Do you know what Earth or humans will be in thousands of years? Obviously, you won’t! But a plastic bottle you threw in the trash today will be there sitting in a landfill or floating in the ocean for thousands of years. It’s scary! Isn’t it? There are billion tons of waste that is thrown in the thrash. The world’s dumps and landfills are fast filling up and very soon there won’t be any space left to dump waste. So, before you throw things in the trash, think about the 3Rs of waste management for a greener and better environment.

The 3 Rs — Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle —have been around for a while now but haven’t been emphasized enough with the “green” word.

The importance of the 3 Rs

Companies target consumers promising them cool cars and diet sodas, but what they don’t promise is a greener planet to live in. That’s the hard truth. Global warming, deforestation, pollution and other environment-unsafe activities have made Earth accumulate a lot of toxic waste. It’s high time that we express our love for our planet and act responsibly by imbibing these 3 Rs into our system.

1. Reduce

It’s the first step in waste management. Reduce, simply means produce less waste by using fewer resources. It is the hardest step because reducing your resources means letting go of few better, bigger and finer things in life. You don’t need to completely let go of things, but you may as well reduce or look for greener options. For example, when buying food packets, buy the ones that have less packaging materials. With electronics, buy products that are durable and long lasting. Try to maintain them, repair them whenever necessary instead of replacing them.

2. Reuse

Before you throw anything in the thrash, think whether you can reuse it. If it has life left in it, squeeze it to extend its use. In a broader sense, reusing means lengthening the life of an item. Although it sounds unglamorous, you are actually avoiding the use of new resources for a while longer and preventing the old resources from falling in the waste system. A few examples of reuse of resources are reusing a wrapping paper, donating cell phones, repairing your dish washer, updating your computer, etc.

3. Recycle

Of the three R’s, recycling has caught on the best. Thanks to the various recycling programs that have instigated people to be more aware about their environment. Recycling means extending the use of a product by reprocessing or converting the raw material of the product for use in a new product. Plastic is the biggest contributor of garbage in the world. Recycling the waste has a positive effect on the environment, so try to do your part towards making the environment green by learning the ways of recycling your waste.

The 3Rs Mantra in a Nutshell

Reduce – Limit the waste you are producing by buying products that has less packaging materials.

Reuse – Avoid disposable bags, cups or plates, rather use bottles or mugs that are reusable.

Recycle – All kinds of waste – paper, glass, electronic, plastic, etc. can be recycled into new products with the use of natural resources and less energy.

Now that we know the positive effect of reusing and recycling on the environmental & economic front, it’s important that people understand the basic concepts of the 3Rs and make an attempt to reduce, reuse and recycle as many materials as possible. Not only will it save energy, but it will also save Earth’s resources. It will save the land and the oceans from the garbage overflow, and leave a place for us to live, sustain and grow.

Erich Lawson is very passionate about the environment and is an advocate of effective recycling. He writes on a wide array of topics to inform readers on how modern recycling equipment can be used by industries to reduce monthly wastage bills and increase recycling revenue. You can learn more about environment saving techniques by visiting his blog on Compactor Management Company.