Cream City Ribbon Supports the Three Rs of Waste Hierarchy

By: Kimmy Maclang

Cream City Ribbon is the only company in America that manufactures natural ribbons made from non-woven cotton yarns that are grown and responsibly dyed in the US. We make our ribbons as natural as we can, using non-toxic water based adhesive. This makes Cream City Ribbon biodegradable and eco-friendly. We encourage the practice of the three Rs – reduce, reuse, and recycle. It is a great help to the environment, and is easy on the pocket.

According to Wikipedia, the waste hierarchy pertains to waste management strategies according to their desirability – (1) reduce, (2) reuse, and (3) recycle. These three are the cornerstone of environmental waste management efforts to lessen the amount of waste in our landfills and environment, and encourage citizens to be more responsible with their consumption and waste disposal.

“Reduce”

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stresses that reduction in consumption and production is the most important step in the three Rs of the waste hierarchy. With less consumption, there are also fewer products to reuse and recycle, and less products that are disposed, which contributes less to environmental degradation.

In addition to this, the EPA further emphasizes the reduction of trash toxicity that is thrown into landfills through “Source Reduction”. This may be accomplished by reducing the design, production, and consumption of materials and items that are toxic to the environment. This keeps these products out of the landfills and the environment, thereby reducing the source of toxic waste. There are a lot of eco-friendly products in the market today, and supporting these products encourages Source Reduction.

Tip #1. Make a list of the things you NEED versus the things that you WANT. Then, make another list of the things that you ALREADY HAVE. Compare these lists, then make a final list of what you actually need to get. Buy what’s in your final list, and do not buy in excess. Control your urge to “panic buy”.

Tip #2. Get eco-friendly products versus environment-harmful ones. Make sure that your items are non-toxic. If you have plastic items, make sure to make an effort to reuse and recycle.

Tip #3. Conserve energy and resources. Do not be wasteful. Make sure that you consume what is exactly needed. There are many ways to conserve your resources and your available items. For instance: when making craft projects, make sure to measure your materials properly so that you don’t have too many scraps.

Tip #4. Remember to always “REDUCE”. Reduction is the cornerstone of environmental protection and waste management. Be mindful of your daily product and energy consumption.

“Reuse”

Reuse may be defined as the act of using materials and items in its original form over and over again, without having to process it biologically and chemically. This also helps lessen waste disposal and lessen the amount of waste and garbage in our landfills. As such, reusing items also helps you save money and conserve resources, contributing to the Source Reduction efforts of the EPA.

Tip #1. For your scrapbooking projects, make sure to reuse whatever materials you have around the home. So many art projects can be accomplished by just using whatever is available. Check out Cream City Ribbon projects that encourage reusing items around the home.

Tip #2. Dig in your closet. Check the back of your closet and drawers, and for sure, you will be able to find old stuff that you don’t use anymore. Remember that not everyone is as fortunate as you are, and that what you are not using right now may be very helpful to someone else.

Give old clothes, shoes, and toys to the less fortunate children and families. Ask your local community center about any drive or fundraiser you can participate in.

Tip #3. Sell what you can’t give away. Put up a rummage sale of all your excess clothes, shoes, toys, home décor, appliances, or furniture. Most people just throw this stuff away. DON’T. You used your hard-earned money to purchase these, and you don’t want that to just be put to waste. You can sell your used items, so another person can put it to good use. Turn your trash into cash!

Tip #4. Before throwing away items around the home, think first about what you can do with it. The back of copy paper can be used by your children as scratch paper, pages of old notebooks can be reused as a new notebook, buttons, beads, yarn, ribbons, can be used again for a new project. Be creative and explore possibilities, the Cream City Ribbon way!

“Recycle”

Recycling is the last step in the waste hierarchy, and we must remember that reduce and reuse is still best for the environment.

Tip #1. Separate your garbage. Contact your community’s recycling center or garbage collection company to determine whether they provide recycling bins. Learn about your local community’s regulations on garbage separation. You may use the following categories: wet, dry, biodegradable, non-biodegradable, and plastics. You may also have a separate bin for composting.

Tip #2. Support recycling and environment campaigns.

In practicing the three Rs of the waste hierarchy, you can help the world become a greener place. Remember that without each individual’s effort, we cannot achieve the goal of having a greener and safer place for our children, and our children’s children.

Your daily efforts to support the three Rs are vital to the success of waste management. Encourage your family members, friends, and neighbors to do the same, and you get a cleaner, greener, and safer environment.

At Cream City Ribbon, our mission is to be an environmentally responsible company that creates a quality natural product, and provides excellent service and value to our customers and dignified work for our employees. As such, we purchase electricity from renewable energy resources such as wind, solar, hydro and biomass. Our packaging and spools are made with biodegradable and post consumer content materials wherever possible.

At Cream City Ribbon, we believe that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Don’t throw away your Cream City Ribbon scraps. Use it for other craft projects to give as gifts.

Use biodegradable and earth-friendly materials. Cream City Ribbon is made from natural cotton and bound with non-toxic adhesive. Use it to make a fabulous package or a beautiful home decoration. Then, use it again to tie up your plants. Put it in the compost bin.

Cream City Ribbon encourages the practice of the three Rs of waste management.

Create your projects using biodegradable ribbons.

Be proud of how you helped the environment by using natural ribbons.

Choose Cream City Ribbon.

Make “THE NATURAL CHOICE”.

E-mail us at ccr@creamcityribbon.com for more information, or go to our main website at www.creamcityribbon.com for orders and inquiries.