We have all been taught the 3 R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle… but what we haven’t been taught are the 8 R’s. I have referred to these in the past but thought it would be a good idea to cover those which are just as important to understand, if not more. The 8 R’s include: refuse/reduce, reuse, repair, rethink, regift, recover, rot, and recycle. Let’s dive into what each of those mean.
Reduce/refuse: Reducing our consumption is a key part to living a sustainable life. We can reduce our consumption of material possessions as well as energy usage. We can reduce the amount of water we use and animal products we eat. All of these can help the planet. The less we use, the less our carbon footprint. With other material possessions, we can practice refusing. By refusing to buy products such as fast fashion or meat and dairy products, we are telling companies that we don’t want their products with high footprints. Don’t consume what you don’t need to.
Reuse: When you can, use things multiple times. We can reuse clothing by buying second hand, or even reuse water by planting crops with water that has already been used in things like cooking. You can reuse things like plastic containers rather than immediately throwing them out or recycling them. Reusing can help you reduce and refuse as well! One last thing to remember is reusing even when the status quo is to just throw it away. You can reuse plastic water bottles, plastic bags, and more until they are completely broken. Share with others, and find new uses for old objects.
Repair: Before buying something new when another thing breaks, it is super valuable to get into the habit of repairing things. It can be so easy to throw away broken items. However, the more sustainable thing to do is to save materials and money and repair your items. Whether that just means cleaning off rust, or learning a new skill to make an old object new again, both are beneficial. Even repairing other objects that you find on the side of the road or in the trash so someone else can have a new item (instead of buying a new item) is super useful. Fix or repair your objects rather than throwing them away.
Rethink: Rethinking is vital to a sustainable future. We all need to change our mindset to live more sustainably, consciously, and intentionally. This is why building sustainable habits is so important to decreasing your carbon footprint. We need to learn to appreciate nature. Be mindful of your consumption habits, your relationship with “stuff”, and your relationship with Earth.
Regift: When we want to reuse, or we have repaired something old, we can learn to regift. When we have repaired something that we know we won’t want, need, or use, or if we are given a gift that we know someone else will appreciate more, we can practice regifting. This can make the gift giving process much more circular, personal, and therefore meaningful. Share.
Recover: We can recover both energy and materials. The only way we can recover the state of the planet, is by recovering material things we use daily. Similar to repairing broken items, we need to repair energy too and use circular systems for everything. Right now, we are on track to have a green recovery. A green recovery is “a widely adopted name for a package of environmental, regulatory and fiscal reforms to recover prosperity.” Source We need to recover sustainably always.
Rot: This is another term for composting. Letting food rot outside to become nutritious fertilizer rather than letting it sit in the trash is one of the best ways to deal with food waste. Especially if you can’t feed over ripened food to animals, the next best choice is to feed it to plants. Food can break down into healthy soil when it is exposed to oxygen, rather than when it ends up in a landfill which is not exposed to air and therefore takes much longer to break down. Each day in the United States approximately one pound of food per person is wasted. If we could instead make this waste useful, the planet would be much cleaner and healthier.
Recycle: Keep the loop going, save resources, and energy. Recycling is ultimately the last resort which is why I listed it last on this list. It is very important to make sure you are recycling properly all the time. It benefits the environment because it reduces emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons, that contribute to global climate change. It also reduces air and water pollution. Source and Source.
This is how we can deal with material things as a society. If we want a sustainable future, we need to incorporate the 8 R’s into our lifestyles. When we use all 8 rather than just the typical three, we will leave a much smaller footprint on the Earth when we leave. Material things are always going to be part of our lives, but we need to learn how to deal with them responsibly. Hope you all enjoyed the blog. Until next time, peace.
Comments