Green Living: the Three Rs Again
The phrase may sound like such a cliche by now that it makes you want to tear your hair out: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Yet sometimes it really is the fairly small, relatively simple things that can make a huge difference in the fight against global warming, especially when large numbers of people do those things. And keep in mind that the reason that trio of words has been repeated so often is that those three instructions really work. They don’t appear to work directly against global warming as such, having more to do with landfills and garbage, but waste management, too, creates large carbon emissions when it has to be handled on a large scale.
So let’s examine the three of them to see how you can make changes to help reduce waste. That, in fact, is the very first instruction: Reduce. There are many small things you can do, that will add up very quickly. You can look for products that have less packaging, so you have less to throw away afterward. You can buy “economy” sizes of things rather than single-use sizes, bring your own bags when you shop, or get things like flour, sugar, nuts, or even cereal from large bulk bins rather than in boxes. And you can take your own dishes and utensils to work so you don’t waste plastic spoons or Styrofoam cups.
The two other instructions, Reuse and Recycle, are both methods that further help you Reduce. When it comes to reusing things, the creative ideas are literally endless, and you can find a multitude of them by searching the internet. Using old pillows as pet beds, using the wax paper inserts from cereal boxes to wrap pies for the freezer, starting plants in egg cartons, turning old bedding or sheets into gift bags or shoe bags, using paper tubes to store extension cords, the list could go on and on and on. The amount of reuse you get from things you would otherwise throw away is limited only by your own imagination.
Not that you can reuse absolutely everything. Since you keep buying things, you’re eventually going to have more of some things than you can possibly find a new use for, and there is only so much room in your home. But this is where the third word in the trio comes in: Recycle. Once you have set all your extension cords into cardboard tubes from toilet rolls, you recycle the tubes from all the rolls after that. Make constant use of your blue box, and get rid of envelopes, newspapers, wrapping, cardboard boxes, plastic containers, jars, cans, and so on.
Remember that another element of recycling is composting, so check to see if your building or your neighborhood have a composting program you can contribute to. If you have a garden, invest in a compost bin and learn to make it for yourself. And you can reduce (there’s that word again) how much organic waste you produce by planning your meals so that you use up what’s in your fridge, and don’t throw away so much to begin with.
They really are a cliche: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. But cliches usually start somewhere, and this one began because these three words are astonishingly powerful. If you learn to practice all three, you’ll be very surprised at how little real garbage, ultimately, you produce. This will contribute to a cleaner planet, and be one more element in the fight against global warming.
