Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

On average, Americans make more than 1,680 pounds of waste annually. If you reduce the amount of food you consume, recycle what you have, then recycle or compost what you would normally throw in a garbage canister and reduce waste by 75%.

Last year, BU issued more than 9280.45 tons of waste. This is equivalent to 554.19 pounds of waste per person. Of these, 14% were recycled at Charles River Campus. Since January 2009, BUMC's recycling rate increased by 113%. The national average recovery rate is 33.4%

Energy that can be saved by recycling one aluminum can or glass bottle can operate the TV for 3 hours or turn on the 100 watt bulb for 4 hours. If everyone on campus recycles glass bottles and aluminum cans, avoid adding 6 metric tons (21,000 pounds) of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Although I have heard the word "reduction, reuse, recycling", some environmentalists think that "reduction" and "reuse" have an environmental advantage over "recycling" . This is because if you consume fewer items, the environment consumes more than you, and you can recycle. This is because recycled materials not only recycle energy but also manufacture products. Some say that the environmental benefits of recycling are overestimated, as they not only require energy but may cause pollution. Especially it is said that electronic products are recycled. Many electronic products scheduled for recycling are shipped to overseas developing countries where they are sorted manually. In the selection process, metals and other chemical substances may soak into land and water for recycling. This will damage the environment and its inhabitants.

The table of "Weight loss, reuse, recycling" has a point ignoring this. Today, reduction, recycling, and recycling are synonymous with the packaging industry and landfill, not the outdated cycle of daily technologies, equipment, and machinery used in individuals, homes, or companies. (This is not to ignore many charities that throw away fully reusable, fully functional equipment in developing countries and ensure fashion and trend communication in the first world)