“Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”
You've heard “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” many times. It’s an effective mantra meant to encourage people to think about consumption and make more sustainable choices. It boils down to this: use less stuff, turn old stuff into something else, and recycle everything else. Pretty simple in theory, but putting it into practice is sometimes harder than it seems.
It’s not just about recycling your plastics; it’s about making sustainable and less “consumery” choices. For example: maintaining a 2005 Camry instead of buying a new car every three years. When you buy a new car, it’s a whole cycle of production and waste, between shipping parts and the car, and all the raw materials. The old car likely gets worse mileage, but there’s a sustainability tradeoff when buying new.
Simple Ways to Lessen Your Waste
Reducing your impact means caring for things you already own and extending their useful life. Resoling a great pair of shoes is an example, or using a dented but still functional, metal water bottle every day instead of disposable paper cups or single use plastic water bottles.
There are many opportunities for reducing waste:
- Limit the use of disposable plastic bags
- Choose paperless receipt options. When’s the last time you actually kept and needed a paper receipt?
- Buy clothes at second hand stores instead of buying new
- Purchase furniture, household goods, bikes, and more from secondhand shopping platforms like Let Go and Facebook Marketplace
- Recognize the waste of “throwaway culture” and make informed decisions about what you buy
Protect What You Have Rather Than Buying New
Perhaps one of the best ways to lessen your waste is to avoid making waste altogether. Sure, it’s cheap and easy to buy a replacement product from Amazon with 2 clicks of a button, but that’s inherently wasteful. Some would rather throw things away seasonally than put in the effort to maintain it year after year. If that’s you, no shaming here–it’s about progress, not perfection, and you’ve come to the right place. ; )
Thankfully, there’s movement away from rampant consumerism, with a focus on reusing old items and building quality long-lasting products. That’s where we come in. We’ve developed a lubricant called Gear Hugger that helps people maintain their stuff and keep it out of the landfill. We know what you might be thinking: “It’s just a lubricant, how does that reduce waste?” Well, let’s dive into it!
- Instead of tossing out an older bike and buying a new one, use Gear Hugger to keep the chain and other parts running smoothly
- Spray some Gear Hugger into the track of your electric garage door to eliminate that darn "screeeeeeeeee" noise and extend its life
- Use Gear Hugger on machinery, gears, and other moving parts that can be sticky, or stuck
There’s a lot of lubricants out there, but Gear Hugger holds a special advantage: it’s made out of plants. That’s right, our product is derived from sustainable plants. It’s safer for the planet, biodegradable, less flammable, and doesn’t evaporate as quickly, so you get more for your dollar!
Plus, the performance is off the charts, with 3X more lubricating power than traditional spray lubricants. Gear Hugger has more than thousand uses to help you “reduce and reuse” safely and effectively.