The three Rs: Reduce! Reuse! Recycle!

There are lots of ways we can look after our planet. Three great ways are 'the three Rs': Reduce! Reuse! Recycle! We throw away too many things and make too much rubbish. Lots of the things we throw in the bin take thousands of years to go away. Every time you want to throw something in the bin, STOP and THINK about the three Rs. Can you reduce it? Can you reuse it? Can you recycle it?

Reduce!

• Reduce paper. Always use both sides of the paper for writing, drawing and printing – we need to save our trees!
• Reduce plastic bottles. Fill a reusable bottle with water each day.
• Reduce plastic bags. Take your own bag to the shop.

Reuse!

• Don't throw away plastic bags. Keep them and use them again.
• Don't put old clothes and toys in the bin. Give them to people in need.
• Don't throw away coloured paper from presents. Be careful opening the present and use the paper again!

Recycle!

If we make new paper, glass and plastic from old paper, glass and plastic, we save energy and look after the planet. Don't throw away anything that you can recycle. But use the correct bin!

Paper and card                                

• newspapers
• notebooks
• magazines

Glass

• glass bottles
• jars
• broken glass objects

Plastic and packaging

• plastic bottles
• yoghurt cartons
• other packaging

Home and school

Make sure you reduce, reuse and recycle at home and at school! Here are some more ideas:

• Don't print anything if you don't need to.
• Use empty boxes and cartons to keep things tidy.
• Make new clothes from old clothes.

Can you think of other reduce, reuse and recycle ideas?