Reduce, reuse, recycle is dead – here’s how to make a difference

What’s wrong with reduce, reuse, recycle?

Reduce, reuse, recycle… it’s been drummed into us since the 70s. But that old mantra sounds a bit hollow now we’ve learned what some unethical companies are doing with our carefully-separated recyclables.

Containers full of recyclable material are shipped overseas, but once they arrive there’s no guarantee that they will actually be recycled. Our plastic waste ends up on beaches, in rivers, in landfills, or could be incinerated. Burning plastic releases toxic gases which can harm the health of the people living nearby.

So while recycling is good in principle, we can’t just ship it abroad and forget about it. The problem with “reduce, reuse, recycle” is we’ve been focusing too much on the “recycle” bit, forgetting that by far the most important bit is “reducing”, i.e. not causing the plastic to be used in the first place.

How can I reduce plastic use?

We need to make plastic reduction central to every decision at work and home. Some good places to start are:

• Buy less stuff, particularly stuff packaged in plastic
• At work, look for opportunities to reduce plastic in your products and packaging. Your one decision at work could have the same impact as thousands of individual consumers reaching the same decision
• Buy loose ingredients from a zero-waste shop, and cook from scratch
• Use bamboo, jute or organic cotton shopping bags instead of either single-use or plastic bags-for-life
• Use beeswax wraps instead of cling film or sandwich bags
• Stop buying plastic junk, e.g. for presents, or for children
• Use bamboo or closed-loop recycling toothbrush heads instead of plastic toothbrushes
• Use re-usable sanitary products
• Make your own sandwiches and coffee. Wrap your sandwiches in a beeswax wrap and put them in a tin. Carry your coffee in a reusable bamboo cup
• Avoid plastic promotional giveaways, both as a giver and a receiver

There are probably thousands of different alternatives to everyday products available – we’ve listed our favourite eco-friendly swaps here.

But success lies in a change of mindset.

• Buy less
• Buy better
• Avoid plastic in as many purchases as possible
• Learn to repair what’s broken
• Borrow
• Lend
• Give things away
• Think “second-hand first”

_{Photo credit: Dustan Woodhouse on Unsplash}