The NEW 3R’s

Well, actually it's 4R's and a Last Resort, but most familiar to us are: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle... and then Recover

This phrase has become part of our common language, and there is a reason the words are listed in this order.

Reduce:

This is the best option, because anything we don’t use will not need to be discarded. It’s easy to understand but may take some thought to implement. Grocery bags are one example – by taking reusable bags every time we shop we avoid adding to the mountains of plastic bags dumped into the waste stream. We can do even better by taking our own bags when we shop for other items as well. Book stores, clothing stores, toy stores will all put purchases in plastic bags unless we ask them to use the ones we bring.

Reuse:

Items that were created for one purpose may be kept out of the waste stream by reusing them for something else. Some food products come in containers that can be used for other things. Used clothing and books can be donated. It might be possible to repair some items instead of discarding them. Schools and youth organizations often need materials for craft projects. You might also want to investigate some of the “freecycle” websites that allow individuals to give away items they no longer want, or find things no longer useful to someone else.

Recycle:

When there is no further use for an item it may be possible to recycle it, so that the material it’s made of still does not clog our landfills. Purchasing items made from recycled materials helps too. Clicking on this link will take you to an explanation of what can be recycled. Composting is another form of recycling.

Recover:

This is a fourth “R” that we don’t discuss as often. Some companies are able to extract energy from waste materials, further reducing the amount left over.

The last step of all is Landfill. If we think carefully and creatively we should be able to send a much, much smaller quantity of waste material here.

Are You A “Waste Generator?”

We all are, but there are ways to make “less mess.” Check out these websites:

Environmental Protection Agency www.epa.gov/waste/conserve/rrr/recycle.htm

Earth 911 www.earth911.org

Department of Energy/EPA www.energystar.gov