| I was back in the grocery store this Saturday, | | | | paper...paper money that is. In some ways this is |
| but it was not the prices (although I did manage | | | | more incentive to recycle than the UK system. |
| to keep it under ninety pounds once again) that | | | | What if your family could pay for its holiday |
| caught my eye or even what other people were | | | | through recycling? Perhaps even clean up your |
| buying. In fact, what I noticed this Saturday did | | | | street? I know that my three years old loves |
| not happen until I was home and unpacking my | | | | helping me to pick up trash in her park. Could your |
| weekly shopping. What I noticed was the amount | | | | family do something similar? |
| of packaging, most of it useless, that I put into | | | | Environmentally friendly. Like I said, the 3 R's are |
| the bin. Of course, we have been using our green | | | | among the basics of environmentally friendly. It is |
| bags for over a year now so we are not | | | | one of the easiest things that we can all do to |
| throwing very many plastic ones away. Well, in | | | | save this special planet for our children and |
| fact we don't really throw any away, because we | | | | grand-children. Alright, we have all heard the |
| try to follow the adage...Reduce, re-use, re-cycle. I | | | | pundits talk about how recycling does not make a |
| want to look at how the 3 R's of reduce, re-use, | | | | difference. So to clear up a few of those myths: |
| recycle fits into all of the Frugal Fam core values. | | | | - Enough energy is saved by recycling one |
| Family first. Since we are our children's first and | | | | aluminium can to run a TV set for three hours. |
| best teachers, I think that the time we invest in | | | | - A steel mill which uses recycled scrap reduces |
| teaching them about all things environmental is an | | | | related water pollution, air pollution, and mining |
| excellent investment in our futures and theirs. Isn't | | | | wastes by at least 70 percent. |
| it ironic that reduce, re-use, recycle could become | | | | - Creating one ton of recycled paper uses only |
| the new 3 R's. In fact so I don't wear out my | | | | about 60 percent of the energy needed to make |
| fingers re-typing it all over and over again, let's us | | | | a ton of virgin paper. |
| that term in the rest of the article to refer to | | | | - Seventeen trees are saved for each ton of |
| reduce, re-use, recycle. It is never too early to | | | | recycled newspaper. |
| begin either. At three, my daughter knows the | | | | - Recycling steel and tin cans saves 74 percent of |
| difference between the bin and the recycle bag | | | | the energy necessary to produce them. |
| (sometimes better than my eighteen year old). | | | | - Today most bottles and jars contain at least 25 |
| Saving money. In fact, in the UK most councils | | | | percent recycled glass. |
| offer free recycling facilities to all residents, which | | | | Healthy living. It may not be immediately obvious |
| means that recycling costs us nothing. There are | | | | how the 3 R's can make you healthier, but I have |
| examples too of how recycling can actually save | | | | a couple of examples: |
| you money though, such as my wormary, which | | | | - Reduce your carbon footprint by walking to |
| produces organic liquid fertiliser and compost or | | | | school, the store and anywhere else you can...also |
| reducing your energy consumption by turning | | | | increases the amount of exercise you are getting. |
| down the thermostat. And as I have shown in | | | | Walking is actually one of the best exercises |
| past post about Freecycle, charity shops and | | | | there is. |
| similar services, you can save a great deal of | | | | - Eating fresher often means that there is less |
| money by re-using items that someone else may | | | | packaging as frozen, tinned and jarred products, |
| no long need. | | | | which produce more waste also, are likely to have |
| But in the USA recycling too can actually pay | | | | more added salts, sugars and preservatives. |
| money. Although not as easy for many American | | | | - Reducing the carbon miles of your food by |
| families to place bags or special bins on the stoop | | | | growing your own fruits and vegetables also |
| (although some forward thinking counties and | | | | allows you to grow them organically as well as |
| cities are offering curb-side recycling as in the | | | | having the benefit of reducing your stress through |
| UK), the profit from this activity can be used to | | | | the pleasurable hobby of gardening. |
| fund extras or meet essential obligations. Before I | | | | Now that we have talked about how the 3R's of |
| left Los Angeles in 2006, there were increasingly | | | | reduce, re-use and recycle keep with the Frugal |
| mini-recycling centres often in the parking lots of | | | | Fam core values, I hope that each of you will join |
| grocery stores. Families could take their paper, | | | | me in this journey and share your ideas for |
| metal and plastic products and turn them into | | | | Reduce, Re-use, Recycle. |