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Reduce, recycle, reuse. Sing it with me in Baie-Comeau, "reduce, recycle, reuse." I think the trees and seas are smiling, or maybe it's just that brownie that guy at the recycling center gave me. Everybody sing...

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.

For more information, please visit the EPA's Reduce, Reuse and Recycle web page.

To teach kids about the three Rs of waste management, please visit the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences' (NIEHS) web site.

For information on recycling, please visit the following web sites:

• The EPA's Recycle on the Go web page
  • Provides information on recycling in public places, such as parks, stadiums, convention centers, transportation hubs and shopping centers.
• Earth911's Recycling web page
  • The green "Start Recycling" box can help you find where you can recycle by entering a product and your location.
• The EPA's "Recycle City" for Kids
• The EPA's High School Environmental Center's Waste and Recycling web page
• The Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Energy Kid's Page on Recycling

You may also wish to view information on reusing or recycling consumer electronics.

Finally, America Recycles Day (ARD) takes place annually on November 15. ARD helps people understand how everyday activities, such as reading a newspaper, eating lunch, drinking a bottle of water or mailing a package, affect our environment. It is the only nationally recognized day dedicated to encouraging Americans to recycle and to buy recycled products.