Our Work

We offer this waste reduction ReSource as a platform to share ideas about how to reduce what we buy, reuse what we have, and know the best options for how to recycle.

Be The Change

Simply put, we humans cannot continue our current habits of consumption indefinitely. The supply of resources to make so much of what we consume, as well as the energy it takes to create and ship these items to us is— quite simply— not sustainable. We will run out of fossil fuels like oil, coal, and natural gas. We will continue to pollute our air and water as we draw down these finite resources. We will keep endangering our climate as it moves us toward an environment that cannot support human life.

Today, many scientists, and thinkers of all stripes, say we CAN reverse our trajectory toward climate change. What they don’t say is whether, or not, nations, governments, and individuals have the will to do their parts. Do you?

How and why our climate is changing, and the ways that change is affecting us, may seem to be a very large problem. That’s because it is. However, at any point, in any moment, we can begin to exercise our will to change. Let’s not think of this shift as an overwhelming task, because that’s a thought that will stop us dead in our tracks.

We don’t need a handful of people recycling perfectly. We need a LOT of people doing it well enough.

That said, we use the words reduce, reuse, and recycle very purposefully. If we reduce consumption, and reuse still-useful items, we only need to recycle as a last resort

The First Choice

Reduce

Reducing what we buy, what we use, means creating less waste. Many things we use every day are single-use items we soon throw away. Whether this waste goes to an overcrowded landfill, becomes litter on the street, or pollutes our beautiful oceans, our waste can harm our planet. If there’s anything you could cut back on, making that change could not only help the environment, it will also help your budget. Remember, too – reducing will brighten your budget. Start now to think about what you use and how you can reduce your overall consumption. Here are ideas that will get you started.

Evaluate your purchasing habits. Consider what will happen to your purchases at the end of their usefulness to you.

Resist impulse buying.

Opt for less packaging.

Avoid single-use plastics.

Save lots of bottles and cans every year by using refillable bottles instead of buying single-use beverage containers.

Shop with your own reusable bags, including produce bags.

Look for a refill store nearby where you can buy items with minimal packaging, where you can refill your cleaning and personal care products in their original containers.

Substitute multipurpose items like vinegar and baking soda for cleaning products, coconut oil for cooking and skin health, castile soap to wash anything from your skin to your clothes. Fewer products = fewer containers = less to throw away.

Use all the product in any container. They are not often designed to make them easy to empty. Cut open those toothpaste tubes for that extra 3 or 4 brushes. Scoop out all your lotions and shampoos. You may have to cut open some containers to get to the last drop.

In addition to reducing what you buy, there are other things you can reduce, like the amount of water and electricity you use on a daily basis. This habit could help shrink your budget and your carbon footprint.

The Second Choice

Reuse

Reuse, repair, share, sell, or give away usable items. All of these options save money and resources.

Reuse and repair items you already have and replace single-use items with those you can use again and again.

Stop buying disposable items like grocery bags, water bottles, travel mugs, disposable razors, paper towels, tin foil, cling film, etc. Replace them with reusable ones that you may already have. Think glass mugs, silverware, dish rags. Reuse food containers like glass jars from salsa, jellies and pickles as new containers for leftovers or pantry storage. These are also great to take to the store for those bulk bin items.

Reuse boxes and shipping envelopes by peeling off the old label and adding your own.

If things break, repair them. Mend your old clothing or bring your broken items to have repaired at shoe shops and tailors, etc. Are there any Repair Cafés nearby?

Shop second-hand. So many things are given away that still have loads of life left in them. Check out our local thrift stores for donating and purchasing. Give items you no longer use a second life. Donate them to a local thrift shop or shops and to other people via “freecycling” efforts.

The Third ChoicE

Recycle

Reduce and Reuse, and if those options are not possible, Recycle.

What is meant by recycling is changing in the US, and around the world. We need to be aware that policies continue to shift, as do market forces.

It’s widely agreed that recycling has an important place in managing waste. When recycling is effective, it can prevent a wide range of items from piling up in landfills and polluting the environment. However, the recycling process has its own issues. We need to understand the process so that we can make effective decisions about how to deal with our waste, and how those decisions impact our lives.

The Upsides of Recycling

Reduces the amount of landfill that, as it breaks down, releases greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere; landfills can leach contaminants into the ground, causing soil pollution and contaminating ground water.

Reduces pollution caused by incineration that releases heavy metals and toxic chemicals into the atmosphere.

Reduces the consumption of earth resources like metals, trees, and fossil fuels in the production of goods.

Saves on the energy needed to make products and materials. Though the recycling process uses energy, it is generally less than when manufacturing new materials.

Raises awareness of environmental issues. When we understand the waste stream and dispose of our trash more responsibly, we become more conscious of our eco-footprint.

Creates jobs. Recycling is a labor-intensive process. Large numbers of people are needed to run recycling facilities, from transporting and processing waste to creating new products from recovered materials. Ecocycle.org estimates that we would generate around 1.1 million jobs in the USA if the recycling rate increased to 75%. Currently, we recycle around 30% of solid municipal waste.

The Downsides of Recycling

Too much of what is written about recycling pays little attention to the downside risks. This omission has led to recycling sometimes serving as just a band-aid, allowing us to lose sight of the actual causes of our waste problems. How does this happen?

Our recyclables may be exported. China took almost half of the world’s recycling waste for decades until they banned the process in 2018. Of the 16 million tons of paper, metal, and plastic the US alone sent to China in 2016, about a third of it was not recycled due to contamination. Instead, it ended up littering the Chinese countryside and oceans. Since 2018 this practice has passed the waste problem on to other countries such as India, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia which are being inundated with US plastics that pose a threat to their ecosystems.

Recycling uses energy. Unlike reducing and reusing, recycling is an energy-intensive process and can contribute to carbon emissions in the atmosphere.

Recycling, especially plastic recycling, can generate pollution that adds toxins to groundwater, soil, and air.

Recycling is expensive, particularly due to the costs required to set up recycling programs and infrastructure in the first place. Import bans from China and other countries have also made recycling less economically viable. Today, towns need to pay huge sums of money to run their recycling programs.

Recycling requires consumers to carefully prepare their waste. Communities rely individuals to prepare their recyclables properly before putting them out curbside or sending them to a recycling facility. Recyclables can be contaminated by food waste or because they’re mixed with materials the recycling facility won’t accept, such as straws and plastic bags.

Recycling inadvertently encourages us to use disposable items. Critics say that recycling gives us a false sense of security, as it makes us feel like we’re solving our waste problem—single use, disposable products are a serious problem even when recycled.

Reduce. Reuse. Please Only recycle if you have to.

Help Grow This ReSource

We want to get the word out. Help us to keep expanding our waste reduction, information and outreach work. You can help us by contributing to the directory, volunteering at our events, signing up for our newsletter, or donating to our organization. The Floyd ReSource is a project of SustainFloyd, a 501(c)3 organization and your contributions are tax deductible.

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