The 4th R - Refuse

You know what they say, “ Reduce, reuse and recycle.” Well, there are now four Rs. The first is REFUSE, which gives us the power to stop things from happening by simply refusing them. If we follow the 4 Rs to a T, then our world will be better for all those who come after us. Even though I’m sure you can think of plenty of examples of how society bearded itself over time with excessive production rates (I'm looking at YOU plastic bag!) and disposable containers, all hope is not lost! There is always a little room to improve our mindsets to be more cognizant of the 4 Rs, including minimizing what we purchase.

Tony’s bio
Tony is the Director of Builder/Contractor Relations at The Sound Room in St. Louis, Missouri, where he is responsible for building relationships between home builders and The Sound Room System designers to help create the ultimate home experience.
Tony has been working in the construction industry for more than eighteen years. During that time, he has been building relationships, and he has become a valued part of the construction team, assisting his builder clients with delivering their customers’ dreams. He is currently a member of the Home Builders Association of St. Louis and Eastern Missouri, where he also served as a member of the Board of Directors from 2007 to 2011. His specialties are builder development, industry networking, and interior design.

Is buying disposable worth it?
In our current world, the general mindset is one of a “disposable society.” And as such, people believe everything should be replaced when it gets old or worn out - even if this means they're constantly spending money to keep up appearances or to save themselves a bit of time.

Another important R
The fourth R stands for Refuse. You can simply all-out refuse to buy or use things that you don't need, like straws, plastic water bottles, plastic bags; it’s an easy way of reducing your environmental footprint without compromising on convenience! For example, if you buy a new appliance, you must do something with the old one. Look for someone who is in need of it, or try selling it to help recover part of the costs of the new one.

Repairability; yet another R
Repairability is very important because it conserves resources, and extends the reusability of items. We don’t need to make more piles in landfills with items that could be repaired and used.

Plastics
The plastic problem has been around for a long time, but it’s only recently that we have started to truly comprehend just how bad of an impact it is having. We constantly hear about the harm done by single-use plastics and what needs to happen in order to resolve these problems once and for all - yet nothing seems to be taken seriously enough!

Refuse!
The solution may lie within us though. Can you imagine your life without coffee cups or straws? Refuse to buy things you don’t need. It seems like a small price to pay for the greater good.

 

Links and resources:

The Sound Room

Alternatives to Single-Use Plastic Bags from Everday Green Home

Single-Use Plastics 101

Electronics Donation and Recycling 

Everyday Green Home Shop for curated better and green products

Earth 911 - living/well-being

Earth 911 - garden/air conditioning