REDUCE. REUSE. RECYCLE!

by James Ball

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Chances are you have heard this mantra in the very recent past. But do you know what it means? It is known as the waste hierarchy, voiced in the order of environmental importance.

First, we must minimize the depletion of natural resources as much as possible. To be good stewards of our planet, we should lower our level of consumption. Buy less, use less, waste less: reduce.

The next best action? Use what we already have more than once, preferably several times. A good example would be to use a travel mug to fill up on your morning coffee and forego the paper cup: reuse.

Last on the hierarchy, yet still of immense importance: recycle. When we are unable to reduce the amount we consume, and can’t reuse something that we have, we must do our best to increase the useful life of disposables by recycling anything that can be repurposed or remanufactured. This is a good place to start if you have been thinking about what you can do to begin having a more positive relationship with the environment. I’ll be talking more about the waste hierarchy in future columns, but this month I want to focus on the simple act of recycling.

The more that you are able to recycle, the less waste ends up in overflowing landfills, and the more energy is saved by not having to produce aluminum cans or plastic bottles or other consumables from raw materials. If every person were more conscious of the impact that we all have on our world, and made a concerted effort to fill-up their blue bin instead of the trash can, we would see a significant, positive change in the quality and sustainability of the environment.

The list to the right has just a few suggestions of ways to recycle that you may not have thought of. Challenge yourself to see how many of these you can implement into your life today.

Interesting facts from a recent RecycleWorks survey:

• Most people recycle their newspapers but not their junk mail and magazines. All curbside programs in the County accept mail and magazines in with their newspapers.
• Aluminum cans and glass bottles are almost two times more likely to be recycled than plastic bottles and other metal cans. Yet all of these items can go into the same curbside bin for recycling!
• About one in five households do backyard composting and handle over 9% of their greenwaste: grass, clippings, trimmings, weeds... If you are not one of them, you can buy a compost bin from RecycleWorks.

Source: RecycleWorks - a program of San Mateo County

RECYCLING 101 - DO TRY THIS AT HOME:

• Do you recycle all of those empty paper towel and toilet paper rolls? How about the box that your toothpaste comes in? Think of keeping a small recycling bin or basket under the bathroom sink for all that cardboard and recyclable paper that makes its way into the trash in your loo. When it fills up, just empty it into your regular paper recycling bin.
• Plastic recycling can seem to be a more daunting process. But once you learn the rules, it becomes second nature. Containers that are recyclable will have a number between 1 and 7 surrounded by a recycling symbol, usually on the bottom. Not all kinds of plastic are recyclable in all areas. To find out which plastics are recyclable in your community, check with your local curbside recycling provider.
• Donate your unwanted or excess household items to charity. Many charitable organizations are more than happy to accept your used items and many will pick them up from your home. Not only do you keep unnecessary waste out of a landfill, you are helping others that can really use what you no longer can, not to mention that the value of your donation is tax-deductible. EVERYONE WINS!
• Electronics should never end up in a landfill as they contain toxic elements such as mercury, lead and chromium that can leach into our water and environment. Both Goodwill and St. Vincent de Paul accept used electronic items such as computers, monitors, printers, cell phones, televisions and most other electronics, working or not, at no cost to you. They then sort these items for reuse or recycling.
• Visit your local used bookstore. You’ll be amazed at the huge selection of books available at much less then retail prices. You can often find beautiful editions of your favorites that you won’t find at retail stores. Also, many used bookstores will buy back, or issue store credit for, books that you no longer want to keep.
• Try buying used furniture the next time you’re in the market for a chair or a bookshelf. We are fortunate in the bay area to have such wonderful thrift and antique shops, and you’ll love the gorgeous craftsmanship. By purchasing furniture that has already been built you will be saving trees from being cut down, as well as the energy expended to create new, mass-produced furnishings. And you will have a unique piece that your friends and neighbors won’t.
• Complete the loop and buy recycled products! All of that cardboard and paper that you so diligently placed in the blue bin has magically been reborn as recycled paper. When you go to the office supply store, opt for products that are made from recycled materials. The greater the demand for recycled goods, the more incentive manufacturers will have to find ways of creating quality recycled products.