You hear it all the time - "the three R's" in the world of everything green. But what does it really mean to "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle?" Here, you will learn what it means to put these three terms to use. Did you know: the more you reduce, the less you need to reuse; the more you reuse, the less you need to recycle; and the more you recycle, the less waste there will be! But it all starts with reducing as much as you possibly can. Make it a game! Involve your kids, see how little waste you can have at each garbage collection. Try to have less and less each month until you reach your ultimate goal.

A second life

Do you want to get rid of something and it is still in good shape? Here are some options:

The good news: Brussels waste collecting agency Net Brussel/Bruxelles Proprété has collected 25 percent more sorted waste during the first ten months of 2010. Sorting waste has become mandatory last January. The bad news: A lot of people are still unsure what exactly belongs in the blue bag. You too? Fear not, just check out their website at www.netbrussel.be/www.bruxelles-proprete.be for more information. Happy sorting!

Ok, you have started recycling or have stepped up your recycling and reuse of items.  The time has come for the next small step to make change in your environment - Precycling!  Precycling eliminates or reduces the need for recycling or use by consciously preventing waste before it happens.  Simply put - Thinking before consuming.

Not sure where to pitch that passé PC? We suggest some solutions for your elderly electrical and electronic equipment.

My printer died last month. I felt really ticked off that despite having tried 3 new cartridges, the circuitry just wouldn’t recognize the full cartridges and refused to print. It was more than 2 years old and finding the receipt for it would have been futile, so getting a refund or repair was out of the question. I wanted to do the right thing and get rid of it properly. But how... and where? Throw it away?

In Belgium, each region and even each commune has a different system of sorting waste. To find out how what goes into which bag in your commune you can check www.fostplus.be. Everything which does not go into the usual white (general waste), blue (PMD - Plastic bottles and flasks, Metal packaging and Drinks), green (garden waste) and yellow (paper) bags or glass containers in your neighbourhood needs to be dropped elsewhere and it might sometimes be difficult to find out where.

The Brussels region handles, each year, an average of 500 kilograms of waste per resident. This means over 500 million kilograms of waste all together. It’s an astounding number, and when we consider that much of that waste isn’t recycled and that this has been going on for years – it becomes clear that waste reduction is an urgent environmental need. Fortunately, the Brussels Institute of the Environment (IBGE) and the European Commission are on the case – and the year 2009 marked the first official European Waste Reduction Week.