Saved From the Landfill

We are all aware of the 3 R’s “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.”  But what impact do these three really have on our planet.  Now I am certainly no expert on anything, I just try to use some common sense to get through life.  So when Friday comes and the recycling truck arrives in my neighborhood, most of the time they fly right passed my house. Why? Does she NOT recycle?  No, that is not the case at all.  The thing is, we rarely have a full bin to put out to the curb. 

Why you may ask?  Because of the first two “R”’s Yup, REDUCE & REUSE!   I am not going to lie to you and tell you that it’s easy, it’s not.  Every purchase, every choice just needs to be thought out.  Yes, it can be time consuming, but for me, the benefits for all of us are worth my time. When you really think about it, the amount of waste that goes into packaging some products is ridiculous. 

 Once in the supermarket I saw A potato,   YES A SINGLE POTATO wrapped in plastic, with directions on how to cook in a microwave.  

How crazy is that? ….OR…     What a brilliant idea?      

What a profit the store must be making and think of the convenience for the consumer.  Now, think of the packaging, for that one little spud, why?  Why does there have to be unnecessary waste created?  Where is it going to go?  Into the landfill?  Or maybe like my municipality and incinerated and the toxins released into the atmosphere for all of us to breath in…all that energy for a convenient meal. 

 This is just one example of why reducing and reusing is so important to me.  Can’t we buy that potato without the plastic wrapped around it?   Better yet, let’s buy that potato from our local farmer!   Then we save the fuel it may have taken to be transported, perhaps from a different state or country to get to the market, and the fuel it took to make the packaging to wrap the potato, and the satisfaction of knowing who grew it and how it was grown.

 More and more people are using re usable grocery bags…YEAH!!!!  But let’s do more. 

•  Let’s find a way to refill our containers. 

• Let’s buy only what we need.  How many times do we throw out something because it’s gone bad, we most likely bought it on sale, so it was worth it right? 

• Let’s designate a cup at the office for coffee or tea instead of using Styrofoam or paper.  Mmmm think of how much better it will taste.

• Let’s use both sides of the paper, & use email for communications and especially for office memos and only print when absolutely necessary.

• Let’s purchase items that will be used more than one time.

• Let’s use refillable containers for water.                                                                                                                                             ”But I recycle my plastic water bottles!”  Yes I am sure you do, but recycling uses  resources that we could be saving as well.

 I am not saying recycling is bad.  But if we cut down on the amount of packaging, and we buy things in re usable containers and actually re use them, we will save precious water, fuel, land, and our planet for future generations.