Reuse vs Recycle

Everyone knows the three Rs of environmental sustainability: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. But did you know they appear in order of importance?

Reducing how much we consume and shifting our consumption to well-designed products and services is the first step. Finding constructive uses for “waste” materials is next. And tossing items in the blue recycle bin is last. (The garbage can is not on the list, for good reason.)

Through a balance of all three principals we can easily shrink landfill-destined waste.

What can you do?

Reduce. Print only what’s essential; share information electronically instead.

Reuse. Send recyclables to companies that put them back to use, not to companies that take them out of circulation (see article).

Recycle. When electronics reach their end of life, put them in a recycle bin not a trash can. Raw materials can be used to manufacture new products, saving natural resources, energy and landfill space.