ABSTRACT
Since the 1980s, the “reduce, reuse, recycle” mantra has been part of the American consciousness. The three Rs offer strategies for preventing a great deal of our waste from entering the landfill. Although there is a tendency to focus on the “recycle” part of the slogan, it is better to think of these three as an ordered set with recycling on the bottom: first, reduce your waste products as much as possible; then, reuse everything you can from what is left; and lastly, recycle as much of the remainder as possible. The bulk of the waste from most products’ life cycles is produced before the end consumer receives them, and postconsumer recycling offers only minimal real benefits. Instead, reduction in consumption offers amplified total reductions in waste from upstream. The higher one works in the set, the more the waste is reduced.
