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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Reduce
One of the easiest ways to be a good environmental citizen is to reduce, or cut back, in key areas of your life. The three most important things to reduce consumption of are energy, water and solid waste.

Reuse
Reuse is simply the act of finding a second (or third, or tenth, or hundredth) use for a product to prolong its life, and provides the opportunity to not only be thrifty but also to be creative. Most importantly, reuse doesn’t require the strategy of reduction or the energy of recycling.

Reuse is a process that many of us already implement in our everyday lives without realizing. Any time you buy or sell a product second-hand, such as from Craigslist, eBay or Goodwill, you are providing an additional use for this product while at the same time not requiring another one to be created.

Recycle
Recycling is the process of taking a product at the end of its useful life and using all or part of it to make another product. Recycling reduces our garbage level, and making new products out of recycled ones reduces the amount of energy needed in production.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 75 percent of our waste is recyclable, which goes well beyond what you toss in your recycling bin at home or your school. Recycling serves two key components above all else:

• It keeps valuable material such as aluminum and paper out of landfills, so this material can be reused in other forms and not wasted
• It prevents hazardous materials and chemicals such as lead and mercury from ending up in landfills, which can contaminate soil and leak into our drinking water

Because of the second reason, it’s important to recycle lots of products you might not think about. This includes batteries, electronics, motor oil, paint and any product that has “Caution” or “Warning” on the label.

For more Reduce, Reuse, Recycle tips

Transportation

In United States, about half the air pollution comes from cars and trucks. Two important ways to reduce air pollution are to drive less, even a little less, and to drive smart. Taking fewer trips in your car or truck helps cut air pollution. And adopting smart driving habits reduces your car’s emissions.

• Car pool
• Walk or ride a bike
• Use public transportation
• Combine errands into one trip
• Replace your air filter regularly
• Accelerate gradually

Green Shopping

• Buy products in the largest size you can use to avoid excess packaging
• Buy products in containers that you know you will be able to reuse or recycle
• Buy reusable and long lasting products

Ten Ways to Conserve Gas