We've all heard the mantra,
"Reduce, reuse and recycle." You
may wonder what it means or how
to incorporate these principles into
your daily life. It's not as
complicated as you may think - the
"three Rs" all complement each other
and together create a system that
can shrink your household's carbon
footprint.
Reduce
The most essential way to reduce
waste is to avoid creating it in the
first place. Unfortunately, current
consumer behavior is trending in
the wrong direction. According the
the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, each person created 2.7
pounds of waste each day in 1960.
Today that number is 4.3 pounds.
(See References 2) Some companies,
however, are getting more efficient
with their product packaging to save
resources. Plastic 2-liter soft drink
bottles are one example.
Manufacturers have reduced the
weight of the plastic used in these
bottles by 0.6 ounces over the last 30
years. While this may seem
insignificant, it keeps 250 million
pounds of plastic from becoming
part of the waste stream. Likewise, consumers can reduce simply by cutting back and making small changes. Cutting back on water and energy use at home is a good place to start. When making a purchase, look for durable products that will last a long time,rather than something that might need to be replaced quickly.
Reuse
Reuse refers to several things. It can
mean investing in items that can be
reused - for example, using cloth
tote bags when you shop instead of
asking for plastic bags, or buying
reusable food containers, such as a
thermal coffee mug or a reusable
water bottle.It also means looking for ways to repurpose discarded items,
especially those that cannot be
recycled and will end up sitting in a
landfill for centuries. Consider
repairing an item rather than
throwing it out. If you're upgrading
an appliance or gadget, see if you
can donate the old one to someone
who can use it. If a product has
served its purpose, look for
alternative uses. For example, clean
used jars can be used to store
leftovers or odds and ends.
Recycle
Recycling also keeps usable
materials out of the landfill. objects
that might be considered waste are
turned back into raw materials that
can be used in the manufacture of
other items. Recycling consists of
three basic steps. The first step is
collection and processing.
Communities handle this in various
ways. For example, some may offer
curbside recycling, while others may
have central drop-off facilities. The
recyclables are then sorted, cleaned
and turned into marketable raw
materials - for example, paper is
turned into pulp and plastics are
melted down. Step two consists of
manufacturing the recycled
materials into new products. Step
three occurs when consumers
purchase recycled products. This
completes the recycling loop. As a consumer, you can participate by properly recycling as much waste as possible, and by looking for products that contain recycled content. Often, products will tout this as a selling point.