The 3R's - Reduse, Reuse, Recycle
We have all heard it before: the 3R's reduce, reuse and recycle. This is not just a catchphrase; these are ways each of us can contribute to lessening our devastating impact on our environment.
Reduce - Invest in your own personal mug and use this instead of buying a Styrofoam/paper cup every time you pick up a cup of coffee or tea.
Reuse - Put up a "free/for sale/wanted" bulletin board at work or in your apartment building. Use the internet and pass it along using Craiglist.
Recycle - Now that bottled water is in general use, more than ever we have to try and recycle the unbeleivebale amount of drinking containers out there.
If we reduce our consumption and waste, and reuse what can be given new use, as well as recycle what can be given new life, we will be taking steps towards a cleaner, safer future for the earth and all those who call it home.
Canada, unfortunately, generates more garbage per person each year than nearly anybody else, except for the United States (Environment Canada). It is estimated that in Ontario alone, the average person produces one tonne of garbage in one year.
One could argue that humankind has been reducing, reusing and recycling materials in various ways since the beginning. Prehistoric man would use every part of an animal it hunted and killed out of necessity. Broken tools were reused as different implements.
In more recent history, cotton rags have been used since the 17th century for the use of making paper currency. In 1895 New York City set an example when it initiated a curbside-recycling program for organic materials, paper, ash and general refuse. War was a strong motivator for recycling, with governments calling citizens to aid in the war efforts by donating old kettles and iron implements for recycling into armaments. The modern recycling movement as we know it today, was set into motion in 1970 when local recycling centers came into being after the first Earth Day.
Definition of waste
Waste or garbage is generally defined as something that is of no use or no value; something that is discarded and regarded as worthless or useless.
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Individual responsibility is a central part of reducing one's consumption in all the communities we are each a part of. It has always been the members of a community that set the standards for responsibility by passing on this knowledge to new generations. In today's system though it is becoming increasingly harder for us to know what is expected of us as responsible members of society.