Precycle then Recycle
Friday, February 5th, 2010Recycling is great, but precycling is even better! Pre-thinking our purchases is a great way to get one-step-ahead on the road to reducing our impact on the environment.
The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) estimates that in 1996, New Yorkers disposed of more than 17.7 million tons of solid waste? And the DEC warns that it is becoming more expensive to dispose of our wastes. Recycling helps, but it is only part of the solution. Consider the amount of energy that is used to transport the materials, melt them down and then re-manufacture items.
The idea behind precycling is trying to avoid the amount of material that winds up in landfills and the recycling bin to begin with.
Some of the common steps we are all taking, like re-using cloth grocery bags instead of paper or plastic, has certainly had an impact. For every bag that’s used just twice, the number of bags used per year is cut in half. That amounts to half the trash right?
Same goes for packaging and reusing other products. Choosing consciousness over convenience is always the way to go when it comes to our environment.
My favorite precycling practices include:
Using cloth napkins instead of paper ones and using microfiber cleaning towels instead of paper ones. BONUS: I never run out!
Purchasing items like hand soap in bulk and using refillable soap containers.
Buying concentrated laundry detergent in bulk (and using less then recommended).
When I need to make a new purchase, I look for “long-life” items like batteries and light bulbs.
What about you? I’d love to hear your thoughts and tips on precycling. Give me a call on Property Source Radio, 585-222-6397 Saturday from 9-10am.
Thanks for reading,
-The Fixie Chick