Reduction and conservation of resources in our everyday life is always a wise thing to do although we may not often practise this in our daily lives. But with our resources on earth declining rapidly and the number of people increasing at an extremely fast rate, it is no wonder that there are more actions by the government to get us to practice the 3 Rs. Singapore is a country with limited land space and even more limited resources. This makes it all the more imperative for us to reduce, reuse and recycle in our daily lives, no matter how insignificant it can be. We’ll be taking a look at some of the steps you can start to take in order to start being a model citizen and save the earth.
Reduce
One of the most important aspects in the three Rs, reducing is the number one and most definitely the best way to conserve resources. Reducing means not producing or using resources unnecessarily and is probably the easiest to do. Once you get yourself in the habit of reducing, chances are it’ll just feel like usual and wastage will absolutely irk you then. The easiest way to reduce resources is by doing your shopping wisely. Always buy your items in bulk and bring your own bags whenever possible. Don’t bother paying for items that are packaged to be more premium because that means more materials such as glass are used. As much as possible, avoid taking out food and using disposable plates packets, utensils and napkins as these items induce more disposals and thus wastage. Always go for quality over quantity when it comes to reusable goods so that you can avoid wastage.
Reuse
Reusing products are slightly harder as compared to the other two R’s. This takes a fair bit of creativity in order to get them to work for you. But if you enjoy DIY and getting things done with your hands, then this could be very enjoyable for you. Start reusing items as many times as they can and try to finish the lifespan of a product before disposing of it. If possible, try to manually repair things that get broken instead of disposing of them and buying a new one. When it comes to old mobile phones, try to give them away to someone who needs them instead of throwing them away. Old clothes and furniture should be donated to charities as much as possible and reuse grocery bags for your daily uses instead of repeatedly taking new ones from the store. Finally, many people tend to use disposable cups at work, so instead of doing so, bring your own ceramic one.
Recycle
Last but not least, recycling is one of the easiest steps to follow. Simply split your trash into the three different categories and dispose them in recycling bins instead of the regular trash bins. There is at least 1 recycling bin per block in your region and should be used regularly. Finally, try to buy products made with recycled materials as much as possible in order to contribute back to the community.