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Recycle it!

Reduce your consumption, Reuse whatever you can, Recycle all you can and finally leave to Rot anything that can go on your compost heap.

These four R's, if kept in mind, can be the prime mover for your drive for a greener environment.

We hope you will find more to motivate you as you read on.

Segregating

To recycle, you first need to segregate: separate the various types of waste. Your local council should provide the bins for segregation. If not, just put paper, glass bottles, plastic, paper and others in separate bags or crates and take them to the local supermarket recycling bins, scrap merchant or recycling company.

At home and at school, you can help sort rubbish into things that can be recycled and things that can't. Many things can be recycled, including steel and aluminium cans, glass bottles and jars, milk bottles, some plastics, paper and cardboard. If you have old books, typewriters, toys or clothes in good condition that you don't want, you can give them to a charity instead of throwing them away.

At work there is often more that can be done. Please see our work recycle section.

If you think green plastics is a contradiction in terms, then visit greenplastics.com. Learn more about green plastics as materials and find out about manufacturers and sources of say biodegradable rubbish bags.

Use Greener Stationery

Again, let your buyer let potential suppliers know that you will select based on the most eco-friendly solution. Buy recycled paper stationery (printed and paper reams).

Americans recycled 42 million tons of paper last year—50% of what they used—but still pulverized the rest. Paper does grow on trees: 900 million of them every year become pulp and paper.

We can reduce that number by buying more recycled paper. It uses 60% less energy than virgin paper. Each ton purchased saves 4,000 kW-h of energy, 7,000 gal. of water and 17 trees, and a tree has the capacity to filter up to 60 lbs. of pollutants from the air.

Recycle Old Fleeces?

Where do old fleece jackets go to die? Back to the mountain. Outdoor-gear label Patagonia is collecting used clothing (regardless of brand) made from Polartec and Capilene to melt and make into new fabric and clothes. (Some of that fleece is especially virtuous, starting out as fabric made from recycled plastic.) The company estimates that making polyester fiber out of recycled garments, compared with using new polyester, will result in a 76% energy savings and reduce greenhouse gases 71%.

To shear your own fleece, visit Patagonia, Reno, Nevada.

• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot
• Resist the urge to upgrade every time a "newer" or "cooler" gadget comes out. Reduce at the source - you save money and the time (and frustration) learning how to operate and program the new gadget!
• Donate working electronics to charities or school programs resell or refurbish them.
• Completely broken? Recycle! Electronics are the new “hot” item being recycled across the country.
• Refill or recycle your inkjet or toner cartridges.
• Be sure you are recycling at home.
• Buy recycled paper products.
• Recycle aluminium. The amount of energy saved by recycling one aluminium drinks can is enough to run a TV for three hours.
• Check whether the magazines you like are printed on recycled paper. If not, contact the publisher and tell them you’d like them to switch to post-consumer recycled paper.
• Reduce the number of shopping bags you use. Take used plastic bags in your handbag and fill them at the checkout till. (not necessary when the supermarket supplies compostable bags)
• Use reusable or compostable shopping bags.
• See our tips for schools here.

Egeneration has a great Resource Bank where you can search for people wanting your waste or redundant materials/items. You can also register your items on-line for others to see.