Waste Hierarchy: What are the 4 Rs?

4R's of Waste Hierarchy

Waste Hierarchy: What are the 4 Rs?

Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose/Upcycle, Recycle –

These 4 R’s are extremely important when it comes to sustainable living and help manifest environmentally responsible consumer behavior. They all aim to reduce the amount of waste we create, which will not only save money but conserve natural resources and energy as well.

Reduce

Reduce comes first in the waste hierarchy and is the most effective way to prevent waste from being generated in the first place. From production to transportation, every single product that we own uses up large amounts of raw materials and energy, which poses as a detriment to the environment through resource depletion and pollution creation.

Tips on Reducing

  • Only buying what you need
  • Buy in bulk, click here to learn the basics of bulk buying
  • Buy used items from thrift stores or consignment shops
  • Borrow, rent or share items that are used infrequently like Halloween costumes, party decorations, pool toys
  • Printing double sided
  • Avoid buying non-recyclable products

Reuse

Reuse is a great way to give an item an elongated life span by using it more than once. This means that none of the components of the product are wasted and can be used again for the same purpose.

Tips on Reusing

  • Using a reusable grocery bag instead of a getting a new plastic bag at the store
  • Using reusable utensils and water bottles
  • Reusing plastic or glass jars as storage containers (e.g. glass honey jars to store flour or sugar)
  • Repair items like clothes, shoes, tires, electronics or appliances instead of throwing and replacing them
  • Donate unwanted items to charity organizations like Goodwill or Habitat for Humanity and help those in need

Repurpose

Repurposing and upcycling are often used interchangeably but they are actually slightly different. Repurposing is using one product to serve a different purpose and creating a new use for an old product. Examples include making plant pots out of egg cartons or making tea lights out of bottle caps.

Tips on Repurposing

  • Look for inspo on creative ways to repurpose items: blogs
  • Repurposing can be a fun arts-and-craft activity to do with children
  • Works really well during holidays like Halloween and Christmas, where you can make decorations and costumes from old and used items at home

Upcycle

Upcycling on the other hand is enhancing or upgrading a product to better serve the same purpose through the addition of paint, ad-ons, decorations etc. An example is painting over your old table to transform it into a new pretty one.

Tips on Upcycling

  • Look for inspo on creative ways to repurpose items: blogs, YouTube
  • Utilize items at home that might be outdated such as old clothes to use as rags and towels for your project

Recycle

Recycle comes last in the waste hierarchy and should also be the last option you choose if you exhaust all the other choices from reduce, reuse and repurpose/upcycle. This is because it is still creating materials and using up energy during the recycling process. Recycling aims to close the loop on resource consumption and preserve them for continued use by turning them into new products. For example, milk jugs and other plastic containers can be made into new bottles and containers, or even furniture and playground equipment. Paper can be recycled into toilet paper and tissues, and thin cardboard boxes and cartons.

Tips on Recycling

  • Only put items accepted by your waste hauler in your blue recycling bin
  • Make sure your recyclables are generally clean and dry
  • Putting contaminated items into the blue bin can contaminate the entire recycling load and deem it unusable
  • Never bag recyclables in plastic bag
  • Mixed material items such as chip bags cannot be recycled because there is no process to separate the items
  • Keep electronics and hazardous waste items out of your blue bin
  • Visit WasteFreeSD.org to find out where you can recycle other items like electronics and batteries

Recycled Crafts: Toilet Paper Tube Binoculars

Recycle Crafts

Recycled Crafts: Toilet Paper Tube Binoculars

Wondering how to teach your kids about Zero Waste? Recycled crafts are a great place to start! Creating crafts from materials you already have at home is the perfect way to help teach your children about the importance of resource conservation and upcycling.

Here in San Diego County, we create a lot of waste. Residents create an average of 5.6 pounds of waste per person per day. This adds up to 2,044 pounds of waste per year, weighing more than a giraffe! After we throw our trash away, it never really goes “away,” but rather ends up in our landfills. With the current rate our waste is entering our landfills, they are expected to close a lot sooner than we realize. Regionally, our landfills in San Diego County are estimated to close in 2052. In order to avoid going out into our environment and building a new landfill, it is important to see how we can reduce the amount we are throwing away and slow the rate at which our landfills are filling up.

Get Creative and Reuse!

So, how can we throw less away?

Recycling is a great place to start! By sorting our metal, paper and cartons, glass and plastic containers into our recycling bin, we are helping to put these resources back into our economy and produce new products!

Looking to take it one step further? Reuse! Reusing is one amazing way to reduce what we throw away and help our environment thrive. By reusing an item, you are using something again or in a completely new way, giving the item a whole new life. There are many ways to reuse items, but one clever way to get kids involved is to make toys from “trash!” Creating recycled crafts is a great way to get creative with your children and simultaneously teach them about why it’s important to reduce what we throw away.

Start off by taking a look at the items you have at home: toilet paper or paper towel tubes, soda bottles, newspapers, magazines and plenty more! There are so many crafts you can create with traditionally recycled materials. Crafting with repurposed materials helps children think outside the box, while developing fine motor skills and expressing themselves in unique ways; let your child’s imagination take the lead!

Getting Crafty

Don’t toss your toilet paper tubes! They’re great tools to see the world. Simply follow the below instructions and build your very own binoculars.

With a few supplies from around your home, you’ll have everything you need for an afternoon of creativity and science! Follow along to learn how to make Toilet Paper Tube Binoculars.

How to Create –  Toilet Paper Tube Binoculars

Step by Step Instructions

Materials:

  • Two (2) toilet paper rolls
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • String, ribbon, yarn, or wire
  • Scrap paper or photos
  • Markers, paint, or crayons
  • Hole punch or pen

Follow these steps:

1. Gather supplies. Create your own drawing, gather photos from magazines and newspapers, or use wrapping paper to create your own designs to decorate the binoculars.

Recycled Crafts

2. Cut your picture, designs or photos to the same length as the toilet paper roll. Place glue on the back of the photo or picture.

Recycled Crafts

3. Roll the paper around each tube. Let it dry. Punch a hole in each side of the toilet paper roll with a pen or hole punch.  You may want to ask for help with this step.

Recycled Crafts

4. Glue the two rolls together. Tie a string on the side of each roll for a neck strap. Once dry, your binoculars are ready to see new things and explore your world.

Recycle Crafts

 

Visit I Love A Clean San Diego’s YouTube channel to view the video on How to Make Your Toilet Paper Tube Binoculars!

Backyard Science

Once you’re finished making your binoculars, let your budding scientist take inspiration from the outdoors and explore their living landscape! Take a walk around your neighborhood, backyard, park, or playground to see what they can find.

Scavenger Hunt Idea – What can you spot with your binoculars?

Observe what’s around you. Have your child make a list of what they spot. Have them record what they see, draw a picture or describe what the item looks like, noting any specific characteristics.

Keep an eye out for any local San Diego County species:

☐ Animal      ☐ Mineral      ☐ Vegetable      ☐ Wood      ☐ Metal

☐ Plastic      ☐ Glass         ☐ Paper            ☐ Insect