We're all aware of the virtues of recycling and have become experts at sorting our waste in proper bins. Recycling has become a big business and has generated many jobs in communities all over the country.

Before you recycle specific items, can you offer them to others who can "reuse" them instead? Reuse is about taking items that are not useful to you anymore and redistributing them to other people who can continue to use them. This is a great way to ensure that items such as building materials, manufacturing tools, office furniture and other supplies have a longer life cycle before they are recycled or even put into the landfill if they're made of materials that cannot be recycled. Oftentimes, broken reused materials just need a little attention and can be easily fixed, which saves a lot of money for the person or company who acquires the item. One of the best ways to offer or acquire reused items for your home or business is by connecting with others in your area on Freecycle. People in hundreds of communities give away and receive free items with the goal of keeping this "stuff" out of landfills. Reuse is definitely one of the keys to sustainability, and helps to create a cleaner environment and more sustainable economy!