Green Waste Management – What Are the 5 R’s of Conservation?
You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Reduce, reuse, recycle.” This slogan was developed in the late 1970s to help curb North Americans’ proclivity for making trash and to aid governments in their efforts to minimize waste.
Using these tips in your workplace can reduce waste and encourage sustainability. Here are the 5 R’s: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, and Recycle.
Refuse
The first step towards green waste management is refusing to use harmful, wasteful and non-recyclable materials. This stops trash before it’s even created. By reducing the amount of products your organisation uses it also saves on cost, time and energy. This can be done by working with your procurement or supplier contacts to reduce the quantity of product packaging used and asking for reusable or returnable containers.
It’s also important to refuse unnecessary swag bags, free coupons and flyers, reusable water bottles, and paper and plastic straws (even though they are bioplastic and technically recyclable). By refusing items it keeps them out of the recycling stream altogether. By implementing efficiency measures and collaborating with an expert fully-managed waste services partner this can be made easier for you and your team.
Reduce
It is important to reduce waste materials when possible. This helps conserve natural resources and energy, and it also reduces greenhouse gas emissions. It is less expensive than extracting and processing raw materials to make new products.
The first step is refusing unnecessary items and avoiding buying or using disposables when possible. It is also a good idea to promote reusable items and choose products that have minimal packaging.
This is the best way to cut back on waste materials. The more garbage that is dumped into landfills, the faster they fill up and lead to negative environmental effects. Reducing wastes helps save money and is a great step towards sustainability. It is a good idea to also reduce paper usage in the office, such as sending emails instead of letters or switching from printing to online newsletters.
Reuse
The reusing phase involves utilizing materials that would otherwise be discarded. This includes repurposing items, such as shopping for second-hand clothing or purchasing reusable water bottles and mugs. It also includes repairing items instead of throwing them out and replacing single-use products with permanent alternatives, such as solar cookers and solar panels.
Reusing items also reduces waste by avoiding the need to produce new ones, which uses energy, timber, oil and other limited natural resources to do so. It can also save money and time for consumers.
It is important for businesses to establish clear recycling systems and educate employees about proper waste management procedures. Product manufacturers should make consumables and packaging that can be reused, repurposed or recycled at the end of their lifespan.
Repair
Whether it’s a bicycle, crockery, or electrical appliances, there are plenty of opportunities to repair what you already have rather than buying new. There are around 1,700 Repair Cafes worldwide, where people meet up to share their expertise and learn how to fix things themselves.
Charter and Keiller found that one of the biggest barriers to repair was a negative stigma attached to damaged or frayed items, which are associated with poverty and social dysfunction. This could be overcome by focusing on introducing interesting methods into repair activities to draw in more people and boost their confidence.
The other barrier to repair is a lack of access to parts and materials, which can be addressed by policies that balance intellectual property protections with genuine product access (e.g. the Right to Repair campaign).
Recycle
Recycle
Recycling is one of the most effective ways to reduce waste and help save money. Recycling helps the environment by reducing the need to extract and process new raw materials, and it also conserves energy.
It is important to always recycle materials when they are damaged instead of throwing them away. For example, you can reuse old metal cans as plant containers and wood crates as storage in your home. It is also a good idea to repair items rather than discarding them.
When it comes to recycling, it is important to make sure that you are putting the right materials in the correct bins. This is because contaminated materials can cause the whole recycling process to fail. To prevent this, you should scrape your containers before putting them in the recycle bin.