Reduce, Recycle and Reuse

Rajkumari Sharma Tankha

To keep the environment clean, each one of us must reduce the amount of waste we generate in our daily life. In addition, we must also follow the other two “R”s as well i.e. Recycle and Reuse. Reuse whatever you can and recycle what you can’t reuse.

First, let me talk about how to reduce the generation of waste. I am sure, what I am going to say here is something you all already know. It’s just that perhaps these things have not occurred to you as important tips. Use old cardboard boxes as dustbins. If you keep these boxes neat and clean you can also use the board for making project work for your school going kids.

Use kitchen waste to make compost. It’s a simple and an easy-to-do process. If you are lucky enough to have a home garden, make a pit in the garden to dump your kitchen waste. But if you don’t have a garden of your own, use a pot or a bin. And each you dump waste make sure you put a layer of sand over it.

Carry your own cloth bag when you go shopping. This will eliminate the need for taking/buying a polythene bag from the shopkeeper, which in any case ends up in the dustbin.

Do not cook large quantities of food and take only as much as you would eat. Do not overfill your plate and throw the leftover into dustbin. There are lakhs of people who don’t have access to one decent meal a day, think about them.

Try to limit the use of paper as much as possible. Just as you have gone smart for buying cell phones, go smart in the use of stationary as well. Use soft copies instead of hard ones. Similarly, subscribe to online bills, be it mobile, water, power or gas. Shun plastic/ thermocol/ aluminium foil plates when you have parties have home. Go for steel/porcelain/glass utensils that are washable and used again.

And finally, use the plain side of the printed advertisement leaflets that you get along with newspaper in the morning and other printouts for doing rough work. In fact, you can bind all such sheets and give it your kids for use as rough copies and save a lot of money as well.