Most consumers have heard about the 3R’s—reuse, recycle and reduce.
But in an article for the online resource Care2 Make a Difference, Erica Sofrina, a feng-shui and green-design specialist, teacher, speaker, and author, listed 5Rs as she offered tips for “creating a zero-waste home.”
Actually, she got the ideas from Bea and Scott Johnson of Mill Valley, California, whose major lifestyle changes enabled them to produce the equivalent of a quart jar of waste per month for a family of four.
Bea, in a magazine article, offered ways an average person could move closer to zero waste. The suggestions boiled down to the 3Rs, plus two. In addition to reduce, reuse and recycle, she added “refuse” and “rot.”
Bea outlined the rules, thus: Refuse what you do not need. Reduce what you do need. Reuse by using reusables. Recycle what you cannot refuse, reduce or reuse. Rot (compost) the rest.
What can you “refuse”? Junk mail, for one, which wastes resources and time. Bea suggested registering to receive less at dmachoice.org, optoutprescreen.com and catalogchoice.org. You can also turn down freebies from conferences, fairs and parties, like free pens, unless you need them.
Reduce by donating what you do not need. Reduce shopping trips and stick to your shopping list. As Sofrina said, “The less you bring home, the less waste you’ll have to deal with.”
Reuse by choosing reusables like handkerchiefs, refillable bottles, cloth napkins, etc. instead of disposables. This will also mean savings. You already know about bringing reusable shopping bags, especially now that a growing number of local governments are banning the use of plastic. Incidentally, remember to bring something where you can put wet items like fish, chicken, etc. so you do not mess up your shopping bag.
Sofrina said recycling should be a last resort—after you have refused, reused and reduced. Try to buy secondhand as much as possible. She said “if you must buy new, choose glass, metal or cardboard. Avoid plastic (which) often ends up in the landfill (or worse yet, the ocean).”
To rot or compost, she said you should find a system that would work for your home and learn what it would “digest.” She added, “Turn your home kitchen trash can into one large compost receptacle.”
Break time for mommy
Surf Fabric Conditioner is complementing the release of its new line of products, the Surf Aromatherapy Fabric Conditioner, with the Me O’clock ni Mommy campaign that aims to encourage women, particularly mothers, to remember to take a break. As we all know, women often forget to take time off from the many chores they have to do, especially if they have to handle both a career and a household.
Aside from reaching out to mothers on Facebook, the campaign will also feature the Surf Aromatherapy Fabric Conditioner Spa Time Bus, which will go around Metro Manila to provide massages and free manicures and pedicures. Participating women can also win rejuvenating getaways through a photo contest. (Visit www.facebook.com/SurfPhilippines.)
The new Surf Aromatherapy Fabric Conditioner is designed to make laundry less of an unpleasant chore and more of a stress-relieving exercise. It has essential oils that are reputed to have therapeutic benefits. Relaxing has tuberose oil and patchouli, Energizing has tuberose oil while Purifying has orange oils.
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