Why we Chose Reduce and Reuse Author: Andriy Kumanovskyy

Reduce and Reuse is more important than Recycle. Why? Because we have become overly dependent on an ever-finite amount of resources. Firstly, reducing will eliminate the need for recycling, often perceived as a ‘last best option’, but is recycling really good enough to be classified as even that? Evidence point to yes, but not as effective as reducing and reusing. While the act of recycling, compared with landfilling, is better for the environment (and consequently, us), the best option is source reduction.

Source reduction through reducing and reusing eliminates all of the energy requirements of recycling, such as, energy expenditure of the machines and the transportation of product throughout its various stages. It also reduces the chance that the waste you are hoping would get recycled -- wouldn’t, and would just end up in the landfill. One great way to help is through a great app called ‘TO waste’, which helps you learn with ease what goes in what bin to eliminate confusion. Ideally this app will expand its education scope to source reduction education, as well as geographically to other cities in the Greater Toronto Area as well as in other Provinces and Countries -- especially those where a fraction of the content is recycled.

One such way to reduce our overconsumption on recycling, and to accelerate to shift towards source reduction is to reuse, and consequently reduce -- since there is less of a need to buy new single use bags, bottles, and other things. Helping us make a case (while also shedding light on one of many eco myths -- ‘that single use paper bags are better than plastic’) for reducing and reusing is a study by Associate professor Robert M. Kimmel at Clemson University with the application of grocery bags (a small [around 1% of all plastic waste are bags], but nevertheless relevant and important plastic contender for us to extend this analogy to other single use items). According to the Clemson University ‘2014 Life Cycle Assessment of Grocery Bags in Common Use in the United States Robert M. Kimmel, Sc.D.’ study:

“Paper bags are given preference, often to the total exclusion of PRBs (Plastic Retail Bags), by most plastic bag legislation, by “organic” food stores and by many environmentally conscious organizations and individuals. This preference originates because paper bags are perceived as coming from a renewable resource (trees), as being recyclable and as being compostable in an appropriate composting environment. However, the data in the present study, in which the entire Life Cycles of both Paper bags and PRBs have been examined, show that Paper bags are more detrimental to the environment in ten of the twelve environmental impact categories studied and, on average, are 4 to 7.5 times more detrimental to the environment vs. PRBs (plastic retail bags).”.

The above is especially true when considering the global warming potential (GWP) of plastic bags. So if the plastic bag options are bad for both human and ecosystem health, but paper bags contribute more towards an arguably more pressing issue of climate change/crisis (because our goal is to minimize the most, and and most pressing environmental impacts first.. If there is a conflict between the two), what is the solution?

The best options are opting for the reusable, with the effect more powerful the more times they are reused! Most often, a good (and rather obvious) idea is to take care of your reusables so that they may last longer. The paper also has content with regards to cleaning your reusable grocery bags such as presented underneath in the ‘quote’, as well as other research related insights best found in the ‘conclusions’ section starting on page 141.

“Consumers should frequently clean their reusable bags by washing NWPP types in a washing machine and by wiping (with hot water or perhaps disinfecting wipes) their LDPE types”

This concept of reusing (and consequently reducing), can be generalized and applied to other parts of our often needlessly consumeristic everyday life in a way that is convenient, and at the very least -- convenient once habitual (and it only takes about 66 days (about two months) to form a habit! In just 1/6th [18% of a year] you could be well on your way to achieving your New Year’s resolution.. But that’s a topic for another day) [SOURCE]

In future articles we will be exploring examples of these ‘ground up’, grassroots approaches by regular people utilizing concepts of reducing and reusing in their everyday life.