Why are the three R's numbered in order? There is a hierarchy of waste and environmental harm reduction. The most effective is to reduce, the second most effective is to reuse, and the third most effective is to recycle. These are all different methods that help reduce waste and reduce harmful environmental impact.
Reduce
The word reduce means to minimize or lessen something. From an ecological or environmental science standpoint, reduce means simply consuming less. This is by far the most important step that can be taken towards helping the planet, which is why it is at the top of the hierarchy. This is also sometimes called source reduction, which is reducing the need for a resource before the resource is created.
Logically, reduction is the most effective strategy. Reusing and recycling mitigate the use of resources, whereas reducing means those resources were never touched. An example of reduction can be found in Rene. Rene and her husband, Jahal, are building a home for their growing family. During their appointment with the architect, they are given a choice to build a home that is 3,500 square feet. They decide to reduce the size of their home to 2,500 square feet, knowing that it is still plenty of space for their family. This wise reduction has the following impacts on the environment:
- Fewer materials, like lumber, shingles, paint, flooring, light fixtures, and drywall are required to build the home. This saves not only the resources themselves but also the fuel required to bring them to the building site and the energy required to mine or manufacture the goods.
- Rene, Jahal, and their children don't have to maintain an additional 1,000 square feet. This saves consumable household goods, like flooring and paint.
- The reduced square footage no longer has to be heated and cooled, reducing the number of resources required to run the household.
- Rene, Jahal, and their children don't have to clean the additional 1,000 square feet, which saves energy in running cleaning equipment like vacuums. It also saves water and cleaning supplies from being used.
This is a large example, and Rene and Jahal have made a significant contribution toward improving their carbon footprint. However, even small things when done by many people can make a huge impact. In 2021, over one trillion single-use water bottles were produced. A simple step is purchasing and using a reusable water bottle to reduce single-use plastic water bottle consumption. Canceling unwanted magazine subscriptions, sending emails instead of writing letters, taking shorter showers, or wearing the same functional shoes instead of buying new ones are also easy ways to reduce in daily life.
Reuse
While the reduction strategy is highly effective, it simply isn't possible for many things. By nature, humans have to consume resources like food and shelter to survive. For those resources that must be consumed, how can that resource consumption be ethically and intelligently handled?
Reuse is the second step of the hierarchy because it highlights the importance of repurposing what resources are already available rather than purchasing new ones. Some resources can be purchased new with the intent to use them multiple times rather than only once.
Some great examples of this are
- Cutting up old clothes to use as cleaning rags, rather than purchasing newly manufactured cleaning rags
- Purchasing from and donating to thrift stores or secondhand shops
- Putting a new part into a car and then continuing to drive an older car (that is still functional and safe) rather than replacing it with a fashionable new one
- Using a water reclamation system to use shower water to water a vegetable garden
- Using a library card to borrow books rather than purchasing them and then throwing them away
Recycle
Recycling occurs when new products are made out of the materials from old products. It is symbolized by three arrows creating a triangular shape, as pictured in this lesson. This is by far the least effective waste reduction strategy, and this is largely due to system inefficiency. Recycling is a challenging task. There are many different types of plastic, with different types of labels, that contain different things. Recycling a paper yogurt container with no label is a relatively simple process. However, recycling a plastic hazardous waste container, with a cap in a different type and color of plastic, with a printed plastic label that is made from yet another plastic, is quite a task. Due to this, it is estimated by environmental scientists that less than 40% of items put into recycling bins get recycled. Less than 14% of all plastics worldwide are successfully recycled.
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This isn't to say that recycling isn't important. Recycling science continues to improve, and as new techniques are developed, hopefully, this percentage will increase. A recycling bin will still dramatically decrease per person waste. However, recycling isn't a perfect solution and should only be used after reducing and reusing have been implemented. Some examples of recycling are:
- Using a recycling bin
- Composting organic waste like banana peels, apple cores, discarded cabbage leaves, and onion paper into rich soil to be used in the garden
- Taking old electronics to electronic disposal events which are held in many communities, rather than throwing them away
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Ideally, each person can show reduce, reuse, and recycle examples in their daily lives. Being cognizant of resource consumption is important to ecological science and waste reduction. An example of this can be found in Emma Sue, who is building a barn for her sheep herd. Sustainable agriculture and ecology are an important part of her life, so before beginning the project, she plans to implement each of the 3 Rs in her project. She writes the following in her notebook:
- Reduce: While it would be convenient, I plan to build a smaller tack and supply room. By stacking my hay bales higher, I can reduce the footprint of the barn by about 10% safely.
- Reuse: Meemaw's old barn blew down in the last big storm. I'm going to reuse some of the lumber from the siding in the new barn, so less lumber is used.
- Recycle: I haven't found a good use for the belly wool from last year's wool harvest. I plan to insulate the barn using this waste wool, as it is an effective and ecologically sound option to help keep the barn warm in the winter. My research indicates it can be even more effective than fiberglass insulation, and I already have it here on the ranch. I'll also be using old barrels to make bunk feeders for the sheep rather than buying new ones.
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The 3 Rs are a waste reduction strategy. By decreasing waste, the environment is improved as fewer resources are consumed and wasted. They stand for:
- Reduce: Consuming less. This is sometimes called source reduction, which is reducing the need for a resource before that resource is even created. This is important because the production process itself takes time and resources. An example of this would be eating less energy-intensive food, like purchasing food from local farmers and ranchers rather than from the grocery store. Other examples include canceling unwanted magazine subscriptions and sending emails rather than writing letters.
- Reuse: Giving resources a new use rather than purchasing new ones. An example would be cutting old clothes into cleaning rags rather than purchasing new ones from the store.
- Recycle: New products are made out of materials from old products. An example of this would be putting single-use plastics into a recycling bin so they can be processed into different plastic products, or putting organic waste into a compost bin to create garden soil. Electronics can also be recycled at community events or electronic waste recycling centers.
These are arranged in a hierarchy, with Reduce being the most effective and Recycle being the least effective. Recycling is inefficient, and much of the material that is put into the recycling system isn't recycled. It is far more beneficial to the environment to consume less and consume more wisely.
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Video Transcript
The Three Rs
There is a common mantra that many of us were taught as children but do not always think of on a daily basis. The mantra is reduce, reuse, recycle, otherwise known as the three Rs. Over the last half century, the amount of waste created per person in the United States has almost doubled. The concept and promotion of the three Rs was created to help combat the drastic increase in solid waste production.
Reduce
Let's start with the first R, which is reduce. The three Rs are really a waste management hierarchy with reduce being the most important strategy. In order to reduce the amount of waste produced, it is essential to focus on the source of the waste, or where the waste is originally coming from. Source reduction is when products are designed, manufactured, packaged, and used in a way that limits the amount or toxicity of waste created.
The first goal of source reduction is simply to reduce the overall amount of waste that is produced. The second goal is to conserve resources by not using raw, virgin materials. In other words, by following source reduction, fewer raw materials will have to be used to produce products.
Some common industrial examples of source reduction include the creation of merchandise using fewer materials. For example, the waste created from disposable diapers, which has contributed a large amount of volume to landfills over the years, has been reduced by making diapers with 50% less paper pulp. As technology increased, absorbent gel was created that was able to replace the paper pulp.
Aluminum cans are also a good example of source reduction because they are now made with 1/3 less aluminum than they were twenty years ago. Both of these examples not only reduce the amount of overall waste created, but they also conserve the natural resources, aluminum and paper pulp, that are used in the manufacturing.
Although most examples of source reduction take place on the manufacturing side, there are several actions an individual can take to reduce the overall amount of solid waste they produce. Some examples include sending emails instead of tradition mail, canceling unwanted catalogs subscriptions, and fixing products instead of throwing them out.
Reuse
The second most important strategy of the three Rs is to reuse, which is when an item is cleaned and the materials are used again. This concept can be difficult because we currently live in a world with many disposable items, and it takes some imagination and creativity to see how items can be reused.
There are two main ways that the concept of reusing can be applied to reduce waste. First, when purchasing a new item, you can look for a product that can be used repeatedly instead of a version that is only used once and thrown away. The second way to reuse is to buy an item secondhand, borrow, or rent an item, instead of buying the product new.
Although the items you reuse may eventually end up being waste, by reusing them you are reducing the overall amount of waste produced by giving the item a second function and expanding the typical lifespan of the item. The process of reusing can also be fun because it gives you the opportunity to take an old or used item and turn it into something new to you.
There are many ways that you, as an individual, can reuse items. Some common examples include shopping at thrift stores or yard sales for second hand items. You can also donate items you no longer need to thrift stores so that someone else can use them. Another common method of reuse is to bring your own reusable shopping bags instead of using plastic or paper bags provided at the store.
In addition to individual actions, there are also some industries that implement the process of reuse. Some smaller beverage companies use glass bottles to hold their products and promote consumers returning the bottles. The company then cleans and refills the bottles for sale. It is estimated that the average glass beverage bottle can make about 15 round-trips between the manufacturer and the consumer before it must be recycled due to damage.
Recycle
The third R in the hierarchy is for recycle, which in terms of waste is the reprocessing of disposed materials into new and useful products. Items that are commonly recycled include glass, plastic, paper, and metal. When recycled, some of these materials are used to create more of the same original product, while other materials are used to create entirely different products after recycling.
In the 1960s, the United States only recycled around 6% of waste! As of 2010, the United States recycled approximately 25% of the municipal solid waste produced. Although this percentage may seem small in comparison to other countries, such as Switzerland and Japan that recycle around 50% of waste, the current amount recycled in the United States is a drastic improvement.
As an individual, one of the most beneficial activities you can do to increase your rate of recycling is to designate a bin just for recyclables. Inconvenience is a large reason that people do not recycle. By creating a bin for recyclables, you will be more inclined to clean your item and recycle it if it has a place to go. Also, learning more about what items are recyclable and educating others on recycling are great ways to help increase the rate of recycling.
Lesson Summary
Now, let's review the three Rs, which are reduce, reuse, and recycle. At the top of this waste management hierarchy is the concept of source reduction, which is when products are designed, manufactured, packaged, and used in a way that limits the amount or toxicity of waste created. The second R in the hierarchy is reuse, which is when an item is cleaned and the materials are used again.
The first two Rs, reduce and reuse, are considered more important or preferred methods because they have to do with the prevention of creating waste. These two strategies make it possible to not only reduce the amount of waste produced, but also conserve raw materials and the energy and money that goes into manufacturing.
Although very beneficial, recycling is the third option and third tier of the hierarchy because it is a strategy for dealing with waste once it has been created. In terms of waste management, to recycle is the reprocessing of disposed materials into new and useful products. When items are recycled they are either made into the same type of product or changed into a different type of product.
Although the three Rs, reduce, reuse, and recycle, are good strategies for limiting the amount of waste that goes into landfills, more effort is required to have a larger impact. People need to be informed and educated about these strategies so that they can make more well-informed decisions as consumers and waste producers, and hopefully make decisions that will benefit the environment as a whole.
Learning Outcomes
Working your way through this lesson will help you meet the following goals:
- Identify the three Rs of reducing solid waste and examples of each
- Discuss how people can do their part to impact solid waste reduction
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