Environment

The Three R's

We all generate waste, but what are we doing to help reduce, reuse and recycle our unwanted items? A large amount of material is thrown into our garbage bags and goes to our local landfill sites. In Ontario, we send approximately ten million tonnes of waste to landfill s each year.

Following the 3 R’s will reduce the amount of material going to the landfill and preserve our natural resources. 

Reduce

Reducing the amount of waste you produce in the first place can help to conserve resources and protect the environment. The best way to reduce waste is to purchase less or buy only what you need.

Tips to help you reduce:

• Buy only what you need
• Choose products with little or no packaging
• Buy in bulk
• Avoid purchasing disposal items
• Compost
• Use reusable items
• Waste Free lunches

Reuse

Reusing items can eliminate materials going to the landfill and give a second life to an item. Tips to help you REUSE:

• Donate unwanted items
• Buy products in refillable containers
• Rent items you seldom use
• Repair broken items instead of replacing them with new

Recycle

After we have reduced and reused, the last step is to Recycle. Recycling should be treated as a resource, as it turns “recyclable waste” into new products. For example, producing paper with recycled content requires less energy and produces less pollution than producing paper from virgin pulp.