IS RECYCLING WORTH IT?

THE 5 R’S:
REFUSE, REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE AND ROT
OVERVIEW

• Intro
• The 3 R’s – Reading, ‘Riting, ‘Rithmetic
• The 5 R’s of Recycling to leave a small footprint on the planet
• Refuse
• Reduce
• Reuse
• Recycle
• Rot
• The question – Is RECYCLING worth it?
QUOTE FROM BEA JOHNSON,
ZERO-WASTE ZEALOT
( PASSIONATE ABOUT LEAVING A SMALL FOOTPRINT ON THE PLANET )

“They refuse what they don’t need,

Reduce what they do need,
Reuse by avoiding disposables and buying secondhand,
Recycle what they can’t refuse and
Rot (compost) what’s left.”
Her book: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life by Reducing Your Waste
Blog: www.zerowastehome.com
 WHAT CAN BE DONE?

• Consumers and businesses have an ethical obligation to do their part to

reuse or recycle unwanted items
• Raise awareness
• Reduce unwanted waste in landfills
• Keep recycling simple for everyone
WHAT CAN BE DONE ?

The recycling industry and government-run media companies work to raise

awareness.
Glass, metal, plastic, paper, produce in landfills--an estimated 85% in some U.S.
states filled with unwanted waste. Recycling is the process of collecting
unwanted materials and reusing them somewhere else. Recycling impacts our
environment and the quality of our life. The more that people share recycling
ideas, the more people will continue to raise their awareness of the benefits of
recycling – and the more they are inclined to recycle.
RECYCLING IS THE PROCESS OF COLLECTING UNWANTED
MATERIALS AND REUSING THEM SOMEWHERE ELSE
The recycling industry and media companies run by the government also
work to raise awareness of potential chemical hazards of glass, metal,
plastic, paper, that end up as landfill.
Recycling impacts our environment and the quality of our life. The more
people continue to increase awareness of the benefits of recycling, the
more people are inclined to recycle.
• Utah is ranked #47 in the U.S. out of the 50 for recycling.
(San Francisco is #1, the best city in the nation when it comes to recycling.)
We can do better! We MUST do better!
HOW CAN WE BE BETTER
AT RECYCLING

?
#1 REFUSE

• Refuse what you don’t need.

#2 REDUCE

Reduce the amount of things we buy.

Your cupboards will thank you!
#3 REUSE

Reuse things by avoiding disposables and buying secondhand.

# 4 RECYCLE

Recycle what you cannot refuse, reduce, or reuse.

Only after we do each of these properly,
can we learn how to recycle to recycle properly.
#5 ROT
As Bea Johnson does with her recycling family:
• “They refuse what they don’t need,
• Reduce what they do need,
• Reuse by avoiding disposables and buying secondhand,
• Recycle what they can’t refuse, and
• Rot (compost) what’s left.
Whatever is left over, let it ROT !!

Bea Johnson’s family’s annual

household garbage
fits into a quart jar!!!
REFUSE, REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE, AND ROT
TO ENJOY A BETTER LIFE !!
GLASS
• Glass is made from all-natural
materials and can be recycled
endlessly into new glass.

• Recycled glass can replace 95%

of the raw materials needed to make new glass.

Is it worth it? Absolutely !

 METALS
• Most recycled aluminum cans are
used to make new cans.

• Producing aluminum from raw

materials is energy-intensive, and making
products from recycled aluminum
uses a whopping 90% less energy.

Is it worth it? Absolutely !!

 PAPER
• Every ton of recycled paper saves
the energy equivalent of 165 gallons
of gasoline, or enough energy to power
the average U.S. home for six months.
• According to the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), recycling paper causes 35%
less water pollution and 74% less air pollution
than making paper from raw materials.

Is it worth it? Absolutely !!

IN CONCLUSION

“The significant problems we face cannot

be solved at the same level of thinking
we were at when we created them.”
-- Einstein
IN CONCLUSION

“The future exists in our mind.”

Augusto Cury, Brazilian psychologist
IS IT WORTH IT ?

Absolutely !!!!
WORKS CITED

• Poncavage, Joanna. "Is Recycling Worth It?." Mother Earth News, no. 268,
Feb/Mar2015, p. 65. EBSCOhost,
libprox1.slcc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db
=f6h&AN=100374232&site=eds-live.
• Nodoushani, Omid, et al. "Recycling and Its Effects on the Environment." Competition
Forum, vol. 14, no. 1, Jan. 2016, pp. 65-69. EBSCOhost,
libprox1.slcc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db
=s3h&AN=119221310&site=eds-live.