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    Home » Zero Waste Lifestyle » ♻️ Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

    ♻️ Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

    Feb 22, 2020 + modified Jan 12, 2022 by shia

    You have probably heard of the three R’s “reduce, reuse, recycle” ♻️. It’s a great memory hook! Schools teach them, and waste management facilities, NGOs, and governmental agencies all over the world love to use them to educate the general public.

    Reused jars with homemade preserved goodies

    There are many more R’s out there, and many people have extended the three basic R’s. I once even saw a very impressive and inspiring list of more than twenty R’s for a more sustainable life—including respect and recover, two important aspect that receive far too little attention! I want to encourage you to use the three R’s to build your very own memory hook that works for you!

    Jump to:
    • My Personal R's
    • 1. Rethink—Be Empowered!
    • 2. Reduce—Less Is More
    • 3. Repair—Prolong the Lifespan of Things
    • 4. Reuse—Reusables instead of Disposables
    • 5. Recycle
    • Now Find What Works for You! 💚

    My Personal R's

    For me, my personal R’s are:

    1. RETHINK—Be empowered!
    2. REDUCE—Less is more
    3. REPAIR—Prolong the lifespan of things
    4. REUSE—Reusables instead of disposables
    5. RECYCLE—Divide and conquer

    1. Rethink—Be Empowered!

    Personally, I believe zero waste is first and foremost a shift in mentality towards empowerment. In finding an open mind to try new things we learn to challenge the status quo and to tread our own path to happiness. It is easy to dismiss the idea as too restrictive, too constraining. But I like to argue that this is a very deficit-oriented way to look at things.

    It isn’t surprising that we tend to think of all the things we would have to “give up” when we first stumble upon the idea of zero waste. We are bombarded with advertisements left and right telling us how much better our life would be if we only bought this fancy car, use that particular brand’s deodorant, or drink water from that certain mountain in France. Yet happiness in the US peaked in the 50ies. “All in all, we have more stuff and less happiness,” McKibben concludes in his book Deep Ecology: Economy as if the World Mattered (p. 35-36).

    Material things do not make us happy in the long run, because we get used to them very quickly and then the novelty wears off. What does make us happy is financial security in the sense of not having to deal with existential threats that come with poverty. After this threshold is reached, happiness does not increase with more money. However, our happiness does increase when we spend time with friends, our partner, and with good mental health. And most interestingly, doing good—giving back, lending support to others, volunteering for a cause—also makes us happy.

    In my book, that is quite the strong case pro doing good and contra consumerism with all its cruel externalized costs like exploitation and pollution. I know, facing change is scary, but living your life more in alignment with your values and discovering a whole new world along the way makes it all worth it, I promise.

    2. Reduce—Less Is More

    We all have them at home—the bad buys: the neglected clothes in our closet that make us feel guilty whenever we see them, the piles of business cards with faceless names, enough pens to last us 526 years, take out menus of places we will never order from, annoying junk mail, and bottles of shampoo and body wash so tiny they would even look lost in a doll house.

    At one point, all those things had to be manufactured, packaged, and transported. And yes, all of that ate up precious resources.

    So instead of hoarding redundant and unused items, doesn’t it make more sense to give it to somebody who will put those things to good use? By redistributing things, we do not have to use up already scarce resources to produce even more stuff to fulfill demand!

    Tip: Pare down and give your things a second life

    All those things you are not using or do not really need had to be produced at one point. It's a waste of resources to have them collect dust at your home. Donate or sell them. This way, someone else can reuse your things instead of buying new products, using up more resources. You can donate your things to Good Will, or you can give them away using local Facebook groups. You can also sell clothes and electronics on ebay, Craigslist, at a flea market or host a garage sale. Nowadays, there are more and more swap parties where you can swap your unwanted stuff with one another. Everybody leaves happy and nobody had to spend a dime :).

    3. Repair—Prolong the Lifespan of Things

    We live in a day and age when gadgets are only cool until the next model is introduced only months later, when new fast fashion stores are supplied new collections every week, when buying a new printer is cheaper than replacing the ink. There is a term for that: planned obsolescence. Things are designed to be short-lived so we can replace them faster. But it doesn’t have to be this way. A lot of items can be repaired, mended, or patched up to squeeze some more life out of them. Whenever you do make a purchase, do your homework and opt for quality and repairability.

    If you yourself do not have the skills to fix everything yourself, you can obviously have things repaired in a shop, or you can go to a so-called repair café, where neighbors help each other repair things! It is a great social activity and I love how it connects people.

    4. Reuse—Reusables instead of Disposables

    Single-use items are great—for the companies that sell them. Items like cotton balls, wipes, or paper towels are consumables. This means they must constantly be replaced, and we have to keep spending money to buy them. Luckily, there is a reusable alternative for almost every single-use item!

    To me, reusing things also mean to opt for used, pre-owned, secondhand items. There is more than enough stuff in this world already. All it takes is to redistribute it to where it is needed! This way, we do not have to waste our precious and scarce resources on producing more and more stuff.

    Tip: Replace Disposables

    • Disposable razors - electric shaver, straight-edge razor, double-blade razor
    • Cotton rounds - washable cotton rounds
    • Tissues - handkerchiefs
    • Paper towels - microfibre or cotton cloths
    • Paper napkins - cloth napkins (or just use handkerchiefs)
    • Dish sponge - cotton cloth
    • Tea bags - loose tea and a tea strainer/ french press
    • Coffee pads/ filter cones - french press/ reusable coffee filter cones or pads
    • Baking parchment - grease the cake pan/ silicon mat
    • Tin foil/ cling film - put it in a food container or jar, or wrap it in a dish towel
    • Paper bags/ plastic bags - bring your own cloth/ tote bag
    • Disposable lunch bags - stainless steel food containers, mason jars, dish towels
    • Bottled water - a good quality glass or stainless steel water bottle (preferably plastic-free or at least BPA-free) and tap water; if you do not trust tap water cook it beforehand (you use it for cooking anyway, right)
    • Toothpics - turkey lacers
    • Muffin paper liners - grease your muffin tray
    • Trash bags/ bin liners - at some point you might not need those anymore ;), until then go for newpaper origami
    • Cleaning wipes - microfibre or cotton cloth and your homemade vinegar cleaning solution (¼ cup distilled vinegar + 1 cup of water)
    • Toilet paper - a bottle, water, soap and a washcloth
    Also, pack your lunches in reusable food containers and bring your own containers to restaurants and stores.

    5. Recycle

    Now after you have gotten into your new mindset (rethink), reduced your consumption by axing superfluous items and opting for quality over quantity, repaired what you can so you didn’t have to buy something new, and gotten into the habit of reusing as much as possible, you should be left with a lot less trash compared to before. Recycle whatever is recyclable. Learn about your municipality’s recycling policy and system in place. If they offer compost bins, awesome! If they do not, consider looking into composting at home as the most eco-friendly way to recycle unavoidable waste (kitchen scraps). Composting at home means no emissions caused by transport and no valuable resources wasted on running a big treatment facility, either. Now all there’s left is divide and conquer, baby!

    Now Find What Works for You! 💚

    There is no one-size-fits-all solution. We are all different, have access to a different infra structure, face different challenges and are in different places in our lives. So it’s your turn now 😊!

    Personally, I believe being empowered is about embracing your inner badass-ness and to not be afraid to make things your own. Here are some more R’s for you to choose from to make your own memory hook!

    • Respect
    • Responsibility/responsibly
    • Refuse
    • Reclaim
    • Repurpose
    • Rebuild
    • Recover
    • Reflect
    • Reinvent
    • Reevaluate

    Some More Zero Waste Tips

    • Buying in big supermarkets often mean more packaging, even in the produce section. Shop at the farmer's market or at small local stores. They are usually also very more open to individual solutions
    • Take out your phone and take pictures of pamphlets or business cards. Accept the information, but not the physical item! This way you have all the crucial information on you at all times. I mean, cross my heart, I'd lose those cards anyway, but I am very careful not to lose my phone!
    • Freebies like pens or swag bags are tempting. VERY tempting. To be honest, I am actually a cheap person. I was brought up in a bargain hunting crazed family. We would spend a LOT of money on useless cheap things just because they were a steal. What helped me resist the temptation to always grab everything free within my arm's reach was to remind myself of the horrible carbon footprint, the exploitation of workers, and how in the end, those things will be come clutter and a problem. Too useless to keep, too "good" to throw away.

    Related

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. April Love says

      November 09, 2015 at 3:18 pm

      I am fully supporting the 5 R's! Every person have to try to reduce the waste in his life. I wish more people to start caring about the pollution and zero waste!

      Reply
      • shia says

        November 10, 2015 at 2:48 am

        Same here!! But I think more and more people are starting to!! Btw, I actually find refusing things the most powerful tool to reduce waste. Made me realize just how much junk we used to buy...

        Reply
    2. Vandana Prasad says

      June 20, 2016 at 6:47 am

      Very Important n Useful information.

      Reply
      • shia says

        July 28, 2016 at 4:18 am

        Awww, thanks <3

        Reply
        • rina says

          July 11, 2017 at 2:31 am

          thank you 🙂

          Reply
    3. Desami Rosales says

      May 09, 2017 at 12:41 am

      I agree on this... First thing's first... refuse ...have the courage to say NO! so to avoid accummulated garbage at home...

      Reply
    4. sarah says

      June 02, 2017 at 10:42 am

      i really loved this website thank you for showing

      Reply
    5. rina says

      July 11, 2017 at 2:32 am

      🙂 🙁

      Reply
    6. mory says

      March 10, 2018 at 4:03 am

      hope to see all engineers

      Reply
    7. 1 says

      May 09, 2018 at 3:52 am

      You don't use toilet paper?!!

      Reply
    8. Eli says

      May 09, 2018 at 5:57 pm

      teabags can be composted as long as the do not have staples

      Reply
      • Joe says

        May 09, 2019 at 5:04 pm

        Not all teabags can be composted just yet as many contain plastic, we've put together a guide to making a sustainable brew here: https://sustainableshoppers.co.uk/blog/how-to-have-a-sustainable-brew-eco-friendly-tea-amp-coffee
        Which will help you find the best plastic free tea bags.

        Reply
    9. Carla Rae Marshall says

      September 22, 2018 at 4:13 am

      Add #Respect. Respect Mother Earth....we need to be respectful of how we consume. #watećachallenge

      Reply
    10. mobile video says

      November 10, 2018 at 6:57 am

      There are certainly loads of particulars like that to take into consideration. That may be a great level to bring up. I supply the ideas above as normal inspiration but clearly there are questions just like the one you deliver up the place a very powerful factor shall be working in honest good faith. I don?t know if finest practices have emerged around issues like that, however I'm positive that your job is clearly recognized as a good game. Both girls and boys feel the impression of only a moment’s pleasure, for the rest of their lives.

      Reply
    11. Anonymous says

      March 01, 2019 at 3:20 pm

      im not reading all of that

      Reply
    12. Joe says

      May 09, 2019 at 5:02 pm

      Great overview of the 5 R's, we promote the first R in our guide to plastic straw alternatives https://sustainableshoppers.co.uk/blog/cut-the-single-use-plastic-with-reusable-straws

      Reply
    13. Prathamesh Sardesai says

      February 27, 2020 at 5:14 pm

      thanks for informing the 5 R's for living a better sustainable life. This will help me in making choices and live a more sustainable life.

      Reply
    14. Sarwar DCC says

      February 29, 2020 at 10:21 am

      Thanks for the recipe and for all the good you are doing work.

      Reply
    15. Green Duck Soup says

      March 05, 2020 at 5:47 pm

      Love this! Who knew there were so many powerful R words. Our 5 would be Reuse, reduce, recycle, repurpose and most importantly... responsibility.

      Reply
    16. Anna says

      March 10, 2020 at 7:29 am

      Thanks for this. I'm working on "Repair" a lot these days. Before I throw things away I'm really trying to mend and repair. And surprise, it often works! It goes without saying that higher quality items are easier to repair than cheap stuff. So buy (rather) expensive and repair!

      Reply
    17. shop says

      March 12, 2020 at 3:45 pm

      Good post!

      Reply
    18. Zero Waste says

      September 14, 2020 at 3:33 pm

      Thanks for the recipe and for all the good you are doing work.

      Reply
    19. Pat Bougie says

      June 04, 2021 at 7:13 am

      Thanks for sharing the awesome post. Shared your 5R's on my new blog. Enjoyed your book,
      it helped me and my family get started on the low waste journey.

      Reply
    20. Pat Bougie says

      June 22, 2021 at 6:00 pm

      Thanks for all the helpful tips. Your book was the first Zero Waste book I read and helped me get onboard.
      Pat
      http://www.asimplelifetime.com

      Reply

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