpeace protesters showed up and dropped themselves down from the ceiling, releasing a shower of leaflets on the heads of the meeting participants – sparking the fire once again. At the meeting, the Chairman for Nestle, Mr Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, had stated that that the source of deforestation is not related to his company and that Nestle is working on procedures and the implementation of a plan, to lower the amount of palm oil it buys. He instead blamed the deforestation issue on politics within Europe regarding the requirements of bio-fuel. (Palm oil is used in food, bio-fuels, and cosmetics).

While Brabeck-Lematch said that his company plans to bring about a halt concerning rainforest destruction, he did not buckle to the demands coming from Greenpeace to stop buying palm oil from Cargill. Nestle has promised that by the year 2015, the Swiss company will purchase only sustainable palm oil. But critics say that it is too little and too late.

The rainforests in Indonesia are key habitats for orangutan and carbon storage. Destroying these areas is a major contributor to Indonesia’s sky-rocketing emissions. In the 1960s, Indonesia consisted of 82 percent cover in terms of forest, but today the rainforest covers less than fifty percent of the country.

Greenpeace says it will continue to bombard Nestle until they have cleaned up their act and have removed any association they have with Cargill. In the middle of March, 2010, there were Greenpeace activists in Europe who went to Nestle offices and factories in Germany, the UK and the Netherlands, urging the company to stop using palm oil that is the result of forest destruction. Greenpeace says, and will continue to remind the world, that we need those rainforests as they play a key roll in regulating the earth’s climate and absorbing carbon dioxide. Palm oil producing companies are literally choking the environment and are the reason that Indonesia is the third largest carbon emitter next to the USA and China. Cutting down valuable rainforests is actually responsible for more carbon emissions that all of the auto mobiles and air planes in the world.

Many of the products we use are not environmentally friendly at all. A drinks can left on the street or in a gutter will stay there indefinitely. It is not biodegradable so once it is created, it will forever be. Companies have long ago found ways to reuse these products so that they are not polluting our beautiful Earth. The problem happens when people don’t take the items to be recycled and instead just toss them out or throw them in the garbage to sit in the landfill forever and ever.

Recycling is a major contributor to the solution of global garbage. It works, but only if you participate. You can lead a horse to water and so forth. The responsibility belongs to all of us, as citizens of the world, but it begins with you and your family.

The number of items in the store made from recycled materials is growing. Our shelves could be filled with more of these things if everyone does their part to help. Most towns and cities provide recycling containers for residents to use. It could be a small bin or a large trash can.

If you don’t have such as service in your area, buy your own trash can or other supplies to gather your recyclables together. You can schedule a pickup or take them to the appropriate recycling plant for processing once a week or month; whatever time frame fits your schedule. The point is to do it! You can even make a little money collecting aluminium cans or returning glass soda bottles for deposits.

Begin with city sanitation. Whoever picks up your recycled products should have literature on how to package your recyclables. Cardboard is typically broken down and tied together. Old newspapers are tied together in bundles much like they are delivered to newsstands. Bottles are grouped together based on the number on the bottom or the label.

Have separate recycling bins for the waste in the house. Mark them clearly so no one gets confused. If kids want to make money, let them collect cans from neighbours.

Get in the habit of breaking down boxes after you use them. This includes cereal boxes, tooth paste boxes, gift boxes, and the like, not just heavy duty cardboard. All of these paper products can be used for recycling.

Envelopes and old bills can be recycled, too. To protect your information, shred them first and then bag the shreds for recycling pickup. Most of us just toss out these envelopes in the regular rubbish but recycled envelopes can be put to better use.

Recycling saves on pollution and landfill space. If we can continue to reuse some items, why not do it? I personally can’t think of a reason not to. Can you?