Reuse
Reuse, using a product more than once in its original form, is one of the preferred methods of solid waste management because it prevents materials from becoming part of the waste stream. It is a form of source reduction of waste.
Some products are specifically designed to be reusable while others are commonly reused as a matter of convenience. In the former instance, products such as canvas shopping bags and cloth napkins are meant to be used again and again, unlike their paper cousins. In the latter case, glass and plastic food containers are often reused for numerous household purposes, even though they are intended to be used only as food packaging.
Reuse of products is a basic component of diaper services and home bottled water delivery. Although neither of these services were originally created with waste reduction in mind, they do impact solid waste generation. A cotton diaper can be used 70 or more times, unlike a single-use disposable diaper. The three and five gallon bottles used by most bottled water services are picked up and taken back to the water plant for refilling, eliminating the need for consumers to buy individual gallon containers in supermarkets.
Deposit systems for beer and soft drink containers represent another form of product reuse. In these systems, consumers pay a nominal fee when they purchase beverages sold in specific types of containers. The fee is refunded when they return the empty containers to the retailer or other designated location. Virtually all beer and soft drinks used to be sold in returnable bottles. During the 1950s, the use of nonreturnable bottles and metal cans started to be more commonplace. By the mid-1980s, most beverages were packaged in nonreturnable bottles, cans, or plastic containers.
Nine states currently have legislation requiring deposits on beverage containers. The deposits are meant to be incentives to consumers to return the bottles. Where such legislation exists, between 70 and 90% of the targeted containers are returned. Litter control rather than solid waste reduction is sometimes the purpose of beverage container deposit legislation. Reduction in litter has been documented to be as high as 80%, but the impact on solid waste disposal is more difficult to calculate since beverage containers account for a relatively small portion of the waste stream.
Another type of product reuse is resale of used clothing and household items through thrift stores and garage sales. Although calculating the impact of such practices on waste generation would be extremely difficult, there is no doubt that they result in some reduction in waste disposal.
Recyclables; Recycling; Waste Reduction
Resources
Books
Bohm, P. Deposit-Refund Systems: Theory and Applications to Environmental, Conservation and Consumer Policy. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981.
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