An Overview of Green Living and The Three R's

You have probably heard the term "going green", but like a lot people you may not know exactly what that means or how to do it. 

Living a "green" lifestyle simply means that you live your life in such a way as to reduce your impact on the environment.  To do this, we must strive to accomplish five things (See All-Recycling-Facts for more information):

1. Reduce consumption and waste;
2. Conserve energy;
3. Conserve resources;
4. Reduce pollution; and
5. Protect the earth's ecological balance with other living things

 That may sound like a daunting task but it doesn't have to be.  There are a number of things that each of us can do to promote a healthy environment.

In my opinion, one of the most important steps toward green living is incorporating the three R's:  Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. 

REDUCE:  By reducing what we consume we are having a direct impact not only on the processes it takes to produce items such as paper, plastic and energy but we reduce our waste.  The best way to reduce our waste is not to create it in the first place.  This step alone meets all five of the goals stated above!

REUSE:    Reusing an item saves resources, energy and money.  In addition, this step allows you to be creative.  Find ways to reinvent something instead of just throwing it out.

RECYCLE:  Recycling is the process of collecting and processing materials that would otherwise be thrown away as trash and turning them into new products.  We all know about paper, plastic and glass but almost anything can be recycled nowadays!  Here is one list of things that can be recycled but a quick search online will provide you with many more.

Going green can be fun!  Get creative with your efforts.  For example, besides traditional recycling I also use a company called Terracycle.  Terracycle upcycles and recycles items that are otherwise difficult to recycle and repurposes them into unique products.  You sign up for one of their programs, collect your waste and ship it to them.  They even pay the shipping!

The important thing to remember about going green is this:  Do something!  Start small.  Every bit counts!  There is a world of information online that can provide you with tips, ideas and answers to questions that you may have.  Here is a few of my favorites:  Go Green America TV, Recyclebank, Earth911, and Ways2GoGreenBlog. 

Green looks good on everyone!

Kim Johnston