Precycling is an attempt to reduce waste by “pre-thinking” your purchase.  While recycling is a positive thing to do, it still requires energy to transport the materials, deconstruct the old item and finally re-manufacture new items. The aim of Precycling is to minimize the amount of stuff that finds its way into landfills AND the recycling bin to begin with.

Here are a few tips to stop waste at the source:

Paper or plastic – NEITHER. Use reusable cloth tote bags when shopping. Many stores offer a small rebate for each paper or cloth bag that you bring in and use for your order. Don’t take a bag when making small purchases – yes, the clerk will give you a strange look, but will ultimately let you walk out of the store with your bagless purchase.

Think before you buy any item. Do you really need the item? Can you live with what you already have?

Look for containers that can be recycled (aluminum, cardboard, glass, steel, and #1 and #2…