The 7Rs to Zero Waste
When it comes to any waste management initiative we always hear about 3Rs (Reduce Reuse Recycle) but frankly that is no longer enough. To effectively deal with waste we need to employ 7Rs especially in a country like Maldives that lacks the infrastructure to deal with waste.
Refuse
Refusing is the first step. Learning to say NO to things that you don’t need and can live without will go a long way to eliminating waste. This is the simplest thing you can do.
Reduce
Using and consuming less materials is the next key step. Asking yourself is you really NEED or WANT certain things will help you reduce waste further by eliminating the nunessisary.
Reuse
One of the most important aspects of going zerowaste is to reuse. Always opting for materials and goods that can be reused long term rather than anything that is single-use-disposable and meant to be discarded.
Repair
Repairing instead of throwing away and buying new is equally as important. Repairing doesn’t mean it has to look bad either, get creative and up-cycle and give the old a new look.
recover
Food waste, garden clippings and other organic waste can be composted so that they can also go back into the earth to give new life to something else and generate value for the soil and plants.
Re-purpose
Finding a new purpose in things that would have otherwise been disposed of. Eg: Old clothes may be unsitable to be a hand-me-down, those can be come a wet rag in the kitchen.
Recycle
By following the 6Rs mentioned previously, there would be little left to be recycled. Making sure that materials are cleaned, dried and segregated to at least wet and dry waste will go a long way with recycling. Also important to know what can be and cannot be recycled.