The New 3Rs

The original 3Rs coined by Congress of 1976 calls for reduce, reuse and recycle. This principle of waste reduction is fundamentally challenged by the rapid rise in consumerism, which in turn propagates a “throw-away” culture. To add insult to injury, less than 10% of the world’s plastic actually gets recycled. As such, it is high time to refine the 3Rs. It should be: Reduce where we can. Reuse if we can. Reinvent where we can’t.