One is not enough

Reduce - Reuse - Recycle

second largest hand-dug well in the country . . with trash floating in it :(

On my mind.

Wondering if I'm teaching my kids that recycling alone is enough.
And it's not.

I thought and thought and want to tell them, and anyone else I guess, that it takes all three.

This was prompted, in part, by the water bottles rolling around on the floor of the car the older two take to school. I have been refusing to buy water bottles for a long time. We have a cupboard full of reusable water bottles, plus the plastic is so bad for the landfill, where many of them end up. I did buy some water bottles for the basketball team in February or March, but I got the ones made from corn and not petroleum. If we're traveling, I tell them to pack a reusable bottle or buy their own bottles on the road.

So, I was thinking that maybe they need to be reminded of the reduce & reuse parts of that mantra. Like, for instance, the order of the words isn't just serendipity. They are in that order for a reason.

Reduce our consumption -- most important.
What we can't reduce, make sure it's something that can be reused.
And, finally, if we can't reduce or reuse, then recycle.
Makes sense to me.
That's my focus for the week, as we celebrate Earth day.

Maybe someone should warn my kids?