Have heard of something called the waste hierarchy? If you haven't, you may be wondering what that means. It is the order of priority of actions to be taken to reduce the amount of waste generated and to improve overall waste management processes and programs.
The waste hierarchy consists of 3 R’s as follows:
- Reduce
- Reuse
- Recycle
The Three R’s are considered to be a waste hierarchy and the guidance suggested for creating a sustainable life. Surprisingly, every year approximately 230 million tons of trash or waste is generated and this equals about 4.6 pounds of waste per person per day. Sadly, less than 1/4 of this is recycled, the rest is incinerated or left in landfills. In fact, we could recycle about 70% of what is tossed in landfills, with just a little bit of thought and ingenuity. You might be wondering as to how can you incorporate these principles in your daily life. They are not hard to implement. All you need is to bring a small change in your daily lifestyle to reduce waste so that less amount of it goes to the landfill that can reduce your carbon footprint. My suggestion is to try and reuse any and all materials that can be reused and recycled for craft projects. Over the next few months, I'll be talking about how to incorporate the three R's into library craft programs and giving out tips and craft ideas that highlight recycled materials.
Tune in next time for my next installation on how to Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle, this will be a library crafting series with lots of information on recycling, how to use recycled materials for crafts, and how to put on a Three R's craft program.
Mrs. Librarian Lady
