recycle right.
|
Grades K-4
Tutorial 6: Reduce and Reuse Before you Recycle
Objective: Think of ways you can reduce and reuse.
The Three Rs
Recycling is one way that people can cut down on waste that goes to the landfill. This is a good thing, but the recyclables still need to go to special factories to be cleaned and prepared to be made into new products. This takes a lot of extra work and energy. Luckily, there are other ways to cut down on waste that everybody can do.
It’s easy to remember if you think of the three Rs. The three Rs stand for Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. The first two Rs, reduce and reuse, are things people can do before they recycle. Since we already talked about recycling, let’s explore what it means to reduce and reuse.
Recycling is one way that people can cut down on waste that goes to the landfill. This is a good thing, but the recyclables still need to go to special factories to be cleaned and prepared to be made into new products. This takes a lot of extra work and energy. Luckily, there are other ways to cut down on waste that everybody can do.
It’s easy to remember if you think of the three Rs. The three Rs stand for Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. The first two Rs, reduce and reuse, are things people can do before they recycle. Since we already talked about recycling, let’s explore what it means to reduce and reuse.
Reduce
Reducing waste begins with small changes you can make to cut down on waste. One way you can reduce waste is to use a refillable water bottle instead of getting water in plastic bottles. This reduces the amount of plastic waste.
You can also ask your family to take reusable bags to the grocery store. This reduces the amount of plastic bags that would get thrown away. Can you think of other ways to reduce waste? |
Reuse
Even if you try your best to reduce as much as you can, you will probably still have some waste at your home like spaghetti sauce jars, yogurt containers, and cans from soup or beans. You can put these items in the recycling bin, but there is something better you can do instead.
Try turning those empty containers into something useful. You can reuse the spaghetti jar can to store extra crayons or pencils. You can reuse a large yogurt container to hold legos or small toys. And with the help of a grown up you can reuse that soup can as a planter for flowers. Can you think of some other items you can reuse?
Remember, it’s always good to recycle, but it’s even better to reduce and reuse! |