Discuss the following situations with your classmates and write down which of the 5Rs it belongs to:
A family brings their own cloth bags to the grocery store instead of using plastic ones.
Reuse
Maya does not use a plastic straw to drink coconut water.
Refuse
Rohan uses blank pages of his old notebooks to avoid wastage of paper.
Reduce
Sara gives her old books to younger students for their use.
Reuse
Kabir paints an old bottle to use as a flower vase.
Repurpose
Priya cuts old clothes to make a fun bag for carrying her books.
Repurpose
A shopkeeper turns old newspapers into paper envelopes.
Recycle
Explanation
(i) This example is already filled in the textbook as 'Reuse' because the family uses their cloth bags multiple times instead of single-use plastic bags. (ii) Maya is saying 'no' to using a plastic straw, which directly matches the definition of Refuse - saying no to things that generate waste. (iii) Rohan is using paper carefully to reduce waste generation, which matches the definition of Reduce - using things carefully to reduce the waste we generate. (iv) Sara is ensuring the books are used multiple times by different students before being discarded, which matches the definition of Reuse - using something multiple times before discarding it. (v) Kabir is using an old bottle in a new and innovative way as a flower vase, which matches the definition of Repurpose - using something in a new and innovative way. (vi) Priya is creatively transforming old clothes into a new item (a bag), which matches the definition of Repurpose - using something in a new and innovative way. (vii) The shopkeeper is turning old newspapers into new products (envelopes) through a process, which matches the definition of Recycle - a process that turns a thing into something new.