Reuse - The Second "R"

Most of what we consume ends up as garbage within months, weeks, days or even minutes.  The United States is the world's most wasteful society, per capita, sending 236 million tons of solid waste to landfills eachyear.  That's an average of 4.5 pounds of trash, per person, per day.  By extending the life cycle of products, we can cut down on all that garbage.  

Try to buy items that are reusable or come in reusable packaging -- and make sure you reuse them.  Before you throw it away, ask yourself if that wrapping paper can be saved, that container refilled, those shoes repaired or that machine fixed.  With good environmental habits there is less waste, less pollution, lower carbon emissions and money saved. 

To encourage us all to reuse more, share with us, the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County, your good environmental habit that contributes to the reuse of goods.  

Here's some of my favorites.  Those baseball shoes only worn for one season, bought at a resale shop and returned to a resale shop with only two season's worth of wear and ready to be worn again.  And one I'm proud of, for more than 25 years my husband and I have been homeowners, yet we've only purchased one new lawnmower.  The others have been refurbished and repaired.  When we cut our lawn, we do it with a 1987 Gravely.  It was a farmer's friend and now brings thoughts of it's owner when we ride it to cut our grass.  My husband knows about small machines and keeps in running great.

And the ultimate resuse, go antiquing!