The Homesteader's Guide To Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
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Homesteading is living a life of self-sufficiency. Being self reliant entails lifestyle changes that would lead to sustainable living that involves environmentally conscious choices. It implies utilizing environmental resources without destabilizing it. Making lifestyle decisions aimed to reduce environmental impact and damage. It means living a life that will positively influence the environment ensuring a safe and healthy planet for the future generations to live on.
There are many different ways to live a sustainable lifestyle. But one of the most important aspects of it is trying to learn waste management and achieve a zero or lesser waste lifestyle. Living a life of convenience in this modern era might make it impossible to live a totally zero waste kind of life. But we can make it a goal and see what we can do to reduce the amount of garbage we generate in our daily lives.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. We often hear these three words from those promoting the green movement, environmental conservation, or waste reduction. The goal of the 3R, which is also part of the waste hierarchy, is to educate people, to be aware of how to prevent waste and how to limit consumption of non renewable resources.
Reduce
Reassess the things you have inside your house. Most people have so many things in their homes, most of which are beyond what they really need. Though these things might somewhat bring you temporary happiness or enhance your life in some ways, they also add to clutter. The closet for example. It is so common for most people to have clothes in their closet that they haven’t worn for at least a year or two. Or the garage, to be filled with equipment and stuff that you haven’t used for quite some time. Determine your fundamental necessities and avoid buying on impulse to reduce waste and reduce the quantity of items you buy and consume. Reduce refers to minimizing the quantity of trash we generate. There will be less waste materials to reuse or recycle for waste management if we can reduce the number of goods we buy and the natural resources we consume.
Here below are a few ideas and suggestions on what you can do to reduce waste or limit your consumption:
Buy only the basic things that you need. Before shopping, make a list and stick to it.
When buying things, choose those with eco-friendly packaging and not plastic bags.
Buy in bulk when you can. But remember to buy only in amounts that you are certain you can consume before the expiry date.
When buying things, look for items that you can reuse. Or choose products that have a multi purpose use.
Before buying anything new, take a second or third look around your home to make sure you don’t own anything that might work for the same purpose.
When buying things, choose quality and durable goods that have a long warranty.
Turn off light switches and unplug electronic devices when not in use.
Fix leaking faucets
Reduce use of disposable products such as paper bags, paper napkins, plastic bags, paper plates and bottled water.
Reduce use of sanitary disposable products such as diapers, tissue paper and feminine hygiene products if possible.
Print on both sides of the paper.
Use electronic mail (email) instead of sending paper mail.
Use products that are reusable and refillable such as reusable coffee filters, reusable bags, refillable pens.
When doing errands or a trip to town, schedule your other trips to make one errand run to cover multiple chores or transactions to avoid frequent trips.
Cutoff unnecessary subscriptions to magazines or cable tv if possible.
Grow your own food like some vegetables if you can to reduce spending on groceries or food supplies.
One of the most important things that we need to reduce in our consumption is the use of plastic. Most plastics like plastic bags do not decompose and will just break apart into smaller pieces, which means it can pile up in the landfills for years. Sometimes we hear news of ocean animals dying and finding plastics and other human waste materials inside their bodies. This is one of the negative consequences of using plastics and failing to properly dispose of them. One of the most effective methods to help our planet and environment is to reduce the quantity of plastic we use or replace it with reusable or ecologically friendly alternatives.
These things may seem little, but any amount of small change towards waste reduction when summed up can have a big impact as a whole on the environment. The use of disposable items is indeed convenient and it may take some getting used to if we give them up totally. But these things are harmful to the environment. If we are not able to do away with the disposables completely, we can try to substitute them with reusable things or those made from recycled or renewable materials. This small step can make a difference by reducing your consumption of disposable products.
Reuse
Before putting an item into the trash, think about what other purpose it can possibly serve you. Reusing is the process of finding a new purpose for old items that would otherwise be discarded. It refers to using an item more than once or reutilizing it for another purpose. Sometimes, small working parts of an appliance or equipment can be salvaged and used for similar equipment or something else. And what may be trash for you is something useful to somebody else. You can also donate or sell those things that are still in good condition but are of no use anymore for you.
Here are some ideas on how you can reuse items around your home:
Clothes that you haven’t used for quite sometime can be sold or donated. Or you can even cut or redesign it into something that you can wear or use.
Worn out clothing or used old clothes and cloth napkins can be used as cleaning rags.
Working computers, parts, accessories of other appliances or equipment can be used for other similar items or you can also donate them to community centers or charitable organizations.
Glass jar containers from the groceries can be reused in many ways. They can be used as food containers or store leftovers. Or as vases or containers of any small loose items around your house like safety pins, hair clips, small candies and others more.
Old newspapers can be used to wrap items you need to move or pack or store.
Old tires can be sent for recycling or you can use them as swings, or use them in your garden as pots or barriers.
Used wood can be utilized in your woodcraft projects or as firewood.
Old books can be sold or donated to public libraries, schools or charity.
Use a reusable water bottle instead of buying the disposable ones.
Upgrade things that you can upgrade like computers instead of buying a whole new one.
Repair damaged items if they can still be repaired instead of buying new ones.
Build your own compost bin for waste items like fruit and vegetable peelings, tea leaves, tea bags (how long do tea bags last?), food scraps and more. Composting converts unsafe organic products to something usable and beneficial for the environment.
Be creative. There are a lot of things that you can do to reuse items and make use of for those old things. You can search the internet for various ideas on how to rebuild or repurpose certain items. From storage, to craft projects and decorations, to something that your animals can use. The list is endless. Learning how to reuse or recreate items from what they are originally intended for to something else that you can use is essential for waste management. Reusing them means it does not get piled up in the waste landfill. It can make a big difference and a positive impact on the environment.
Recycle
Popularly known by the symbol of 3 arrows forming a triangle, recycling involves using old products in new ways. To recycle means that an object will be transformed into a raw material that will be used to create a new item. Recyclable materials include glass, paper, cardboard, aluminum, some plastics, metal or steel among others. Recycling should be done only as a last resort. If reducing and reusing is not possible, then recycling is the next best option. Buying products made from recycled material is also another way to take part in recycling.
For recycling to be efficient, one should be familiar with which product or item can be recycled. Unfortunately, not all materials can be recycled. Such as styrofoam, plastic straws, plastic food wrap, bubblewrap, windows, mirrors, wood, and lightbulbs among others. Recycling programs and recycling center vary from each community. To participate in the recycling process, check and follow the recycling facility's local requirements to avoid contamination with non-recyclable items.
In general, recycling more or less are composed of these steps:
Disposal - where items for recycling are placed in recycling bins. You can visit your local municipality to know what items can be recycled and where to put waste materials.
Collection - this could be a curbside collection or dropping them off at a recycling center.
Sorting and Cleaning - this is a facility where recyclable materials are reassessed, sorted, and cleaned. Unprocessable or contaminated materials are sent to a landfill space.
Processing - where the processing takes place which could be an onsite facility or sent to a third party facility.
Buying products made from recycled materials - as consumers we show our support and help by buying new products which are made from recycled materials.
The 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) are the order of priority in which action should be taken to improve the overall waste management process. These are the three important elements towards an environmentally responsible consumer behavior. It is a guideline that will lead us to making conscious choices for creating a sustainable life that will ultimately benefit our planet and all those living in it.
Some of the advantages of adopting or applying Reduce, Reuse, Recycle in our daily lives are listed below:
Significant reduction of the amount of waste being thrown into the environment also reduces the amount of toxins, greenhouse gas emissions, hazardous materials and pollution.
Managing waste materials in an eco-friendly manner lessens the risk of damage to the environment by eliminating improper waste disposal.
Promotes resource efficiency and conservation by lessening the use of new energy and resources by using reprocessed or reduced available resources multiple times.
Promotes sustainable energy and resource consumption by using available resources on hand and cutting down use of excessive consumption.
Encourages green technology development for cleaner and safer ways to reduce environmental impact.
Encourages use of renewable energy resources such as solar, geothermal, or wind.
Helps you save and conserve money or financial resources.
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle are Important Principles to Achieve Sustainable Living
Reducing, reusing and recycling is essential especially on the homestead. Working hand-in-hand with nature, it is one of the important principles to achieve sustainable living. Start small and start in one area of your home. This is often the best way to approach minimalism or to achieve waste reduction. This simple, small step to reduce waste is but a contribution towards a healthier planet. A change in your daily lifestyle, no matter how small, has an impact that can reduce your carbon footprint.
By reducing the items that you are buying, reusing items multiple times or repurposing them to serve a new purpose, and recycling the items you don’t need, you are making a difference. Being aware of how you can produce less waste materials and making conscious decisions and small steps towards that is one way to combat issues of waste and pollution. One that would minimize environmental damage and promote sustainability. We are merely stewards of this planet. We have to make responsible choices that would positively impact the environment and its resources. To ensure that the future generations will inherit a secure, healthy and thriving planet on which to live on and prosper.
*This is the fiftieth in an ongoing series that teaches homesteading in Texas. This is not a sponsored post although it may contain affiliate links to recommended products and/or services
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