In today’s modern world there has never been a great need to take care of our planet. We have more people than ever before, we produce more disposable items than ever, we produce petrochemical products like plastics, which while very convenient and cheap, can take up to 500 years to fully decompose
So what is reduce, reuse and recycle?
It is a way for us to help eliminate the waste we produce in a way that can help us sustain our environment and even improve it if we work together.
Think of it as our collective ethos (definition: the characteristic spirit of a culture, era, or community as manifested in its beliefs and aspirations.)
Together, if we all do this, we can keep our planet alive, vibrant, and safe not only for us but for all species on the planet.
So if we follow the steps one by one we can see how we can get this done
Reduce
This involves us eliminating the new. Reducing the things we use and toss away, to not purchase the things we don’t need. So how do we do this exactly?
We can reassess our lives to see what is truly important to us. When we do so we find that the material things we crave no longer have meaning. If you find this hard to imagine or think about then you can try to look at videos about others who have done this already.
If you search for Digital Nomads or world travelers, you will see people with very little that are at their happiest. This is true because people have been shown to value experiences above all else. It’s the lasting memories that these life experiences give us which sustain and nourish our souls.
I have been a traveler for many years and appreciate the simplicity of not owning much.
It’s also worth looking at tiny homes, not necessarily to buy but to examine the lifestyle needed to live in one. If you live in a small space then you will often think harder about filling up that precious space with unnecessary garbage.
Another way to analyze your life is to go through your things and everything you have not used for over a year get rid of as you never will. But don’t throw it away, try to pass it on to someone who needs it, wants it, or if you cannot find anyone, try to find a way to reuse it.
Reuse
If you buy things that you throw away like cardboard disposable plates, especially when ordering takeout or when having barbecues or family gatherings then try, instead, to purchase things that will last. Get rid of the paper plates and cups and replace them with glass or plastic ones if you must, but ones that can be reused for years to come.
If you have old clothing items, think about patching them or repairing them should they become worn. You could also think about repainting scratched or damaged furniture.
There are a lot of really cool IKEA furniture hacks where people turn unwanted furniture into cool new items so it’s always worth checking the internet to see if you can salvage something before tossing it out.
Recycle
This is by far the big one for most people. Sadly we often recycle less than half of what we throw out for which we should give ourselves a kick up the rear. However, there is no time like the present to do something about it, it’s never too late to start.
It’s a similar situation to reusing items but instead, we wash, separate, and recycle the items we cannot avoid buying or cannot reuse in any way. We can of course send it to the recycling centers where they do an excellent job of turning our old, glass, plastics, and paper into new base materials we can then make things from in a more sustainable way.
There is another way and that is upcycling. Upcycling is where you take old unwanted items and repurpose them into something useful giving them a new lease of life. It’s called upcycling because the result is usually better than the original piece.