The three Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle - all help to reduce the amount of waste we throw away. They conserve natural resources, landfill space and energy. Additionally, the three Rs save land and money that communities must use to dispose of waste in landfills. Every week we recycle our paper and plastics to reduce waste. Many of them also reuse certain items over and over again, such as plastic bags, paper, and water bottles. However, few people realize that reusing certain items without proper care can be dangerous to their health. An experiment with reused water bottles shows that bacteria builds up over time in bottles that are not washed frequently. This buildup of bacteria can be relatively harmless or, if enough bacteria is present, can impact a person's health. If someone were in space and looked at Earth, they would see a world dominated by water. Water is the most unique and important thing. resource of our planet and yet it is also the resource most taken for granted. Even though we live in a world that is more than half water, very little of that water is fit for human consumption. While fresh water is prevalent around the world, some countries are putting their health at risk by drinking toxic water, full of bacteria and dangerous chemicals. In America, our fresh water supplies are treated to kill any bacteria or other chemical hazards in the water. However, without realizing it, Americans are constantly drinking bacteria-filled water. By drinking from reused water bottles, people consume more bacteria-filled water. Bacteria themselves are not always bad, in fact bacteria play an important role in our global ecosystem, breaking down materials that can be harmful to the planet. Surprisingly,...... middle of paper ......compared to a decade ago, humans have become more aware of the importance of water and other natural resources and have become less inclined to waste them and hopefully will continue to do so. reduce, reuse and recycle. Works Cited • Shah, Anup. “Water and development”. Global Issues, updated: June 6, 2010. Accessed: February 17, 2011. • BR Speer & Ben Waggoner. “Bacteria: History of Life and Ecology.” University of California at Berkeley. February 17, 2011• Favor, Lesli J. Bacteria: Germs! The library of pathogenic organisms. New York: Rosen Publishing Group, 2003.• Driessen, Suzanne. “Water Bottle Safety.” Food Safety, University of Minnesota, 2005. February 17 2011