Recycling Hub

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends a three-tiered approach for managing solid waste. Each of these should be practiced to decrease the amount of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), more commonly known as trash or garbage, headed for final disposal. They are in order of importance:

• Reduce – making something smaller or using less, resulting in a smaller amount of waste.
  • “Source reduction” is reducing waste before you purchase it, or by purchasing products that are not wasteful in their packaging or use.
  • A key part of waste reduction is conservation– using natural resources wisely, and using less than usual to avoid waste.
• Reuse – putting an item to another use after its original function has been fulfilled. There are two types of reuse possible:
  • Conventional reuse – where the product is used a number of times for the same function before becoming obsolete or unusable.
  • New life reuse – where a new use is found for the item.
• Recycle - collecting materials that would otherwise be considered waste to be broken down and remade into new products. Recycled materials can be derived from:
  • Pre-consumer waste – materials used in manufacturing.
  • Post-consumer waste – materials discarded by the consumer.

  Source: U.S. General Services Administration