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Reuse, Reduce, Recycle

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Responsible Consumption and Production

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Reduce, reuse, and recycle refers to 3Rs’ principle that is meant to be a hierarchy, arranged in ascending order of their adverse impacts to the environment from low to high. Reduction is considered as the most effective and efficient method for managing waste, particularly in the context of production and consumption (Sadi et al. 2012; Garcia 2006). It can not only minimize the generation of waste but also reduce the cost for waste transportation, disposal, and recycling (Poon et al. 2004). Reuse is the most desirable option after reduction because a minimum processing and energy use is achieved (Peng et al. 1997). According to Ling and Leo (2000), reuse means using the same material more than once for the same function. Duran et al. (2006) shows the new-life reuse for a new function, complementing the concept. When reduction and reuse become difficult, recycling is desired (Sadi et al. 2012), that is, a series of activities by which discarded materials are collected,...

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Correspondence to Cristian Teixeira Marques .

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Marques, C.T., Fritzen Gomes, B.M. (2019). Reuse, Reduce, Recycle. In: Leal Filho, W., Azul, A., Brandli, L., Özuyar, P., Wall, T. (eds) Responsible Consumption and Production. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71062-4_67-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71062-4_67-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-71062-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-71062-4

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