- REDUCE
- REUSE
- RESPONSIBLY RECYCLE
- RECOVER
- RESPONSIBLY DISPOSE
In terms of Pollution Prevention, the two most important R's are reduce and reuse. Reducing the amount of waste that we create means less waste to manage, treat and dispose. These processes use up a heck of a lot of resources and energy - and causes a suite of environmental problems that are sometimes not obvious to most of us. Reusing simply means using the product for the same purpose over and over again.
I'd be kidding myself to say that I do not live a wasteful life. It's sad and disappointing; however, we can start by reducing our consumption and reusing what we already have until its useful life is exhausted. Making a small change from plastic and paper bags to reusable bags is one simple way to reduce our production of waste. We also don't really know what we are reducing until we actually take a good look and dive deep into our own garbage can (perhaps our neighbors trash bin). I have just recently started doing this and I feel like such a big hypocrite. I think everyone in society should be looking in their garbage cans. WHY? Because it's our responsibility to take care of our planet - and we can do so by minimizing our footprint.
