What is Reuse?

We have talked about recycling.  You are probably wondering what 'reuse' means and how it can affect you and your community.

Reuse is very different from recycling.  Instead of carefully discarding items that can be recycled to make new products, reuse involves using the items in another way, when their primary use is finished.

This reuse extends the life cycle of an item, which may eventually be discarded, but in the meantime, is useful and remains in circulation instead of gracing the top of a garbage pile in a landfill.

Here are some great reasons why we should reuse:

• It extends the life cycle of an item and the initial time and effort that went into manufacturing the item. 
• It does not take dedicated skill and energy to produce a new item so these skills can be used to manufacture other, more important products.
• It reduces the amount of manpower and pollutants that would be required to make a new item or recycle old material.
• It reduces the materials and chemicals that must be recycled and those that might otherwise damage or impact our environment.
• It costs less than purchasing a new product or disposing of an old one.
• It can generate new business models and business opportunities.
• It supports crucial charitable work and can provide additional money to fund this work.
  

Here are some examples for life applications:

• If an old automobile tire is recycled, it might become raw material for road surfacing. Or, the tire might become a tire swing hanging from a rope tied to the old oak tree in the backyard, or a painted planter in the front yard. 
• A glass canning jar might become raw material for 'glassphalt' (asphalt glass incorporated into the material). Or the glass canning jar might become a small planter for a window sill, or a 'sand art' container, or even a decorative container to hold colored marbles.
• Other methods of reuse include things like contributing that old car to a charity, where the parts will be salvaged and sold to those who need them. In return, the charity will receive much-needed income for its non-profit business. 

Remember, reuse does not necessarily mean that YOU reuse the item.  It can mean that someone else gets to benefit from its use or sale. As such, selling old household items on eBay or another auction site, can be considered reuse as well. 

If you are finished using the item and you DO NOT throw it away or recycle it - it can be reused by you or someone else. 

It doesn't matter, as long as it is reused!

You may wonder why reuse is so important. 

First and foremost, reuse reduces waste and decreases or postpones the garbage going into our landfills. 

At the same time, it gives you or someone else the opportunity to use an item productively and save the expensive of buying something else to satisfy your need.