Difference Between Recycle & Reuse
Recycling and reusing are both aimed at conservation and waste reduction, but they are not the same thing. Recycling is a process, while reusing is a practice.
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Waste Not, Want Not
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Both recycling and reuse aim to avoid filling up the waste stream. With reuse, you keep what you have and make it last--like a favorite cloth handbag that you can toss in the washing machine to keep it looking new. With recycling, you take the material from that handbag and turn it into something else, like fabric for a quilt. Of course, these approaches hold good everywhere, from the home to the business to the factory.
Saying “No” to Materialism
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Proponents of reuse, instead of recycling, believe that reusing circumvents the assumptions of a throwaway society, whereas recycling enables consumerism and replacement of goods.
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Production
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When you reuse, you aim to keep an item’s embodied energy from its initial production process. Recycling means more production, resources and energy are used to turn one thing into something else, like rubber tires into rubber flooring. Nevertheless, mindfully using recycled materials often saves more resources than using raw materials.
End of a Lifecycle
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Let’s face it--there are some things we simply can’t reuse. How many years can an outdated and broken clothes washer last, and how economical and environmental is it if it wastes water and electricity with each cycle? Recycling enables its parts to go on to become something practical.
Making a Choice
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Making the decision to reuse or recycle depends on the possibilities of the individual circumstance. If you buy selectively and aim to make the product last, then recycle those things you can’t reuse, you’re doing right by your pocketbook and the environment.
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