Alternative Power Panel Blog

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

We all want more. There is a formula for having more: do-be-have, in that order. So the first thing is to do, then you become and through that you will have.

Now you may ask, what has this got to do with alternative energy? I like that question.

I want to talk about recycling. It seems it has nothing to do with alternative energy sources, but it really does. In environmentally conscious organizations the term: “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” is constantly thrown around. In that order.

To reduce seems painful, but as you have seen in other postings it really does not have to be. Reducing does not mean reducing standard of living, it means reducing our wasteful habits.

Reuse is one up on reduce. To improve our environment we need to reuse.
The more we reuse the less new products need to be made, the less resources need to be extracted, the less energy is used for the production of these things. So reuse is actually a continuation of reduce.

Why should we recycle?

There are unfortunately so many things that we can’t reduce or reuse. So the next option is to recycle. When we recycle we once again reduce the need for extraction of further resources.

Think about it in this way.
Paper is made from trees. So every time we either reuse or recycle paper we are saving trees from being cut down and to be made into paper. The same goes for carton and other paper related products.

The planet we live on is abundant. But there is still a limit to its abundance. The less we use of its natural resources the longer they will last.

Every time we use plastic we use up some resource. The additional problem with plastic is that most kinds of plastic are non-degradable and oil based. In the later years bio-degradable plastic has come into being, but most of the plastic in daily household use is of the non-degradable type.
However most types of plastic can be recycled.

Every time we chuck an aluminum or metal can into the garbage, we use valuable resources, but resources that can be recycled.

Is Recycling and Reuse a new idea

Recycling has actually been around since the beginning of mankind. As a history and archaeology buff I know that even such a simple material as clay was reused - as scrap writing material, as decorative pieces in wall plastering, for floor coverings.

Metals were recycled. All scraps were put back into the furnace. It was too precious to be wasted.

Not that man used to think about the environment and the overuse of  natural resources. Far from it. It was just very expensive to extract and transport these raw materials.

While we are comparing consider some other facts. There were not that many of us (today 6.5 billion). Throughout most of history - maximum one billion. Garbage of old was predominantly organic. And they did not throw out every time something had a little scratch on it.

Artifacts of old are things like ceramics, stones carved for decorative use and sculptures, coins, glass, metal tools and weapons, and with luck papyrus and parchment with writing.

What Changed

Beginning with the industrial revolution all this changes gears. But more since Henry Ford (the founder of Ford cars) invented the conveyor belt. The faster and the more products were produced, the  cheaper they became. Being cheap - why reuse. Just chuck out. We can buy a new one.

On this a much better explanation was made with the film: The Story of  Stuff.

The cost of recycling versus use of new resources

Recycling used to be very expensive in comparison with production of new goods.
This has changed as the price of extracting the raw materials has gone up as has the price of transporting them and producing them. The fact that some resources may very soon run out, is also a cause of rising prices.

Recycling aluminium uses only 5% of the energy used in producing the virgin product. Recycling plastic uses 70% less, and recycling paper - 40% less.

For paper I want to repeat that  recycled paper saves trees. The less paper we use, the less need there is for cutting down precious trees that are an important factor in the recycling of CO2 and methane, two of the greenhouse gases.

This short video talks about recycling. The video is about America, but it doesn’t really matter where in the world you are.

I wish the makers of this video had called their hero KWBMAN (keep the world beautiful).

What can you do to recycle

That depends a lot on where you live and the facilities available to you.

Where I live we do have bins for the collection of plastic bottles and for paper. We also have collection centers for cardboard products.
And we are behind other countries where there is total separation between plastic, glass, aluminium and organic garbage.

Not long ago a new concept was introduce for shopping. The supermarkets now sell “green” bags for app. $0.50 a piece. These are bags made from recycled materials, and you take them with you every time you go shopping.

In addition to making sure that all my plastic bottles and newspapers go into the appropriate bins, I have gone a little further.
I collect as much other plastic as possible and keep it in a special bag and put it in with the bottles.
I have another bag where I collect all that scrap that comes into the mailbox and other paper stuff, including my own scrap paper. When I drop off the newspapers I drop this into the container as well.
Paper that has printing on one side only I use as scrap paper while I am working for my notes, etc.

We have also introduced collection centers for electronics - all those gadgets, computers, televisions and what not. They need special recycling as they contain a lot of toxins (that we breathed in as we use them).

When I go shopping I take along my green bags. Our produce is not pre-wrapped, so we take different plastic bags to carry to the checkout and to carry home. After I empty these bags I return them to the green bag and reuse.

These are just some ways for reuse and recycling, which should be part of our lives

What can be recycled? Almost everything.
What can be recycled where you live? Almost everything, depending on what facilities are available. You probably already know what is available.
All facilities were started by one or two idealistic people who had the guts to go the extra mile.

I started with do-be-have.
When we do more, we become more and we will have more. In this case, reduce, reuse and recycle and your living will be more green and we will all have a blue planet that stays green.

What do you do? Leave a comment.
Want to be part of the movement. Sign up for the dobehave news (top right corner.

Trackback This Post | Subscribe to the comments through RSS Feed