| New Life |
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Everything Old is New Again
We've all heard the saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure" and it couldn't be truer. There are many ways to find new uses for items that have finished serving their original purpose. Reuse your own stuff, find new homes for items that you're finished using and use someone else's unwanted items. Doing so can make a big impact on our landfills. Studies show that the amount of waste created by each person has nearly doubled in the last twenty years, increasing from 2.7 pounds per person, per day to 4.4 pounds per person, per day. A lot of that "trash" could be reused instead. The Reuse Development Organization says that there are more than 6,000 reuse centers around the country. Examples are salvage yards, Goodwill, the Salvation Army, and special programs for items like school supplies, electronics, shoes and sporting goods. You can also make some extra money by selling your unwanted items that are still in good condition. Options for this kind of commerce are growing - Ebay, Craig's List and local consignment shops are just a few examples. What Makes It Green? The most obvious way that reusing items is good for the environment is that it decreases landfill volume. Another benefit of reusing items instead of buying new things is that it helps to reserve raw materials that would be used to manufacture new products. The natural resources and energy that would be used to create new items are also saved. Donating unwanted items to charities, schools and other non-profit organizations is yet another way that reuse helps the world. Wow - that's a lot of good for something so easy to do! What You Can Do
 You can recycle your old eyeglasses by donating them? Your local ophthalmologist, optician or optometrist probably has a collection box. You can visit Neweyesfortheneedy.org.  My favorite reuse location is the local library. My kids and I go every week or so and swap out our "used" books for "new" ones.
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