rachelyyu.blogspot.com: Let's go Eco

The Three R's of the Environment

Every year in America, people throw away 50 billion food and drink cans, 27 million glass bottlers and jars, and 65 million plastic and metal jar and can covers. More than 30 % of our waste is packaging materials. Where does that all go? Some 85 % of our garbage is sent to the dump, or landfill, where it can take from 100 to 400 years for things like cloth and aluminium to decompose. Glass has been found in perfect condition after 4,000 years in the earth.

We are quickly running out of space. It's time to learn the three R's of the environment : reduce, reuse, recycle. Then practice what you preach : don't buy things you don't need or items that come in wasteful packaging or that cannot be recycled.

* Tip : Reuse and recycle whatever you can.

Some examples on the three R's

Reduce

Cars use up energy and cause pollution. Some ways to reduce the environmental damage caused by cars include carpooling with friends, walking, taking the bus, or riding your bike instead of driving.
You can reduce waste by using the computer! Many newspaper and magazines are online now. Instead of buying the paper versions, you can find them on the internet. Also remember that you should print out only what you need. Everything you print that you don't really need is a waste of paper.

Reuse

Plastic containers and reusable lunch bags are great ways to take your lunch to school without creating waste.

Don't throw out clothes, toys, furniture, and other things that you don't want anymore. Somebody else can probably use them. You can bring them to a center that collects donations, give them to friends, or even a yard sale.

Recycle

In addition to recycling the things you buy, you can help the environment by buying products that contain recycled materials. Many brands of paper towels, garbage bags, greeting cards, and toilet paper, to name a few examples, will tell you on their labels if they are made from recycled materials.