The Four R's : Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rebuy
Reduce
Reduce is the best of the four R’s—because preventing waste in the first place means you have less waste to worry about in the end!
Waste Reduction Tips
Reuse
Reuse is the next best—if you can reuse your waste, it is no longer considered waste! Giving away old clothes and other unwanted items to charities and thrift stores keeps good items out of the trash and can save you money. Why pay extra to dump good usable items when you can donate them for free? You can also save money by purchasing reused items. You can get a bookshelf at a thrift shop for $10 that you would pay $40 for at a retail store!
Looking for a way to reuse something? Check out our Recyclopedia
Recycle
Sometimes things can’t be reused. Recycling keeps raw material in the system and keeps us less dependent on virgin ore, oil and trees for raw materials. If we can keep recycling our products, not only will we reduce the amount of material going to the landfill, we will also reduce the necessity of mining and chopping down trees! Davis Recycling Guide
Rebuy
Close the loop! What good is recycling if nobody buys the recycled products? Buying recycled products creates a larger demand for them. More demand means more manufacturers will try selling more recycled products. You also might want to consider only buying products that can be recycled. For example, some yogurt comes in recyclable containers, and some yogurt does not. Buying the recyclable yogurt container allows you to reduce waste by recycling the container afterwards.
Rebuy Tips