Although recycling is a great way to reduce waste and environmental impact, reusing is much more effective. There are many things that we throw away or recycle on a daily basis that we could reuse instead. For example, what happens to pens when they run out of ink? I find myself going through a lot of pens throughout the school year with no choice but to throw them away. Recently I saw a type of whiteboard marker that has refillable ink cartridges that allow you to keep reusing the marker and I wondered why we can't do that for other types of pens as well. Companies could also recollect empty pens and refill them for resale. Another way we could reuse things is by using what we see as "trash" or "recycling" for arts and crafts. I remember building a model city out of milk cartons and toilet paper rolls when I was in elementary school and thinking about how fun it was. Instead of constantly throwing things away, we should first consider donating them to schools to use as supplies. By adding up all the little things, we can make a huge difference.

So true

Alison, I agree that it's much better to reuse than recycle. Only 60-80% of what is thrown into recycling bins is actually recycled (https://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/ma … e_id=47701). That means that 40-20% of what we think are "recyclable materials" are thrown into the landfill. Items like paper plates with food on them cannot be recycled and are thrown into the landfill. Those paper plates can actually be composted. I think for the most part, we should skip even buying recyclable materials and try our best when we can to use reusable items, such as reusable water-bottles, our own grocery bags, and even those whiteboard markers you were talking about.

Well I don't think we should stop buying them I just think we need to recycle them when we do.

I agree with you Alison, as reusing is much more efficient than recycling, even though both are much better than throwing away items in the trash. I think it is important for companies with items that run out of content to offer a refill, like in pens or printer ink. The reason we buy these cartridges is because we want to use what is inside of them, not the actual container. Also, I think we should use every item until it is completely finished, not just throwing it away when it is partially used. I try to use pens until I can no longer, as long as I try, get any ink out of them. I also try to print double sided, so I can use as much of the paper to print as possible, leading to less blank sides of paper without use. However, I am guilty of recycling a partially blank piece of paper, instead of keeping it and printing on the other side or using it for scratch paper. If we completely use all of our resources, we can limit the amount of recycling. Even better, we can reuse some items, and this allows us to get the most out of the products we buy and make a difference.

Alison, I completely agree that it is vital to attempt to reuse items as often as possible. Additionally, I agree with Eden and feel that it is important to consider buying items that can be reused so as to avoid contributing to waste production as much as possible. The large amount of consumerism that takes place in developed countries leads to a cycle of waste. For example, many technological devices are only used for a couple of years before being thrown away and replaced with something new. This cycle has a drastic effect. As pointed out in the video "Story of Stuff" (http://storyofstuff.org/movies/story-of-stuff/) the production of material goods in large quantities requires the usage and degradation of many natural resources, and if people continue on the cycle of purchasing and disposing, the environment will pay the price.

I agree with you Alison; the little things do add up. I think it's a great idea of yours that we should donate paper plates, paper towel roles, milk cartons, etc. to elementary schools to conduct art projects. It would be a fun way for the students to express themselves and a great way to reduce the amount of material that ends up in the landfill; it's like killing two birds with one stone. It would also be better if people could start using water bottles more than using a new bottled water each time. It may seem like a small difference, but it has a huge impact on the world.