Firstly, let me say that I do believe in recycling. There is a time and place for melting something down and making it into something new. But it seems to me that the more effective route to go in most cases is to find a way to use the things in their current form. And making things in long-term usable form makes the most sense. For instance: aluminum beverage containers. Plastic ones, too. THIS IS A TRAVESTY! Hey, we all know how to handle glass bottles. And, if they are made well, they can be used over and over again. All you have to do is wash them out!

The same holds true for tin cans. Put the darned tomatos in Mason jars! And the pineapple, and the green beans, et cetera ad infinitum. People can use those jars for so many things around the house. And, just like us old fogeys remember from childhood, there could be a deposit on glass bottles and jars. Plus, it’s a lot easier to melt down glass for recycling than almost any metal. And we don’t want to put our food in lead cans, now do we?

Then there are all these new cars being built. You know, some of them even claim to be energy efficient. But did they take into account the emissions and destruction generated by the manufacturing process? I’m guessing that there’s a nice pile of pollution produced for each new car that rolls off the assembly line. And what happens to the old car you got rid of? Maybe, just maybe, if you chose well with your last auto purchase, you’re getting halfway decent gas mileage. Drive it until it’s no longer viable as a vehicle. Maintain it carefully, and I’ll bet you will be responsible for less overall pollution than you will cause by having a new vehicle built for you.

There are so many ways to reuse rather than recycle. Cloth shopping bags. Crumpled junk mail for shipping packages rather than styro peanuts. Put leftovers in jars. My gosh, the list is endless! And if we demand more reusable products, the manufacturing companies will have no choice but to provide us with them.

So by all means, recycle it when it’s darn good and worn out. But, until then, REUSE IT!