Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
by Cecille Nazareno, YCIS Scientist-in-Residence
I have never really thought about this until Mrs. Karen Wong (CMED and PSHE teacher) invited me to visit her classes and give a workshop on recycling. While planning activities, she had mentioned that there is a reason those "Rs" are arranged in that order. Very interesting, I said to myself. So, that got me thinking.
RECYCLING, although important, has a lot of hidden costs as well. It is noble that creative and caring people have thought of ways and invented machines that can transform or incorporate our waste products into something new and useful. For example, plastic bottles can be recycled into packaging straps or even marine diesel fuel! Unfortunately, recycling uses machinery which require energy. So, in reality, we are still using oil and probably releasing pollutants into the atmosphere.
Of course, one can always recycle items manually, such as making woven baskets out of old paper -- but in the time it takes to recycle a few items, thousands more are being purchased and tossed in the bin!
REUSING goes hand in hand with REDUCING. By using an item several times, we reduce that amount of rubbish we generate.
So, if we are talking about the hierarchy or order of things, we want to REDUCE the amount of rubbish that goes into our landfills. We can REDUCE our rubbish by REUSING bought items several times before RECYCLING or finally sending them to the landfill. Our ultimate goal is to minimize rubbish that are not biodegradable (does not rot).
Being eco-friendly is not easy because it involves a lifestyle change and a commitment that sometimes may not be convenient. For example, instead of buying bottled water, why not purchase a BPA free water bottle that can be reused hundred of times? If that water bottle is used 500 times, then that means 500 plastic bottles were not used (aaahhh! REDUCE!). Instead of using store plastic bags, why not make sure that a lightweight cloth shopping bag is always in your bag? Or, instead of buying cooked food in a styrofoam container, why not bring your own glass container (much safer because it is heat resistant and microwave safe!)? Yes, it takes a little more planning but the benefits are numerous!
So, think about it! What are you willing to do today to reduce the amount of rubbish tomorrow?
RECYCLING, although important, has a lot of hidden costs as well. It is noble that creative and caring people have thought of ways and invented machines that can transform or incorporate our waste products into something new and useful. For example, plastic bottles can be recycled into packaging straps or even marine diesel fuel! Unfortunately, recycling uses machinery which require energy. So, in reality, we are still using oil and probably releasing pollutants into the atmosphere.
Of course, one can always recycle items manually, such as making woven baskets out of old paper -- but in the time it takes to recycle a few items, thousands more are being purchased and tossed in the bin!
REUSING goes hand in hand with REDUCING. By using an item several times, we reduce that amount of rubbish we generate.
So, if we are talking about the hierarchy or order of things, we want to REDUCE the amount of rubbish that goes into our landfills. We can REDUCE our rubbish by REUSING bought items several times before RECYCLING or finally sending them to the landfill. Our ultimate goal is to minimize rubbish that are not biodegradable (does not rot).
Being eco-friendly is not easy because it involves a lifestyle change and a commitment that sometimes may not be convenient. For example, instead of buying bottled water, why not purchase a BPA free water bottle that can be reused hundred of times? If that water bottle is used 500 times, then that means 500 plastic bottles were not used (aaahhh! REDUCE!). Instead of using store plastic bags, why not make sure that a lightweight cloth shopping bag is always in your bag? Or, instead of buying cooked food in a styrofoam container, why not bring your own glass container (much safer because it is heat resistant and microwave safe!)? Yes, it takes a little more planning but the benefits are numerous!
So, think about it! What are you willing to do today to reduce the amount of rubbish tomorrow?
Here are some examples of useful things made from recycling materials!
They're fun and easy to do!
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