Recycle

Growing up, we are told that the three most important “r’s” reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Ok, if we are sincere, when I was growing up in the 80s it was more “Have you heard of a CD player? They are rad!” than the three “r’s”, but they are still important. And truth be told, when I was a kid, I was also told that I could be anything when I grew up and, yet here I sit in my 40s and NOT a flame-throwing lion taming astronaut.

There are thousands of social media accounts that are dedicated to reusing or upcycling, unused products to give them a new lease on life. However, while it seems everyone on social media has a lathe and unlimited supplies of epoxy resin, we all live in the real world and don’t have access to that stuff, or the knowledge to do it. Honestly, if I were given unlimited epoxy resin; I would end up looking like Han Solo at the end of “Empire Strikes Back” by the end of the day.

We have covered “reduce” quite a bit, so let’s focus on “recycle”. Sure, in a lot of areas you are “supposed to” recycle, but do you know why? Because while you might be trying to live that plastic-free or waste-free lifestyle, occasionally things still come in packaging and that packaging can be recycled. Recycled like that candle fondue set you got one year for Christmas, and it has been making the regifting rounds with your friends ever since.

Always read the labels on products to make sure that if you have to buy something with packaging that it can be recycled. Being a responsible consumer is one way to get the message to corporations that you want them to be more responsible with the way they package their items.

Also, would it kill them to make a position for flame-throwing lion tamer? It might be a bit late to go into space.