Reduce the amount of paper you consume. Read online newspapers, brochures, blogs, e-books. Say no to the receipt at the ATM. Do you need a receipt for everything you buy? The paper is often bleached, and the ink is plastic. Paper often ends up with organics further polluting the soil. Save a tree so more carbon can be absorbed; keep it digital. Before emptying the sink after you’ve done the dishes, use the greywater to water your plants or lawn. Using an earth-friendly dish detergent makes this easier, and gives the plants other essential ingredients like phosphorus which can help them grow. One user quipped, "Ok but now I really want one", while another wrote: "I really don't think it's that deep." Reduce, reuse, recycle became the three simple things to remember if you wanted to do your part for the planet, and although it’s been expanded on, it’s still commonly used today.

The definition of “rethink” can be expressed in two words: think again! It is an invite to reassess an impending choice to make sure that you make the right decision. “Rethink” is a reminder to be more rational in our decisions and consider the environment before taking action. Since Earth Day in 1970, schoolchildren have heard the mantra “reduce, reuse, recycle” as the solution for the growing problem of consumer waste. One could argue that the slogan has worked remarkably well. In the U.S., according to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average consumer generated 2.7 pounds of trash each day in 1960 — and 2.5 pounds of that went straight to the landfill. Over the next 20 years, per capita waste generation grew 37 percent, to 3.7 pounds per person, but thanks to increased recycling and energy recovery techniques, discards to landfills increased only 29 percent, to 3.2 pounds, and, more importantly, hit a peak. From 1980 to 2000, U.S. landfill discards actually decreased by 19 percent, even though waste generation continued to grow, to 4.7 pounds per person per day. Over the last decade, the reduce and reuse parts of the slogan have shown signs of catching on, as per capita waste generation has declined to 4.5 pounds per day, and the volume going into U.S. landfills is now less on a per capita basis than it was 50 years ago. Europe has, if anything, made even more progress. Reuse glass jars to keep some food like pasta or rice. Even better, use them to keep your homemade jam or tomato sauce. Therefore, Earth Day couldn’t have come at a better time, and it wasn’t long after that the Environmental Protection Agency was born.

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Let’s look at just a few examples of “repair” before we move on to the last of the 6 Rs of sustainability: In a world where sustainability and eco-consciousness are becoming increasingly important, the reCycle reUse reNew reThink Shirt offers a unique blend of humor and environmental awareness. By wearing this shirt, individuals can join a growing movement of people dedicated to making a difference, one laugh at a time. As time goes on and we learn more about conservation and doing our part for the planet, we discover more R’s that are just as important as reduce, reuse, recycle.

I’m talking a lot about plastic here, but another type of product with huge environmental impact is tech gear. It’s called e-waste. Bring your old tech stuff to dealers that can use the parts. Or sell it. Apple has a recycling program, as well as most other tech brands. Please don’t just throw it ‘away.’ To improve the efficiency of human activities. If it’s economically viable to recycle something, then we are improving the efficiency of our businesses by reducing the cost of that raw material. A third argued, "Someone knew what they were doing", and a fourth commented: "It took me a second and then I audibly gasped lmao".One of the immediate benefits of refusing something we don’t need is to reduce the amount of waste that will end up in landfills. But there is more, in fact, this behavior has the potential to ignite a virtuous cycle by pushing the companies to keep in mind the environment for their design choices. Less demand will lead to a reduction in the production of single-use items and so on for all the items that you are refusing because of environmental concerns. 6 Examples of “Refuse”: how to start a virtuous cycle? In addition, organic “waste” when thrown in a landfill will not become soil, because there are not the right conditions to properly decompose it. On the contrary, this material thrown in a landfill would release methane, which is a powerful greenhouse gas.