The R’s of Sustainability To Live More Consciously

You are probably familiar with the term ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’, the pillars of sustainability. However, there are even more R’s we should adopt while trying to live an eco-friendlier life. Sustainability tackles the problem of resources being finite, and therefore strives to analyze ways in which all forms of consumption are dealt with in the most conscious way possible and with the clarity that everything we create in this world demands water, materials, work, and energy to be produced.

All three R’s are accurate, but recycling should be considered the last option in an object’s lifespan, as it is a very complex process. We tend to just throw stuff in our recycling bin, thinking everything will magically come back renewed to the market. But recycling demands a lot of resources and may also cause pollution. Plastics can degrade when being recycled, so it’s difficult for a plastic bottle to be recycled into another plastic bottle, for example. Most importantly, not everything you throw into that bin will be recycled. It is estimated that only 10% of global plastic waste is recycled. This is reason enough for us to not rely blindly on it and, instead, be more intentional and conscious of our choices.

This list could change according to different people; some may only talk about a few of these, or you could even consider adding more Rs. In this case, Sustainable Rookie will present you with the 9 R’s of Sustainability.

1. RETHINK

Having said all the above, the ‘R’ I think should go first is ‘Rethink’. There is nothing more impactful than to have the power to choose. How many of the buying choices we make are necessary? How many are just answering to an impulse, a social standard, a desire to be ‘trendy’? The most important thing you can do to slow down, which in my opinion is the most significant action to take to start living more sustainably, is to stop and rethink. To slow down, just ask yourself ‘do I really need that’? When you analyze the reasons behind your desire to buy or use something, you start acting consciously. You stop doing things out of habit or automatically, without thinking. Rethinking involves auditing these consumption habits and reflecting on the limited nature of resources. A great way you can be motivated to stop before making a purchase, is to understand that one more thing you buy means a bunch of resources less for the world to use. It is not our fault that we live in a society that believes the earth has unlimited resources for us and that we will never lack anything, because the soil and nature will just keep on giving, and the aisles at the supermarket will continue to be restocked. Two more ‘R's that could appear together with Rethinking is Respect and Responsibility. By reconsidering our choices, we assume our responsibility as inhabitants on earth (as borrowers, not owners of this planet), and we start respecting it.

2. REFUSE 

The second ‘R’ goes hand in hand with Rethinking. Even though the first ‘R’ applies more to stopping to analyze before buying something, when you refuse you are also rethinking your decisions. In my opinion, this ‘R’ relates more to single-use objects that are unnecessary. For example, when you are in a café and the waiter brings you a straw with the smoothie you just ordered. In this case, you can say ‘thank you’ for the smoothie and before the waiter leaves, tell him you won’t be needing the straw, and you can give it back to him so he can reuse it or save it. Even if that straw is biodegradable or non-plastic, it is still an item that had to be produced and therefore consumed a lot of resources, and will also be trash until it biodegrades in a few years (not to mention most of these straws are compostable, but only in industrial facilities, and cafés who offer them don’t usually offer compost bins to send to these facilities, and they will thus probably end up in the landfill as trash). Basically, if you don’t need it, refuse it. Give it back if they already put a straw on your table (or bring your own reusable straw). You can do this with napkins, coffee lids for your to-go-coffee (even better if you take your own reusable mug), ketchup packs or any condiments, among other things. If you have a restaurant or café, or you work in one, consider an opt-in option for these types of items. Ask the customer if they need a straw, instead of just giving it to them straightaway.

 3. REDUCE

Reducing means consuming less and creating less waste. Slowing down will help us reduce the number of things we buy, for example, but there are other things we should focus on reducing, like water usage by closing faucets or not throwing away the water we use for cooking. If we tend to order-in very frequently, then a great way of reducing the packaging consumption that comes with it is to eat out at the restaurant, or to cook ourselves. We don’t have to even think about recycling something and using resources to do so if we never use it in the first place.

4. REUSE 

Anything you can’t Refuse or Reduce (and therefore, you use it), you can always Reuse. This sounds like a tongue-twister or a bad poem, but another way we can help the environment is reusing what we have. This can mean several things. For instance, you can reuse the clothes you already have in your wardrobe, instead of using garments only a few times and buying new ones because you got bored or they aren’t ‘trendy’ anymore. You can also reuse a water bottle, instead of buying single-use plastic bottles, or, even if you end up buying a single-use plastic bottle once, trying to reuse it before recycling it. Another way in which this concept applies is Repurposing, which could work as another ‘R’, but I’ll merge it with Reusing. Repurposing demands creativity, and it means giving one object another purpose before saying goodbye to it. For example, using an old t-shirt as a rag, or using the thing one more time before throwing it away. Personally, I reuse the plastic bags I have from my gluten-free oats as trash bags. Use your imagination and add extra life to those things you thought had reached their end!

5. REFILL 

In certain cases, you can consider Refilling. This can be done with beauty products or food, to name a few. There are some beauty brands that offer their products in packaging that can be sent back to them so they can refill it and sell it again. Look for cruelty-free and vegan brands that offer this service or perk, so you know that the container in which your product comes will be a part of a circular economy and won’t go to the landfill, and won’t even need to get recycled, which demands way more resources than a refill.

You can also Refill when buying in bulk. You can invest in organic cotton produce bags or use anything that resembles it that you already have at home, even old mason jars, and buy food in bulk.  Another similar way is using packaging/containers you have from previous purchases and buy beauty or cleaning products in bulk.

6. REFURBISH

Refurbishing means renovating or brightening something you already have, and making it look like new. In this process, we can realize there is more to an object than we think at first sight, and that a piece of furniture, for example, can look how we want it to if we put a bit of love and effort. An old brownish desk might not go well with our modern apartment, but if we paint it white, perhaps, it can still be used. We put our imagination to good use by envisioning new ways in which to appreciate objects, and why not, try some luck at crafts.

It can also include upcycling–a process in which we transform something that can at first be considered useless into another thing of greater value. An example of an upcycling product can be bottle bricks, making art with trash, or using an old door as a headboard.

7. REPAIR 

Before replacing something, you should try Repairing it. If you have a pair of jeans but one of the pockets became unstitched, fix it, don’t throw away or donate the jean. This sounds obvious but in these times it isn’t. We have become so used to clothes being cheap, we consider it normal to assume they are disposable. In Argentina, we are very used to the idea of mending clothes, because fashion is super expensive there, and I think that is the way we should see it: not expensive in the terms of the price tag, but in terms of the resources and workforce that had to be invested into that garment for it to get to the store.

You can also repair other things besides clothes, and this includes household appliances, furniture, shoes, or anything that comes up to your mind.

8. ROT

One last R before moving on to Recycling: Rotting! This refers to the fabulous art of composting, in which some things that are usually thrown away, are turned into a magical hummus that can nurture soil. For this, you need things that are biodegradable and compostable, so that no toxins are left behind and everything can break up nicely. Some things you think will dissolve easily once you throw them into the trash can, won’t do so when it ends up in a landfill, where conditions for materials to be composted are not ideal.

There are numerous things that can be thrown to the compost bin, the most popularly known being veggie scraps, coffee grounds, cardboard, and even hair.

Be careful with some products that are labeled as compostable, as most of them will only be composted in a composting facility and not in your backyard. Unless you have one of these facilities in your backyard, those products will basically act in the same way as plastics if you just throw them in your garden, as they will only be composted when they go through a specific industrial process. An example of these are disposable cutlery and plates labeled compostable.

9. RECYCLE

The last ‘R’ of sustainability is Recycling. When you have exhausted all other Rs, which should be viewed as your first options, you can recycle the object in question. Separate your trash according to its recyclability, and make sure that everything is empty and clean before placing it on the recycling bin. Also, keep in mind that the higher the numbers you see on the recyclable object (the number inside the recycling sign), the more difficult it is to recycle it, so make sure the previous ‘R’s aren’t an option at all or you’ve already been through them, before recycling it. Not everything is recyclable (as a case in point, receipts aren’t recyclable), so don’t fall into a ‘wishcycling’ attitude in which you throw anything on the bin in the hopes that it will get recycled. It won’t!

With these ‘R’s in mind you will know how to deal with different situations in order to approach them in the most sustainable way possible.

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Hi, I’m Melina,

I’m the creator of Sustainable Rookie, and my goal is to share what I learn throughout my sustainability journey, so that I can help other people live a more conscious life.

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