Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
They are in order for a reason.
First, we reduce what we take.
Then we reuse what we have.
Last, we recycle what we cannot use anymore.
But there are really more steps.
First, we remove. More than reducing what we use, we simply use none. Don't buy from what you don't need. Just don't have. The mentality really is a return to a neolithic era. Some are rather against. Some are for. I am not asking everyone give up their cars and pills and computers and junk. Just the junk that you do not need or do not use and this is different for everyone.
Reduce: get high-efficiency bulbs and appliances. Use natural light and heat. Put on a sweater. All that jazz. Print double sided. Steam instead of boil. Walk instead of drive (although this could be upgraded to Remove for the strong-willed).
Reuse what you can. drink out of food containers and use them as Tupperware. Be creative. Everything has a different way to be reused.
Recycling. The most popular. Throw all that stuff that you cannot reuse anymore into a bin for someone to make into something use-able again. Plastic melted back down into plastic.
Repurpose. When the quality of a material is so depleted that it cannot be recycled into what it once was, re-purpose it into something else. It may not be that useful. It may not be reusable again afterward. A great example is glass being used to layer landfills. It is being used. This stuff that would otherwise be utter waste. But: it still has a job. In the landfill it may be, but it has a job there. It's better than nothing.
Regift. This could be added. Giving to the Goodwill or what-have-you. It is, as far as environmental stewardship goes, not as good as using it yourself. Because it might just be thrown away. The store might have to because they are over-flowing, or its new owner might because they just don't care. But it is better than you throwing it away now.
They are in order for a reason.
First, we reduce what we take.
Then we reuse what we have.
Last, we recycle what we cannot use anymore.
But there are really more steps.
First, we remove. More than reducing what we use, we simply use none. Don't buy from what you don't need. Just don't have. The mentality really is a return to a neolithic era. Some are rather against. Some are for. I am not asking everyone give up their cars and pills and computers and junk. Just the junk that you do not need or do not use and this is different for everyone.
Reduce: get high-efficiency bulbs and appliances. Use natural light and heat. Put on a sweater. All that jazz. Print double sided. Steam instead of boil. Walk instead of drive (although this could be upgraded to Remove for the strong-willed).
Reuse what you can. drink out of food containers and use them as Tupperware. Be creative. Everything has a different way to be reused.
Recycling. The most popular. Throw all that stuff that you cannot reuse anymore into a bin for someone to make into something use-able again. Plastic melted back down into plastic.
Repurpose. When the quality of a material is so depleted that it cannot be recycled into what it once was, re-purpose it into something else. It may not be that useful. It may not be reusable again afterward. A great example is glass being used to layer landfills. It is being used. This stuff that would otherwise be utter waste. But: it still has a job. In the landfill it may be, but it has a job there. It's better than nothing.
Regift. This could be added. Giving to the Goodwill or what-have-you. It is, as far as environmental stewardship goes, not as good as using it yourself. Because it might just be thrown away. The store might have to because they are over-flowing, or its new owner might because they just don't care. But it is better than you throwing it away now.
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