Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

 

• The Three R's 
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• In todays world there are so many social issues going on, and it can feel like you can’t do anything to fix them, because you are just one person. While that may be true in many instances, there is an old motto that is very easy to follow that will help with several social issues at the same time: reduce, reuse, recycle. First off, one you are already probably doing:

• Recycle! 

• When you recycle an item and it turns in to something new, materials aren’t wasted, energy from manufacturing is saved, there’s less trash going to landfills or ending up in the ocean, and it is better for the animals. Did you know LA county creates 28 million tons of trash every single year? Recycling is SO easy! Yet many people don’t do it properly, if at all. Recycling regulations vary from place to place, so check with your city about specifications. Through your local recycling company, find out which container you use; for example usually in LA county there are blue trash cans or dumpsters. Which items do they accept? This is very important and varies as well. Also just because your normal recycle company doesn’t take certain recyclables, there are places you can take them. 
• What items can you recycle? Paper- all clean paper and cardboard can go right in the recycle bin. Glass- just clean it and its ready to go. Plastic- this one can be kind of confusing because not all plastic can go in your home recycle bin, make sure to check for the number on the bottom of container! Numbers 1 or 2 on the bottom can go in there, but usually 3 and 5 can’t. It is very important to check on this. Metal- just like these other guys make sure its all clean, with no food particles. Batteries and electronics can also be recycled, usually at some sort of recycling center. As you can see the most important parts are to recycle everything you can (because anything thats not recycled or composted goes to the landfill), make sure the items you are putting in the recycle can indeed be recycled and aren’t going to make that whole bin ruined, and make sure everything is clean. For example if you ordered a pizza and you want to recycle a cardboard box, rip off the greasy bottom of the box and only recycle the top half as long as that remained grease and food free. 

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• Reuse! 

• Even better than recycling, which still has to be processed again and therefor affects our environment, reusing is an even cleaner solution. Food containers like glass jars can be cleaned and reused, or items like cardboard could be used by an elementary school for projects. My favorite way to reuse is by not buying new items, but by shopping at thrift, antique or resale stores, garage sales, or on Craigslist. Besides some items like electronics, dog beds, and my couch, all the items in my apartment and lots of my wardrobe were not purchased new. Even my pug and cat are rescues! Besides loving thrift shopping and the antiques I find there, the prices are SO much cheaper than new anyways! So it is economical as well. Not to mention the fashion industry is a massive contributor to landfills (According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 17 million tons of textile waste were generated in 2018), they are responsible for 10% of global CO2 emissions every year, and pollute water which affects humans and animals. Plus most fashion is made with horrible labor conditions and in sweat shops. Do you really want to be wearing clothes everyone else is from Forever 42 and decorating your home with mass-produced crap from Home Goods? Yuck! 
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• Reduce!

• When you do buy new things like food or drinks, clothing, etc, make good decisions! 
• Some examples: 
• -Instead of getting single-use items like water bottles, use a reusable cup
• -Buy items at the grocery store in bulk, like rice or granola that you put in your own glass container
• -Bring reusable bags everywhere! Not just the grocery store
• -Go digital, do things online instead of with paper
• -Reduce your animal product consumption like meat or dairy and eat vegetarian or vegan
• -Don’t purchase an abundance of paper towels, use cloth ones and wash them 
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• Why its important to me 

• Reducing, reusing and recycling are important to me because it is such an easy way for EVERYONE to participate in making the world a better place. Even my moms Kindergarten students are on the school “Green Team” where they make sure things are being properly sorted into trash, recycle and compost bins at recess. And doing these simple things don’t only affect our over-full landfills, they will make our air cleaner to breathe, our land and water safer and cleaner for people and animals, support good business practices, conserves natural and limited resources like trees, saves energy, and all of these benefits means a longer-lasting and healthier planet for the future generations. Plus being conscience of all this means less trash on the streets and a more beautiful city. Who doesn’t want that!? 

• Sources:

• How to recycle and why you should do it. The Student Conservation Association. (2019, February 21). Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://www.thesca.org/connect/blog/how-recycle-and-why-you-should-do-it

  Los Angeles County. (2021, December 9). L.A. County to take big bite out of plastic pollution. Los Angeles County. Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://ceo.lacounty.gov/2020/02/03/sustainability/l-a-county-to-take-big-bite-out-of-plastic-pollution/