Recycling? More like PREcycling!

Today’s news bit comes from New Zealand, who would like to remind you that, while recycling is undoubtedly vital to environmental preservation, you should never forget the importance of a little something called precycling.

Precycling is a whole new way to reduce the waste we produce as consumers which is even greener than recycling.

It is just a matter of learning how.

Wait, what’s precycling?

The idea is simply not to use it in the first place - to buy products that are not packaged or in recyclable containers.

Reusable bags could save a family of four using up to 25 plastic bags a week.

“Precycling is all about being aware of what packaging you can avoid,” says Jo Knight of Zero Waste NZ. “There’s some effort that retailers and manufacturers can make, but it’s also about you as a consumer making choices that are better for the environment.”

Ah, so precycling is… not buying things in the first place. It’s so obvious, and yet it really does seem like a lot of people need the reminder. There really isn’t a time of year that gets more wasteful more quickly than the holidays, and every bit of thoughtful purchasing counts. Carpooling, reusable bags, and even just plain old reconsidering the purchases you make can make a huge difference, so give it a try in the upcoming months!

Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 at 12:00 pm and is filed under The Daily. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.