Reduce, Reuse And Recycle: 3 R's That Are Essential For The Environment

When we were kids, we were taught the R’s that are essential for the environment. Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. These are the three pillars to ensure that we are doing our bit for the environment, reducing pollution, and making the best out of the resources available to us.

Here are what these three R’s stand for and how you can practise them.

Definition Of Reduce, Recycle And Reuse

Aarna Wadhawan, Environmentalist and Youth Board Member, Earth Prize Geneva, Switzerland, said, "The three pivotal R’s are helping us to perform three important functions. Reduction is helping us reduce our consumption, through reuse, we continuously use these items of utility and through recycling we provide utility to items which are not useful to us anymore, giving them a new life."

She added that it is the best solution we have to reduce waste and promote environmentalsustainability.

Reduce (How Can You Reduce Waste)

Reducing means to bring down the amount of waste we produce every day, week, month, and year. You can do it by changing your approach to buying products. You should only buy what you need, and if possible, you should buy in bulk.

While you are purchasing products, you should also ensure to pick the ones that have less packaging as it can help to reduce the amount of waste you will be producing. It also means that the company is conscious of the environment.

You should also look for options that you can reuse. For example, clothes, plastic bottles, steel bottles, wooden items, etc.

Reuse (How Can You Reuse Items At Home)

In most layman's terms, reuse means finding multiple ways to use a particular item. You should opt for cloth bags that you can repeatedly use for grocery shopping instead of polybags that pollute the planet.

Buying study shoes, furniture, appliances, etc. ensures that you will use them again and again instead of discarding them after a single use.

Recycle (How To Recycle Items At Home)

Recycling means using old items for a new purpose. For example, instead of throwing an old T-shirt (Upcycle Old Clothes), you can reuse it to soak water from damp hair, clean cabinets, craft a cushion cover, etc. You can also recycle your old boots and plastic bottles as small planters.

What Is The Importance Of The 3 R's?

The importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling is to benefit the environment.

• If all of us follow the 3 R’s, we can minimise the consumption of natural resources.
• It will help produce less waste which can help to reduce the space we use as a landfill.
• The most important aspect of the 3 R’s is it helps to save energy. When we buy according to our needs, reuse products as much as we can, and recycle items at home before discarding, we save a lot of energy, not to mention the reduction in pollution (Air Pollution Affects Women More Than Men).

How To Reuse Recycled Materials?

There are five ways you can reuse recycled materials,

• Carry reusable cloth bags
• Recycle old sheets, clothes, towels, etc. to clean surfaces
• Repurpose plastic, glass, and other sturdy material for house garden
• Reuse gift bags and wrapping papers for different purposes
• Donate items in good condition to people in need. It can help someone and put a smile on their face, while it will also ensure that everything is reused and recycled.

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