The “Reuse” in Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, republished with permission from The Live Better Site

We know about recycling, but how well are we doing on the other two Rs? In this post, I’ll take a look at reusing. Later, I’ll tackle reducing (although if you reuse then you automatically start to reduce!)

Only 5% of the world’s plastic is actually recycled. The rest… well, it winds up in the Plastic Continent, I would imagine. Part of the problem is that recycling plastic is difficult (see my post on “Recycling Plastic: Facts You Need to Know”), but a much larger problem is that most people continue to throw away huge amounts of plastic. Some people are very good about tossing all those plastic water bottles and soda bottles into the recycle bin, but what about plastic sandwich bags? Cling wrap? These things are generally not accepted by recycling facilities. That’s why you should reuse them.

1. Sandwich bags: Plastic sandwich bags that zip at the top are easy to wash and reuse. Just put a bit of soap and hot water into them, zip up, swish around, and rinse out. Then stick it upside down on top of a bottle or the faucet. In a few hours, that bag is ready to use again. Why pay for boxes and boxes of plastic sandwich bags when they can just as easily be reused?

2. Cling wrap: Cling wrap is admittedly more difficult to wash and reuse than a sandwich bag, but cling wrap, too, can see more than one use before it goes into the landfill. To reuse cling wrap, take a soapy sponge and wash it down a few times. Rinse, and hang over the faucet to dry. Once it’s dried, fold it up like a napkin and put it back into the drawer. Just like sandwich bags, it’s easy to use cling wrap several times before it finally becomes unusable.

3. Foil: Foil is easier to wash and reuse than cling wrap, but it doesn’t last quite as long because the foil starts to get brittle as it’s reused again and again. As with cling wrap, a soapy sponge run over the surface of the foil a few times is generally enough to clean it and reuse it. To dry it out, fold it like a tee-pee and set it on the kitchen counter. Once it’s dry, fold it up and put it back in the drawer.

4. Glass jars: Who needs tupperware or disposable plastic storage containers (which leak BPA anyway) when there are so many jars to be had? Each time you use a glass jar, clean it out with soap and water and use it over and over again. Glass jars are one of the best things you can reuse: they never degrade (unless you drop them!), they don’t leak anything poisonous into the environment the way plastic does, and with their matching lids they provide better food storage than any plastic container ever could.

The nice thing about reusing all this stuff is that you are saving money at the same time that you are saving the planet. Imagine never buying a plastic container ever again! Imagine cutting in half (or more) the amount you spend on cling wrap and foil. Why should we live in a “throwaway culture”, when our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents knew better than to throw away these easy to reuse items?

The Live Better Site offers good information and good products to help you live a better, healthier, and more sustainable life, focusing on better health, better mind, and better homes.