Feeling Smug About Your Recycling Achievements?

Recycling is just one step up from landfill

If you are cheerfully filling your recycle bin each fortnight thinking you are saving the planet by keeping all the stuff out of landfill, it is definitely time to think again.

Recycling is the last thing you should be doing. Recycling is actually a fairly dirty sport and while it might salve the collective conscience to fill up the recycle bin, there are actually 5 other R's that should be considered before recycling. And that consideration starts before you even get on your way to your favourite food retailer. 

One way to help yourself to begin to think about the other 5 R's and half your recycle bin contents is to consider this - what would happen if you didn't have a recycle bin at all? Or a rubbish bin?   

Rethink - Refuse - Reduce - Reuse - Repurpose

• Every thing you consider purchasing, ask yourself, 'Do I need it? How can I use it again? Have I got anything else I can use instead?' 
• Buy what you need, not the marketing hype in your head.
• Check what items are made of. Recycled material? 
• Buy quality over quantity where you can and reuse.
• Buy bulk items rather than bunches of smaller items.
• Never buy anything that has packaging inside packaging.
• Buy glass - it lasts forever, can be reused countless times and if it has to be recycled, does so easily.
• Don't buy those silly plastic bottle of water. Get a metal container and reuse it forever.  
• Put all your produce directly into your reusable shopping bag instead of putting it into countless paper or plastic bags.

Just in case all these changes turns you into a environmental warrior, you might want to get fit by taking the stairs instead of the lift at the office and start reducing CO2 while you get fit as well.



Image: Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock

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