The Fourth R

You know when you hear something that rings true, that makes you enthusiastically proclaim “YES!!!”? I had that moment the other day when my best friend pointed out that there are 4 R’s, not 3.

I would love to know the history of the 3 R’s. Was the intention for us to follow them in order? To me, that’s what makes the most sense. Their purpose is to minimize the amount of waste we are creating. However, we seem to put all of our focus on recycling. We’re doing our part right? But if the 3 R’s were meant to be followed in the order we recite them, why do we skip to step 3? It would make sense to, before recycling: 

1. Reduce consumption (select items you need, and go for those that have been produced sustainably, have less packaging, etc.) 

2. Reuse anything you have consumed to maximize the wasted resource (before tossing that glass jam jar in the recycle bin, turn it into a portable juice cup! Or save bread bags and bring them with you to the grocery store to use as produce bags. Be creative!), only then should we 

3. Recycle; when all other options have been exhausted, and there is nothing left to do. Here is where the fourth R comes into play;

Rethink! It’s so easy to go into auto-pilot and do things the way we’ve always done them. 

Stepping outside of yourself to contemplate exactly what you are doing, what impact you are truly making is challenging but necessary. Take into consideration that a factory produced the items you seek, and another factory processes all the recycling. Those 2 factories create an immense amount of greenhouse gasses, so let’s all work together to avoid supporting those factories! They are in it for money. C’est tout. They don’t care about us, or the environment. Just one simple, extra step will make all of the difference.

Rethink. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.