Garden Book Reviews

I was very excited to review Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – An Easy Household Guide by UK author, Nicky Scott. Because my husband and I wrote Jokes, the industry similar guide written for Americans, I had been very interested to understand how individuals in the united kingdom coping reducing waste.

With the 96-page book, the author tries to provide a guide for individuals to follow; “in a world of confusing messages” where overwhelming environmental problems weigh down our hearts, Nicky hopes to encourage readers with positive information. Cute little illustrations by Axel Scheffler accompany most of the pages, adding just a little touch of humor.

Among the first things Nicky discusses is the need for refusing to purchase over-packaged items – in fact he states it is the main focus from the book, also it does briefly discusses avoiding disposables, stuff that can’t be recycled and people who are made from all virgin materials. Whereas it appears to concentrate on how you can reuse or recycle existing trash, additionally, it comments on seeing the reuse, repair or recycle potential for products we are considering buying. He also suggests taking advantage of re-fill retailers (i.e. in Canada: Repair shop, Sampson Soaps, etc) and bulk outlets (grocery stores, bulk products at hair salons, etc). The writer mentions that maintenance boosts the probability of reuse and stressed donations and sales. Tips are included on ways to result in the recycle system run more smoothly and interesting UK statistics.

Chapter three hosts 59 pages of the extensive A-Z guide for items which are generally found in waste bins. How to handle Fluorescent and CFL bulbs, funeral alternatives to consider, what the various numbers on plastics mean -it’s all covered here in this tidy book. I discovered the info about all of the different kinds of batteries, particularly the button-cell variety (watch, camera, calculator, etc), quite interesting. Interestingly, I never considered donating furniture too battered for reuse to upholsterer businesses and classes, where they may desire to reuse the frame to make new furniture.

Readers could find that some of the information is repetitive and Chapter four seems to reiterate exactly what the book is trying to express. I enjoyed chapter five, which discusses the future of zero waste and cleaner waste (less toxic or greenhouse gas producing), greatly. The book closes by having an excellent resource section that offers roughly two-dozen organizations with their contact info and lists about thirty books that are certain to make the environmentalist in your soul drool with anticipation.