The 3 Rs
Part of our set of World Books - what to do with this outdated resource?
Years ago in a more frugal time, people had a phrase "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." Although we certainly don't want to return to the time when people didn't have necessities (and many people in the world are still in this situation), we've become a disposable society where nothing is valued. How do we deal with all the "stuff" in our lives — especially when we no longer want it?
Today, most people know about the 3 Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Those are good guidelines, but we're learning there are more aspects to responsibly dealing with stuff. We haven't figured it all out, but we're experimenting.
Our "Rs"
We're experimenting with different ways to reduce stuff:
- Refusing getting new stuff in the first place
- Redistributing what we have acquired
We're experimenting with different ways to reuse stuff:
- Repairing stuff instead of throwing it away and buying new
- Repurposing stuff instead of getting the "latest and greatest"
- Renting or sharing stuff with other people so each item is fully used
And we've always recycled all our community allows. But recycling is really the least important. I wouldn't want to eliminate recycling efforts, but why is that the focus? Reducing and reusing are where the greater benefits lie.