Sunday 13 January 2013

 

Inspiring quotation

"Everyone can make a difference. Often thoughts turn to the notion that the actions of a single individual are too insignificant to truly bring about any meaningful change. Fortunately,history is filled with individual men and women who have proved this to be incorrect. One of the principal reasons that these individuals caused a 'dent in the universe' is because they believed they could. They truly believed they could make a difference...and they did." -E. Tunney


Definition/Meaning of 3 R's

REDUCE - to buy less and use less. Incorporates common sense ideas like turning off the lights, rain barrels, and taking shorter showers, but also plays a part in composting/grasscycling (transportation energy is reduced), low-flow toilets, and programmable thermostats. Includes the terms Re-think, Precycle, Carpool, Efficient, and Environmental Footprint.
REUSE - elements of the discarded item are used again. Initiatives include waste exchange, hand-me-downs, garage sales, quilting, travel mugs, and composting (nutrients). Includes the terms laundry, repair, regift, and upcycle.
RECYCLE - discards are separated into materials that may be incorporated into new products. This is different from Reuse in that energy is used to change the physical properties of the material. Initiatives include Composting, Beverage Container Deposits and buying products with a high content of post-consumer material. Within recycling there is distinction between two types:
--->Upcycle- converting low-value materials in high-value products (more desirable)
--->Downcycle - converting valuable products into low-value raw materials (less desirable)
Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reduce,_Reuse,_Recycle