Commentary adapted from "Choose to Reuse" by Nikki & David Goldbeck:
Why reuse is better than recycle.
Reuse is often confused with recycling, but they are really quite different. (Even those engaged in reuse frequently refer to it as recycling.) Reuse in the broadest sense means any activity that lengthens the life of an item. Recycling, on the other hand, is the reprocessing of an item into a new raw material for use in a new product – for example, grinding the tire and incorporating it into a new road-surfacing compound. Reuse is nothing new. What is new, is the need to reuse.
A SIMPLE SOLUTION.
Reuse is accomplished through many different methods: purchasing durable goods, buying and selling in the used marketplace, borrowing, renting, subscribing to business waste exchanges and making or receiving charitable transfers. It is also achieved by attending to maintenance and repair, as well as by designing in relation to reuse. This may mean developing products that are reuseable, capable of being remanufactured or creatively refashioning used items.
Why is reuse so important? Because at the same time that it confronts the challenges of waste reduction, reuse also sustains a comfortable quality of life and supports a productive economy. With few exceptions, reuse accomplishes these goals more effectively than recycling, and it does so in some of the following ways:
* Reuse keeps goods and materials out of the waste stream
* Reuse advances source reduction
* Reuse results in less hazardous waste
* Reuse saves money in purchase and disposal costs
* Reuse creates less air and water pollution than making a new item or recycling
One other factor which is unique to the concept of "reuse", is that it also brings resources to individuals and organizations that might otherwise be unable to acquire them.
Comment by: PT (David Alexander) (Nov-30-2007) Web site
The article makes points that sound similar but actually are different, and as a result those points show the real benefit of reuse in the broad economic sense, where "economy" indicates everything that creates values for people while protecting or improving the supporting environment that is our share of the planet's carrying capacity for all life.
I wish all Mums and Dads would use long-term thinking, so we can get out of the hole we are in. Some do so already, but I am afraid it may not happen on a large scale until we are all forced economically/environmentally to do it.
Comment by: chenpn (Pelf Nyok) (Nov-30-2007) Web site
Personally, I think that the concept of "reusing" has yet to be accepted by people in general because we refuse to pay a higher price for a more durable product. We constantly tell ourself to only buy whatever is needed, and we do not necessarily purchase anything that is usable, but more expensive.
Take, for example, a pair of sport shoes: Mum would definitely tell son to buy a pair of usable but cheap short shoes by XYZ brand, compared to a pair of sport shoes by Adidas or Nike, though these branded shoes are more likely to last longer and in return, value for money.
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Fossil Fuel
PT (David Alexander)
chenpn (Pelf Nyok)
