Most of us might have heard of the 3 R’s. Reduce, reuse and recycle? Well, what if I told you there were two more R’s that can reduce your waste even more?   

In this episode, I will be sharing the 5 R’s with you. During this episode, we take a look at each of the 5 R’s and provide you with tips on how you can easily implement them in your daily life.   

The 5 R’s – Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot

Episode Highlights

[01:17] The first step is to REFUSE what you do not need.

[02:27] Saying no is something that you would have to get used to and the more you practice it, the easier it will become.

[02:35] The second R, REDUCE what you do need.

[03:45] The third R is REUSE.

[05:03] These glass jars can be used to store food, serve as a lunch box or even a water or coffee container. If you are worried that the container might break while having your coffee on the go, use one of your widow socks. You know the socks that go into the washer married and for some reason come out a widow. The possibilities are endless.

[05:30] The Fourth R is RECYCLE.

[06:12] Recycling is such a labour and energy-intensive process, that downcycle the materials into often lower quality.

[07:24] The final R is ROT. AKA COMPOST.

[09:00] And there you have it the 5’R is. Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot and I am looking forward to hearing more about your journey and how you have started to implement this in your daily life.

Key Take Away

“These glass jars can be used to store food, serve as a lunch box or even a water or coffee container. If you are worried that the container might break while having your coffee on the go, use one of your widow socks. You know the socks that go into the washer married and for some reason come out a widow. The possibilities are endless.”

We often look at an empty glass jar or bottle and think of what use to be inside. Whether it used to be a jam, mayonnaise, coffee or juice jar or bottle, when it is empty and washed well, it can be used for almost anything. However, whenever we see the jar we immediately think of the contents that use to be in the jar and it is like our mind is telling us this is a jam jar and it can only be used for jam. But when we start exploring you would find that jar would be able to be used for so many other uses. You would be able to store all sorts of food varieties, use it as a small lunch box and you could also use it as a coffee or tea cup on the go. (Test it first with water to ensure it seals before you use it for your hot beverages. ) The possibilities of these items are endless, so go wild and explore and see how many of the items can you reuse and how can you find interesting ways to use them. You would also discover that the next time you want to purchase items in reusable jars or bottles, you might look at how you can reuse it afterwards as well.

About the author, Mariska

Hi and welcome! My name is Mariska. I am originally from South Africa, but now call the world my home. I am an artist, designer, environmentalist, podcast host and speaker.

I started the Mama Earth Talk podcast in 2018 to share some of the things that I learned about just how easy it can be to reduce your impact on the environment. This then quickly grew into a forum that showcases the amazing things that many people are doing to make the planet better, and further into a source of hope and inspiration for many. A few of the amazing guests include Zero Waste Queen, Bea Johnson, Claude Silver, Kathryn Kellogg and zero waste chef Max La Manna.

If you do not already I urge you to follow me and my journey on social media (@designbymariska), and to refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and rot your own waste using the handy tips I post!