The three Rs, who has not heard of these Planet helpers?
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. If you are trying to grow into sustainability, these three words should resonate in your readings rather a lot.
There are also significant social movements about the Five Rs. Not only three: refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, and recycle (actually, in this order), but in these lines, we will focus on Recycling. Because, once you’ve “completed” all the other Rs, Recycling is a vital R as well: it is the most eco-friendly waste disposal practice.
Recycling not only helps the environment, it is an excellent ally to fight climate change, it decreases the need to produce new supplies, and it helps to convert the single-use disposables into circular elements.
Primarily, if we recycle, we are cutting down the volume of new raw materials needed to extract from the Earth, protecting our natural resources. This cutting means less “full” landfills because our waste is recomposed and offered a new purpose, again and again.
Recycling also saves energy. It makes companies emit fewer greenhouse gases into the air (if there is still someone who does not know what it is, the greenhouse gas is a gas that absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range. Greenhouse gases are indeed the cause of the greenhouse effect on our planet).
For instance, when you recycle plastics, you cut down its considerable degradation time (plastics can take up to 1000 years to decompose). And then, you can reuse this material to create a new sustainable product. Like what we do at Sustonable, we recycle PET plastic bottles to make sustainable surfaces and use them as tabletops, vanity tops, wall panels, coverings, bathroom paneling…
It is undeniable that our consumption culture needs to be more sustainable. To revert the climate crisis, we need to employ materials that do not negatively impact our planet. But we are positive our society is more aware of creating more sustainable materials and products and being economically viable. We can live, produce and consume in a circular balance.
Let’s start with the Rs and replacing our single-use habits that are overwhelming the planet!