Earth Care Column: Reuse and Reduce in Many Ways

Although we can do much to clean up pollution after it's in the environment, preventing pollution is even better. We can do that by changing how we manufacture and how we behave: reduce how much you use, reuse what's left when you're done, and recycle what you can't reuse.

Some easy ways to reuse are:

• Repair as much as possible.
• Use durable coffee mugs.
• Use cloth napkins or towels.
• Clean out juice bottles and use for water.
• Use empty jars to hold leftovers.
• Reuse boxes.
• Buy refillable pens and pencils.
• Donate extras to people you know or to charity instead of throwing them away.
• Reuse grocery bags as trash bags.

Reduce - The benefits of preventing waste go beyond reducing reliance on other forms of waste disposal. Preventing waste also can mean economic savings for communities, businesses, schools, and individual consumers.

National Geographic: Simply changing a light bulb can help reverse the effects of greenhouse gases http://video. nationalgeograph ic.com/video/player/environment/global-warming-environment/this-bulb-ngv.html

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency: Reduce waste, if not you, who? Anyone can educate about waste reduction — we all have the chance to be teachers! Here are resources to help you spread the word. http://156.98.19.245/download/index.html