The 5 Environmental ‘Rs’ You Should Know
Many of us grew up hearing three ‘Rs’ associated with the environmental movement: reduce, reuse, and recycle. These terms are essential, but two other ‘Rs’ should be included in the list. Here are the five words you should keep in mind when you make consumption choices:
Refuse
If you are tempted to overconsume, the first ‘R’ on the list is most important. By refusing excessive consumption, you quickly reduce the waste you produce. Consumption is not easy to resist in the world of TikTok shopping hauls and constant tech upgrades. But if we care about our planet, free-marketeers should also be responsible consumers. Start asking yourself if you need the things you set out to buy.
Reduce
Where you still make purchases, can you reduce the number of things you bring into your home? Do you need five pairs of leggings, or would two quality pairs suffice? Could you keep five pens until they run out instead of having dozens scattered across your house at all times?
How about the packaging of the stuff you usually buy? For example, I had already been buying many things package-free with reusable bags from the bulk bins at my grocery store, but recently, I looked at things I still bought in packaging to see if there was anything else I could buy in bulk. Many things on my list that I was buying pre-packaged were also available package-free.
Where can you reduce?
Reuse
‘Reuse’ is one of the most straightforward items on the list: You just keep using things in ways that mirror their intended purpose! Glass jars containing things like marinara or salsa continue to be used as food storage or drinking glasses in your kitchen. Instead of buying new storage bins for your closet, cardboard shipping boxes can be your organizers (even if they are less aesthetically pleasing).
An essential part of reuse is continuing to use the item when it is worn down and less aesthetically pleasing but still functional. You do not need a new swimsuit every season if yours still fits and covers what it needs to cover. If your phone works perfectly fine, you do not need a new iPhone every time they release one. Contentment is a key component here.
Repurpose
By repurposing items, we get as much life out of them as possible. Old clothing can be cut into rags or used as fabric for mending other items. Old blankets and towels can be piled together for your furry friends, and make great donations to animal shelters looking for crate bedding. If items shipped to you come in plastic bags, see if you can use those where you usually use Ziplocs. Use the brown paper used in shipping to wrap gifts. Get creative!
Recycle
Finally, if there is nothing else you can do to reduce waste earlier in your consumption, try to recycle as much as possible. And not just glass, plastic, or cardboard either—one area I’m currently looking into to try and discard a broken computer is recycling e-waste. Just remember that recycling is a bandage, not a cure. There are problems with the system, and it doesn’t magically make waste disappear.
The hard truth is that everything you buy will inevitably become waste at some point. But by remembering to refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, and recycle, we can be conscious consumers, reduce the amount of waste we produce, and keep items out of landfills for as long as possible.
