Three More Things You Can do to Reuse
- Carry your own spoon!
- Avoid plastic water bottles whenever possible.
- If it’s broken, try to fix it.
Much of nature is wasted whenever we use throwaway products such as plastic forks, spoons and disposable chopsticks. For instance, millions of people use disposable wooden chopsticks every day. This is destroying forests around the world at a very quick rate. One way to help these forests is to use reusable chopsticks made from bamboo, metal or hard plastic. We can also protect nature by using other reusable utensils. One simple trick is to carry a metal spoon in your backpack. That way you can always use it when eating out or at school. Think about it…a spoon can act as a fork and can even cut some foods! Try to also use reusable cups and plates whenever you can, as well as cloth towels, cloth napkins and cloth bags.
Although water is needed for survival, drinking water out of disposable plastic bottles is a big waste of nature! Here in the United States, most of us have perfectly good and safe drinking water right out of our tap. Rather than buying expensive water in plastic bottles (a gallon of water ends up costing $21.00 if you buy it in small bottles!), put a filter on your sink and fill a metal or glass bottle with water from your tap to take to school or to work. If you do buy water in a plastic bottle, recycle the bottle when empty. Don’t reuse it because the plastic in that bottle isn’t meant for using more than once, and it can break down over time, putting harmful chemicals into your water.
In the old days, when people had less money and less access to stuff, they valued the things they had and tried to keep them around as long as possible. If something broke, they fixed it. If it ripped, they mended it. Nowadays, many people just throw the item away and buy a new one. This includes items like television sets, cell phones and shoes. Try to extend the life of the product you have by fixing it, mending it or doing what you can to use it for as long as possible.
