5 Tips For Recycling and Reusing Items
The Total Program of Recycling
Society must remember to focus on the three parts of the cycle we just call recycling. Recycling is a total program that encompasses th0se 3 R’s. Even people diligent about sending items out for recycling, the last step in the cycle, need to understand the importance of all three steps in the process. If we want to list the Top Five Recycling ideas they should be ideas that involve all three parts of the cycle.
Total Cycle Solutions the Best Recycling
An example of total recycling is as follows. Instead of repeatedly purchasing drinking water in disposable plastic bottles we should buy water filters and use city-water, keeping it reusable containers. That way we have REDUCED our use of plastic, REUSED to container that holds our filtered water and RECYCLE that at the end to start the cycle all over again. Biodegradable filters can be added to a compost piles.
Top Five Ways to Reduce
We need to find ways to reduce the amount of consumables we use. We do that by being smart shoppers and favoring products and services that are green and well designed so that they do not waste. If we favor wasteful products and services we negate our efforts in total.
• Reduce paper use at home and office by making sure we use both sides of the paper
• Reduce paper use when shopping by bringing a cloth bag or sack to carry groceries home.
• Reduce our use of carbon fuels by car pooling or taking mass rapid transit systems
• Reduce use of carbon fuels by using commercial transportation instead of private jets.
• Reduce use of electricity through increased use of solar lighting and power.
Top Five Ways to Reuse Items
Getting the most out of every product we buy is called reusing, and in many cases reuse can be done even before items are recycled. Reusing does not mean just throwing things in the trash.
• Reuse paper we previously ensured was used on both sides by donating used paper to schools for arts and crafts use. Some items can be reused repeatedly in a different matter each time one use is completed.
• The water bottle we used with the water filter is an example of reuse of materials
• Even waste can be reused when we have a compost pile for the garden.
• Some things used in the kitchen are fertilizers for the garden without using the compost pile. Eggshells can be crushed and used in flowerpots as fertilizer for flowers.
• Discarded electronic equipment can be reused by someone else that does not need the latest gadget.
Top Five Ways to Recycle Items Finished Reusing
This is the cycle that everyone thinks about when skipping the first two steps in the cycle. We are not recycling if we throw away plastic water bottles we could have reused after a little cleaning or even metal from metal or steel buildings.
• Melting scrap metals and separating them by specific gravity or molecular weight is excellent recycling
• Melting scrap glass to be used with shredded corn stalks making wood replacement materials.
• Trapping rainwater to use at home and saving that to purify for plant and lawn use is recycling.
• Saving cement and iron from old buildings to make new construction materials is excellent recycling.
• Use items not recyclable in the oceans as artificial reefs to encourage growth of sea life.
Remembering the total cycle is the road to success. If all of us work together and think about the total cycle we can eliminate most waste dumps in our world and improve our environment.
Recycling Resources
Columbia University
McHenry.edu
Northwestern University