5 Sustainability Tips from Earth Day
Earth Day was started 50 years ago to get people mobilized to enact environmental change. To commemorate the occasion, we’ve put together 5 tips to help you live more sustainably. These suggestions are a good reminder that the everyday choices we make can have a large cumulative affect on the environment.
1. Help the environment while eating healthier
Lockdown is a good time to try more plant-based recipes, using ingredients that have a much smaller environmental impact compared to using animal products.
2. Time for spring recycling.
A lot of people are using their extra time at home to purge their closets, drawers, and cabinets of clothes they'll never wear again and birthday cards from a decade ago. Instead of throwing it all away, there are several companies and nonprofits that will accept these items, turning them into new products or recyclable materials.
3. Throw away those bottle caps.
Here's a smaller decision that can make a difference: When recycling a bottle, make sure you first take off the bottle cap and throw it in the trash. Also, when cafes are back open again, opt for a reusable thermos or enjoy your drink in one of their mugs because paper to-go coffee cups are lined with a plastic film that can't be recycled.
4. Order a lint filter.
While in the wash, clothes made out of polyester, or any type of synthetic material, shed microplastics into the water. Tiny pieces of microplastic, especially microfibers, have been found in samples from rivers, lakes, ocean water, and even arctic sea ice. This can be prevented by purchasing a lint filter for washing machines, which not only protects marine environments, but also safeguards plumbing and septic systems.
5. Properly dispose of prescription drugs.
In order to keep expired or no-longer-necessary prescription drugs away from kids or anyone else who shouldn't get into them, some people flush them down the toilet. This can alter the water supply and affect aquatic wildlife. Most communities have a safe place to dispose of old and unused prescriptions, with pharmacies and hospitals often accepting the drugs.