Reduce, Reuse & Recycle

Did you know that “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” is in order of potential impact?  

Reduce

Ninety-one percent of all plastics end up in landfills or in the environment, primarily because single-use plastics in particular are traditionally hard to recycle because they fall into the crevices of recycling machinery — and therefore are often not accepted by recycling centers. You can help by:

  • Opting out of single-use plastics.
  • Buying secondhand items to reduce raw materials required per item you use.
  • Reducing the number of items you purchase.

Buying in bulk to reduce how many times you need to purchase something (which can reduce both packaging waste and transport emissions).  For cleaning items, consider buying concentrated versions.

Reuse

There are so many ways to choose reusable items first! Check out this list of reusable alternatives for:

Recycle

Recycling helps reduce energy use by eliminating the need for virgin materials and saving space in landfills for other items.

However, “wish-recycling” can contaminate an entire batch of recyclables, which might get them to be landfilled. You can help by knowing your residential recycling requirements and rinsing items that held food.  

Not all items are created equal when it comes to recycling. Some items can be recycled nearly infinitely and maintain their original strength (e.g., steel, aluminum, or glass), while others have a limited number of times they can be recycled (e.g., paper and plastic).

You can help by changing your purchasing habits and choosing items that are stored in reusable containers, glass, or metal containers).

 While single stream recycling may seem easy, don’t forget a lot of specialty materials that can also be recycled like:

And much more!