How do you Reduce, Reuse, Recycle?

[pawnee]

First step to get closer; decrase use of computer

thats my biggest downfall! XD thermoses are actually really good, because paper coffe cups have non biodegradeble stuff in the lining of the cup and so can`t be recycled. I was watching discovery channel and one guy made a fake mini island out of plastic bottles and cans.

[sherlock holmes]

I recical and reuse (sorry if I am not spelling it right)

[Quivira]

I make Bird Feeders out of plastic water bottles and plastic jars(Mayo jars). They have attracted a lot of birds but most of the time i recycle.^^

~Redsky

[Shakene]

I'm really eco-oriented, and I'm trying to increase the number of thing that I do to help the environment. So far, though, this is what my family and I have accomplished:

Reduce:
-In the winter, we heat our house almost purely from our woodstove (we live in northern US, so it gets pretty cold without it). We've got a soapstone stove, so it's pretty effective. My dad cuts and splits all the wood, too, so we are not buying wood from a logging industry that clear-cuts. It only takes about 4 or 5 good sized trees to heat our home each winter, and most of the ones my dad cuts up are ones that have already fallen. It's also heavily forested here, so it's nothing close to deforestation. Also, buy not buying the wood, that means that it's not being carried here by a truck, and causing pollution.
-I always try to make a point of turning off lights as I leave the room, and we try to make sure all of them are off before we leave the house. We also make sure we turn off the computer every night.
-We have a few compact fluorescent bulbs, though I'd like to covert all of our lights to them.
-We have cloth grocery bags. We also try to use resuable containers, such as Tupperware, and we try to use washcloths instead of paper towels.
-We have all energy efficient items, and a smaller water heater and refrigerator than we used to. Our water heater also has a 'conservation' setting, where if we don't use it for like 24 hours (say we're on vacation) it doesn't keep the water as hot.
-We don't turn the shower on full blast
-We throw fruit rinds, peels, cores, etc in the woods. Only totally natural and biodegradable stuff though.
-I've had a garden in past years... though I didn't this year.
-We keep most of the cardboard boxes we get. They then get reused for many things, including school projects, boxes for presents, my dad's e-bay mail-outs, etc.
-I also ride the bus to and from school everyday, instead of having one of my parents drive me the twenty minutes that it takes to get there.

Reuse:
-About half of the paper in both our printers (one color, one black/white) is scrap paper. For example, we bring home the on sided bulletins and stuff from church and my dad's office, and use them. Also, we use the other side of stuff we've printed out, and then no longer have a need for. The downside is when I print out a school report with financial info or religious teachings on the other side, lol. I just have to pay attention and make sure new paper is on the top of the printer's stack.
-When I buy a plastic water bottle, I reuse it by filling it up at the school water fountain when it's empty, for a few times.
-Old towels that end up with holes in stuff in them, we use to dry off our dog when she comes in wet from swimming, or from a walk after it rains. We also give her old blankets for her crate, which she enjoys ripping big holes in, lol.

Recycle:
-We recycle as many paper products as we can. This includes mail (that doesn't have personal info and stuff on it), school reports, cereal boxes, newspapers (which we rarely get), etc.
-We also recycle all plastic bottles, such as soda bottles, laundry detergent bottles, milk jugs, etc.
-And, since our town dump accepts them, we recycle all glass jars and soda cans.

So, I know that's a lot of stuff up there, but we're still striving to do more. And according to the Eco Footprint quiz (link is found in the topic 'What is your ecological footprint') if everyone lived the way we did, it would take about 4.4 earths to sustain the population. Pretty scary, huh? It was mostly because we eat meat with most of our dinners, because my mom and dad both have to drive a ways to get to work, and we don't run our house off of any alternative energy source. So, we are trying to resolve some of those issues. This concept of 'hypermilling' intrigues me... I will mention it to my parents.
Good luck everyone with reducing, reusing, and recycling! Everyone can make a difference!

[LunarWolfVII]

well, recycling is pretty easy here, we're very lucky, we have a separate, city-provided can just for recyclable materials like papers, plastics, etc. that get's taekn with our weekly trash service.

other than that, we collect an recycle plastic bottles, alluminum cans, etc. at our recycling centers (wer'e lucky enough to have s couple near by now, yay) and a nice personal perk aside from the consciance boost of being responsible for the environment is the cash refund you get with it! ^_^

[orangeonfire]

Our recycling system is pretty much the same as LunarWolfVII's above. We also have an annual cleanup day where you can leave out unwanted household items like (TVs, computers, batteries, paint) in a baggie by your house for the city collection & recycling company to pick up. :D

We don't get no cash refund though. I'm not sure why, but I think it's because there were issues with neighbors stealing each other's recyclable items. D:

And I recently discovered most bottle caps aren't recyclable. :O At the recycling plant they cut the tops off bottles that still have caps, and dump all the tops in a landfill where they can be easily swallowed by seagulls, children under the age of three, and other animals. I've started a collection of bottle caps. :D