NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when trying to manage waste and do your part to help the environment by recycling and reusing items without creating more waste that sits in local landfills.

Kristin England, manager for Middle Tennessee State University’s Center for Energy and Sustainability, appeared on “Local on 2” on Friday, Nov. 14, to offer advice and tips on ways to make it a little easier to reduce, reuse and recycle at home.

Watch the segment below.

“Recycling is so important because you can stop that typical life cycle, remove your waste from the stream and give it new life,” England said. “Instead of sending your waste to a landfill to sit and decompose, you’re taking it and repurposing it so it can be used again. This simple action helps save space, conserve precious resources and save energy because you’re no longer having to start all over when making a product.”

England says it’s easy for a household to generate a lot of waste in just a single day.

“I know there are many days when I feel like I am constantly doing waste management within my house,” she said.

A tip England recommends to everyone to prevent getting overwhelmed with recycling is to think about the three Rs of waste management.

“Reduce, reuse and recycle are the standard three Rs of waste management, but at MTSU’s Center for Energy and Sustainability, we use a fourth R, which is rethink,” she explained.

By adding “rethink” to reduce, reuse, and recycle, England said it helps in several ways, such as shopping.

“It helps so much if, before you even make a purchase or go to an event, you rethink how you can change your processes, so it is easier to reduce your impact on the environment. Maybe you purchase products that are packaged in materials that are easier to recycle, or maybe there is something new you want to purchase a few times, but instead of buying new, you buy it second-hand or borrow from a friend.”

England said the local library, including MTSU’s James E. Walker Library, is also a great resource.

“Many libraries, such as the Nashville Public Library, are starting to have these libraries of things where you can check out tools, games and hobby supplies,” she said. “At the Walker Library on campus, we have a library of things where students can check out puzzles, tools, sewing machines and more.”

She continued, “It’s great because it reduces the items and packaging needed, while also saving you money. By rethinking just a few of your processes, you can make your daily tasks easier and more sustainable.”

England also noted that there are community partners across Middle Tennessee who can help recycle some of your old goods.

“You would probably be surprised by how many of your items can be reused or recycled,” she said. “We find that just a little bit of research can go a long way in finding what your options are.”

England said multiple places in the area help recycle items such as Styrofoam, plastic bags, batteries, eyeglasses, food packaging and more.

“If you want to recycle old crayons in the Nashville area, you can drop them off at Staples as part of the Crayon Initiative, or you could take them to the Turnip Green Creative Reuse along with any other unwanted art supplies that you have that could be reused.”

On Saturday, Nov. 15, as part of America Recycles Day, the Tennessee Environmental Council and the Nissan plant in Smyrna will be accepting more than 20 types of recyclable materials. MTSU participated in a similar event in August and diverted over 54,000 pounds of materials in about half a day.

“There are so many groups interested in recycling and reusing materials, so it is very important to lean on those partners so you can make it more achievable for your home,” England said.

— DeAnn Hays (deann.hays@mtsu.edu)