Reuse: The biggest question here is: does the item I’m getting rid of still have a useful life even though I don’t need it anymore? If the answer to that question is ‘yes’, then you’ll want to seek out that alternative that can take advantage of using the ‘still good’ item. This is definitely a positive thing because if the item is ‘still good’ and can continue to be used, then a new one doesn’t need to be made. This means less resources need to be used to serve the same purpose.

Recycling: This is the act or process of taking something and making it new again through a series of steps. This could simply putting a non-refillable glass bottle into your recycling bin/cart and having it sent to a bottle plant where it will be cleaned, crushed and melted down and made into a new container where it’s resold to a beverage company as ‘new.’ The difference between recycling and reuse is the act of breaking the item down or de-manufacturing it and then using those outputs to make something new.

Both of these are good options to manage materials. Unfortunately not everything that we can reuse can be recycled. Nor can those things we recycle always be reused. The important thing is to take into account if there is useful life left. If there is, try and reuse the item. If it can’t be used anymore but can be recycled, then that is what you should try and do.