Reduce
_________________ • Buy permanent items instead of disposables. Take a coffee mug and a water bottle to work to reduce the amount of plastic or Styrofoam cups you use. • Buy and use only what you need. • Buy products with less packaging. • Buy products that use less toxic chemicals. 
It’s amazing how many products can be recycled. Glass, plastic, aluminum, paper—the list goes on. And, keeping these items out of the trash can means you have to empty it less. (Photo from Photospin.)
| | Reuse
__________________ • Repair items as much as possible. • Use durable coffee mugs. • Use cloth napkins or towels. • Clean out juice bottles and use them for water. • Use empty jars to hold leftover food. • Reuse boxes. • Purchase refillable pens and pencils. • Participate in a paint-collection and reuse program. For information on handling household solid waste, visit www.epa.gov/
epawaste/index.htm. • Donate extras to people you know or to charity instead of throwing them away. • Reuse grocery bags as trash bags. | | Recycle
__________________ • Recycle paper (printer paper, newspapers, mail, etc.), plastic, glass bottles, cardboard and aluminum cans. If your community doesn’t collect at the curb, take them to a collection center. • Recycle electronics. Visit www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/
materials/ecycling/index.htm for recycling centers. • Recycle used oil and hazardous waste. Visit www.epa.gov/
epawaste/index.htm and click on “Hazardous Waste” for a list of hazardous waste types. • Compost food scraps, grass and other yard clippings, and dead plants. • Close the loop—buy recycled products and products that use recycled packaging. That’s what makes recycling economically possible. | |
