Have you ever seen this symbol before? Do you know what it means? This symbol means recycle. When you see this symbol on something, it means that thing can be recycled.
Recycling is one way to help the planet, but it is not the best way. It is one of the three R's. Reduce, reuse, recycle. The three R's tell us what we can do to be responsible with our garbage.
The most important thing you can do is to reduce the garbage you make. Reducing means making less garbage. Don't consume what you don't need to. Don't make garbage if you don't need to.
Do you need to buy those new clothes? Most clothes take over 200 years to biodegrade. Do you need to order that over-packaged product online? Most of the packaging will go to a landfill.
Instead, buy things that you know are durable. Buy things that are biodegrade. Buy things with less packaging.
But sometimes, we have to use things that aren't environmentally friendly. When that happens, you can still do things to help the environment. You can reuse things.
Reusing means using something again. If you use a plastic bag, you can use it at home to do other things so that it does not go into the garbage. You can use it again next time you go shopping. You can use it to hold other things at home.
You don't have to reuse everything yourself. You can donate your used things. Someone else might be able to repurpose it if you can't.
But sometimes, we just cannot reuse garbage anymore. When that happens, the best thing to do with our garbage is to recycle it. Recycling means making garbage new again so that we can use it.
Some things are non-recyclable. In most places, we can recycle paper, plastic, metal and glass. Check for the recycling symbol on the products you buy. Try to use things that can be recycled instead of things that cannot. That is a good way to help the Earth.
Some people say there should be more than three R's. There should be space for repair too. Don't replace something just because it is broken. Can it be fixed instead?
There are many things we can do to help the planet. Use a refillable water bottle. Start composting at your home. What do you do to help the environment?