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key words for reducing waste in our modern world
Ref: W11

There are five important Rs to add to your vocabulary:
Refuse, Reduce, Re-use, Recycle and Refuse (but only as a last resort).

By learning to use the five Rs in the correct order we can all reduce the amount of waste that we generate.

1. REFUSE - Refuse to purchase over-packaged goods, tell shop managers why you will not buy their over-packaged products, write to product manufacturers to complain about the waste of resources in their over-packaged goods.

2. REDUCE - Reduce the amount of packaging you buy. Select suppliers who provide goods without packaging. Do you really need to buy this new product, can you buy it second hand to reduce the energy used in making a new item? Reduce the number of things you buy that can not be re-used or recycled.

3. RE-USE - Once you have bought something and it has served its useful life, can it be re-used as something else? Can you think of new uses for things you would otherwise recycle or throw away? Try going through the bin in your classroom or at home and asking yourself if you can find a new use for the items found there. Should they be in the bin or could they be recycled or composted?

Rubbish tip
Rubbish tip

4. RECYCLE - If you can not find a new use for an item then ask yourself if it can be recycled rather than thrown away. Many modern materials can now be recycled to reduce the extraction of raw materials and the energy wasted in manufacturing.

5. REFUSE - If you have gone through all the other Rs; refused to buy over-packaged goods, reduced your use of these goods, found no other way to re-use the item once it has served its life, found no way to recycle or compost the item or its constituent parts then you can add the item to the refuse pile (rubbish). Bear in mind that this item will be buried in a deep hole.

Ask yourself each time you throw something away - did I really need to buy this in the first place? If it can't be re-used or recycled perhaps you should refuse to buy it in the first place! Refuse to add things to the refuse!

Exercise: Add the correct "R" word to these pictures

Farm Waste Poster
Waste minimisation
Saving roof water
Farm Waste Poster
Waste minimisation
Saving roof water

Making scarecrows
Making scarecrows

Rubbish dumped by river

Making scarecrows
Making scarecrows
Children from Blisland School recycled waste plastic and straw on a farm to make scarecrows
 
Rubbish dumped by river

Draw a poster to teach people about the "Five Rs" in the home, at work or at school.

  produced by the WESTCOUNTRY RIVERS TRUST as part of the CORNWALL RIVERS PROJECT  
 

www.wrt.org.uk
www.cornwallriversproject.org.uk