The 4Rs of recycling

Now, in recent years, environmentalists adopt a new “R”: Recover . It is about using the raw material for the creation of other objects. We can apply this rule, for example, by encouraging the purchase of objects created with recycled materials . This “R” is also related to “buy back”, or helping this industry to grow this practice and become much more common. Next, we will explain guidelines to start Recovering and Repurchasing much more efficiently.

Many people speak of a fifth “R”: Rethink . That is to say, completely change our way of thinking about life and always put the environment first in every purchase or expense option that we are going to make to be truly committed to ecology.

It is the most obvious, but also the most important. It is not about buying and spending without looking and then recycling everything, responsible behavior also begins before consumption.

How many things have we bought in our life that we have not needed or that we have not put to good use? Millions of people live on the planet and many of them have more things than they really need. This applies, for example, to clothes, books, food, which many times, we get out of date and we end up throwing away. It is easy to mentalize ourselves to avoid buying in excess, with practices as easy as:

• Books , music CDs , movies , games and the like : we do not have to do without them at all, but rather find ecological alternatives such as renting them in libraries and toy libraries, finding associations where they are exchanged, and so on. Why do we want to store books on shelves that we are no longer going to read once we have finished them?
• Electronic devices : it is not necessary to change your mobile phone or computer every year to be up to date. Try to use them responsibly and take care of them so you don’t have to buy them too often.
• Clothing : combining clothes with style, creating our own dresses from others that no longer serve us, choosing good quality clothes that are not going to break right away and buying clothes in second-hand stores we will reduce the damage that this sector produces to the environment.
• Food : do not buy more than you need. Plan the week’s menu in advance to reduce expenses and avoid wasting food. Grow some fruits and vegetables yourself. Make sure you eat perishable foods before they go bad. Likewise, you can try not to consume precooked food to minimize the use of the containers.

You can also put things into practice like always going shopping with your own cloth bag , trying to generate less garbage and cleaning the house or cleaning yourself with non-toxic products, always looking for a more natural consumption.

In addition to being responsible during the purchase process, we must also try to use fewer resources, such as water (save as much as possible, do not waste it and install water savers at the head of the shower), energy (do not abuse the electric light , do not leave appliances plugged in and choose efficient appliances) or gasoline (do not use the car for everything, you can replace urban transport with bicycles, take more public transport, and do practices such as carpooling for long trips).

Fortunately, there are more and more companies and proposals that use recycled materials or make use of some such as plastic to create new objects. An example of this was exposed in a past blog article, bicycle frames made from plastic.

Buying in these types of companies (there are many available online, although it is preferable that you go to the store to reduce transport costs), you are promoting the practice of making from recycled material.

Recovering is based on using a waste to produce a new one, trying to make the treatment as less harmful as possible to the environment. You can also build objects yourself, for your own use or give them to those close to you. There is no gift more personal than something made by yourself!

We recover all those objects or appliances that no longer serve us and, what do we do with them? Before recycling them (not all materials can be recycled), we can think about giving them a second use . For example, donating clothes that we no longer want or converting them into something else (jeans in a bag or apron, recovering colored fabrics to make a tablecloth, glass bottles in vases …). In addition, we can start using objects that are rechargeable or reusable, such as lighters, batteries, bottles that we can recharge with liquids instead of acquiring one container at a time.

Many appliances can be repaired . Take them to a specialized store before buying a new one. With soda cans, for example, we can create many new objects that will serve us on a day-to-day basis.

You can also reduce the consumption of new products in second-hand stores near your neighborhood and buying often in them (clothing, electrical appliances, technological devices …)

Other practices are to reduce the use of paper . For example, the tissues (or diapers) buy them in cloth instead of paper and wash them instead of throwing them away. The same happens with paper cups and plastics for a party. If you use folios, buy them from recycled paper and use them on both sides. New technologies also give us the opportunity to reduce the use of paper.

In summary, this “R” proposes us to try to make the life of the purchased product as long as possible and to move away from the practice of buying disposable products.

Now, when we have already been responsible with our purchase and have reused everything we could, we must not put aside the important practice of recycling , which is not yet present in all homes and businesses. Recycling is very important and its effects are felt a lot on the planet. If you haven’t already, now is the time to start. You will see how you feel good helping the environment and it is very practical on a day-to-day basis (although you have more “garbage” to remove, once we learn how to compact everything well, you will have to remove it from home much less often. In the end, only the organic one will bother you, which is the one that smells, but the rest of the waste can be stored in a corner for months until you collect a large number of them). Recycling is a process that does not cost effort and to whichit is easy to get used to it , becoming part of everyday life, just like sweeping the floor or brushing your teeth.

If you want to read more articles similar to The 4Rs of recycling , we recommend that you enter our Recycling and waste management category .