The Four R’s

The 3R’s is Reduce, Reuse and Recycle but TOCK has added Reinvent because we need to get creative…

TOCK has been learning what we can do to reduce our impact on the Earth and the waste people make. He discovered some people use something called the 3R’s. We can take care of the Earth by using the 3R’s everyday. They are:-

REDUCE – try not to waste too many precious resources like water, energy and paper (which use our amazing trees). We need to cut back on the amount of rubbish we create. Be careful not to buy things you have to throw away like packaging.

REUSE – using things many times rather than throwing them away. You could use re-usable drink bottles…



RECYCLE – some rubbish can be remade by special machines into new goods that can be sold again. So remember to put recyclable things in the correct bins at home and school.

TOCK has added another R for the creative people out there

REINVENT – finding a new / creative / different way of using old broken or unwanted things so we don’t have to throw them out. You could also find new ways of solving problems and maybe invent a new thing other people could use to reduce waste.

WHY RECYCLE?

  • Reduces the waste in landfill. Landfills become full over time. The rubbish in landfills can sometimes take hundreds of years to break down. (See out page on Landfills – for more information.)
  • Saves our natural resources and wildlife – by recycling paper less trees need to be cut down – Trees are very important for the health of the Earth and also provide homes for many insects and animals. Making new things from recycled materials often uses less water too.
  • Reduces pollution – Avoids having to mine more metals, drilling for oil which damages the environment – using recycled cans produces 95% less air and 97% less water pollution.
  • Saves energy – You can run a 100 watt light bulb for 4 hours just by recycling 1 glass bottle.
  • Creates jobs – More people/jobs are needed to recycle and make new things from recycled materials than people needed to work at a landfill site.

Recycle it song

Catchy recycle song…

More TOCK recycling information to explore…