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M O R E T H A N J U S T R E C YC L I N G
THE THREE R'S: IT'S MORE THAN JUST RECYCLING
REDUCE
We grew up learning about the “three R’s” — reduce, reuse,
Reducing is about limiting our accumulation and lessening
recycle. But have you ever thought about the significance
our impact. While it can be overwhelming to quit anything
of the order of the three? Of the plastic waste produced
cold turkey, reducing your bad habits is a great place to start.
bling problem for countries to tackle. Many plas-
REFUSE
And when you do have to accumulate something, make a stra-
Refusing can mean either refusing to participate or
these? You'll probably find that it's easier than you expect if
tics take anywhere from a decade to a few hundred
refusing to accumulate what we don't need. Refuse to buy
you're paying attention to opportunities to reduce.
years to degrade in sunlight, and to make a bad prob-
or use products that harm you or the environment. Use the
lem worse, much of this trash is hidden under piles
power of your dollar — in this case, witholding that power —
• Single-use silverware
in landfills.
to tell companies what you want. Refusing doesn't have to
• Single-use bags (plastic or otherwise)
be complicated. Sometimes it's a simple "no, thanks."
• Disposable straws
between 1950 and 2015, only 9 percent was recycled, according to a 2017 study published in Science Advances. The EPA estimates that every American produces more than two tons of waste yearly, with more than 200 pounds of that being food. We recycle only about one-third of our waste. Waste management is an increasingly trou-
Many of us make very little effort to reduce or reuse and skip straight to recycling, but have you considered that the
tegic choice to lessen your environmental impact. When you can’t refuse something altogether, you have the buying power to choose one product over another.
5 Things to Reduce This Month Do you think you can go a whole month without each of
• Plastic cups
R’s are ordered this way on purpose? It’s a waste hierarchy
TIP: Refuse to accumulate what you don’t need, such as
of sorts, with recycling as a last resort. Our efforts would
free water bottles, pens, or other swag. If you'll use it, then
be best spent by prioritizing reducing our waste, reusing
take it, but if it'll end up in trash, it's better not to. It can
TIP: Zero waste stores, where you can buy eco-friendlty
what we already have, and only recycling if we absolutely
feel weird to refuse gifts — but if they aren't necessary,
products, are rising in popularity. See if there’s one in your
need to discard something. With these lifestyle changes,
just say no.
area, or shop online at some of our favorites such as Package
we can make a small difference to a massive problem.
• Single-use water bottles
Free and Zero Waste Store.
We’ve added a few other important R’s to the mix. Take a
TIP: When you order takeout from a restaurant, ask the
look at how you can meaningfully engage with the growing
server to skip the plastic bag, cutlery, and napkins. Refusing
TIP: Buy products like food, laundry, and cleaning products
waste problem through refusing, reducing, reusing, recy-
is about preventing ownership altogether so that items
in bulk, economy sizes, or concentrate to reduce the amount
cling, repairing, and resisting.
never enter the reduce/reuse/recycle lifecycle at all.
of packaging you purchase.
