Off the Urban Grid

Reuse and Recycle: What’s the Difference?

Reducing, reusing and recycling are well known ways to help the environment. However, do you know the difference between reuse and recycle? You probably do both of them, but it can be easy to confuse the two if you’re not familiar with their definitions.

Reuse is when you try to use an item as much as you can to make it last longer. For example, you might take the same water bottle to work or buy used clothes at a local consignment shop. The purpose of reuse is to lengthen the life of an item. Some other examples of reusing include renting, borrowing and buying and selling used goods.

Recycling is a bit different in that it takes an old item and turns it into something brand new. In order to make this happen, this process often requires energy and additional resources, which can create by-products. An example of recycling would be taking plastic bottles and turning them into clothes or plastic dinnerware. The main idea behind recycling is to take an item and turn into a different functional item.

If you’re trying to be more environmentally friendly, which should you do more of: reusing or recycling? Although recycling is an important part of waste management, reuse is a crucial step that people need to do first. It’s best to get as much use out of an item before sending it off to be recycled. By doing more reusing, you reduce air and water pollution, decrease the amount of hazardous waste, create more job opportunities and create affordable goods.

Reducing, reusing and recycling are all activities that you should be doing on a daily basis. However, it’s important to try reusing items as much as you can before sending it off for recycling. Buying reused items can also save you money rather than purchasing new.

Tags: difference between reuse and recycle, recycle, reuse, waste management