We Vermonters now recycle approximately one-third of our solid waste, up from about 19 percent in 1989. Vermont ranks third among the 10 northeastern states in terms of recycling rates. People in the solid waste reduction business talk about the importance of the waste hierarchy . It s a common sense way of looking at how we as a society and as individuals can produce less waste and conserve our natural resources. They re defined as follows.
Source reduction is any practice which eliminates or reduces the volume of material produced.
For example, if you buy shampoo in bulk using your own container, the company that produced the shampoo never had to make a bottle to contain it, meaning the waste was never created. Reuse is the repeated use of an item in the same form. Let s say you buy shampoo in a bottle. Instead of recycling the bottle or tossing it out once it s empty, you reuse it for purchasing bulk shampoo or other purposes. Recycling is the separation of a product no longer usable in its present form from the waste stream so its material can be used in the manufacture of a new product.