Reduce, reuse, recycle – what does this mean?

13 February 2018

Reduce means to use less of something. It is important to reduce the amount of rubbish you are using as this helps to save the environment and natural energy. You can do this by using less water, turning off your lights when not in use and buying in bulk which leads to less packaging and saying no unnecessary to plastic bags and other packaging.

Reuse means to use an item again. You can do this by donating unwanted clothing, using rechargeable batteries rather than single use batteries, holding a garage sale, using both sides of paper and using glass jars, containers and reusable drink bottles.

Recycle means to make something new from old. You can do this by separating your household rubbish into the correct bins. Old toilet rolls, boxes, paper and cardboard can all be used as craft supplies.

Recycling is extremely important as waste has a huge negative impact on the environment and its surrounds. By recycling you are helping to slow this down and turn it around.

You can help to recycle in your home by doing the following:

Reject any unnecessary packaging
Sort your rubbish into the correct bins
Recycle your kitchen and garden scraps as compost or build a worm farm
Choose recycled goods
Donate unwanted clothing, furniture and white goods to charities or op shops
Install a rain water tank
Make sure your washing machine and dishwasher are full before turning them on
Turn off your power points at the wall when your appliances are not in use
Hanging out your washing instead of putting it in the dryer

If every household followed all or even just a few of these steps it would help keep a lot of unnecessary waste out of our landfills. It would also lessen the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, the use of fresh water and energy that has been wasted on these discarded products and the large amount of resources that it took to make them. Every choice we make, even as an individual, has an impact on the planet. While individually, this impact seems small, when you add everyone up and think about the planet as a whole this is a very worthy cause. By following the three reduce, reuse, recycle steps you are helping to lessen these effects on the environment and helping to make life on this planet sustainable.