The 3 R's
The three R's were implemented when landfills started piling up too much. It was thought that by following these guidelines we could make a real change on our trash consumption, and it does help. We can reuse many plastic, glass, and metal things, or recycle most of them and they will become something new, but for many plastics it is a different story.
REUSEDid you know only about five percent of the world reuses their plastic bags? Most people reuse their plastic bags about once before discarding them to the trash, but really the whole reusing process is just prolonging the time until they enter the environment. Reusing plastic isn't very effective because it is suppose to be a single-use product. Single use products are meant to only be used once and then discarded. The issue is not that people aren't reusing their plastic items, but that producers still make these items that are meant to be one-time use. That just increase the amount of trash we put out in landfills, not helping the waste issue in any way. This practice should still be upheld, but in the long run our planet s going to suffer from these items in particular.
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REDUCEReducing the use of plastic is the most effective way to help the planets plastic addiction. By reducing the amount of plastic we use daily we help ocean ecosystems, prevent more carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere and affecting climate change, and helps improve human health. The less plastic we put out into the environment the less it pils up in landfills. Since plastic doesn't decompose, it stays on earth forever. Every piece of plastic ever made still exists today in some form. Plastic reduction includes finding alternatives to use in it's place. For example, use metal reusable straws instead of plastic ones, bring your reusable grocery bags when shopping. Yes these thins may take a little more effort but Earth needs its people to put in the effort to save her.
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RECYCLERecycling has thought to help for a long time. It is a great way to find a new way to make another product, but it has a problem. Many plastics are non-recyclable which means they are not made of enough recyclable materials to actual be reused for something else. This could be like a plastic water bottle cap, plastic bag, packaging. All of these are not recyclable because they aren't made with the right materials. When a recycling plant finds them during sorting, they have to be sent to a landfill where they will sit for hundreds of years. Plastic takes about 1000 years to break down into pieces so small they are just absorbed into the earth.Plastic found in the ocean is the same way. There are microplastic pieces so small found in the ocean that even plankton are ingesting them.
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