Recycling is the practice of recovering used materials from the waste stream and then incorporating those same materials into the manufacturing process.

Reduce - Waste reduction (or prevention) is the preferred approach to waste management because waste that never gets created doesn't have any associated waste management costs.

An example of waste reduction is reducing unnecessary packaging from manufactured products and produce. If this excess packaging were never produced in the first place, no one would have to be concerned with the cost and effort of collecting the excess packaging, separating it for recycling, breaking it down, transporting it to manufacturers, and then integrating the recycled materials back into the manufacturing process.

Waste reduction also helps conserve resources for future generations and contributes to a cleaner environment.

Reuse - Successful recycling also depends on manufacturers making products from recovered materials and, in turn, consumers purchasing products made of recycled materials. Do your part--"close the loop" and buy products made of recycled materials whenever possible.