Earth Day is held every 22nd of April every year. The annual event started was established in 1970 after the late Senator Gaylord Nelson realized the need for people to be aware of the evils of air and water pollution. To commemorate this momentous annual affair, here are some Earth day tips that you can do on the day itself. But remember, you should practice these environment-friendly tips to truly have an impact on the survival of our planet.
Dispose of Trash Properly
The simplest Earth Day tip you can do each day is to dispose of your trash properly. Don’t just throw your trash anywhere. If you’re out and you can’t find the right garbage bin for your trash, just keep it until you find one. You can also take it home where you properly segregate your trash.
Speaking of, you should know how to properly segregate trash. That simply means you separate your trash into four groups – wet, dry, sanitary, and E-waste. Your kitchen and food scraps are considered wet waste while paper towels, cans, bottles and plastic are examples of dry waste. Sanitary or offensive waste includes diapers, napkins, and earbuds. E-waste, meanwhile, are electronic items such as batteries, light bulbs, toner cartridges, chargers, cables, CDs and phones.
Provide bins for each type of waste so you don’t have to waste your time separating your, uhmm, waste. Your wet waste should further be separated into what you can add to your compost and what you cannot. Similarly, separate your dry waste into recyclable and non-recyclable. Don’t throw other stuff in your sanitary waste bin. You don’t want to be picking out what doesn’t belong later on. As for E-waste, collect everything and take them to centers that collect such things.
Pick Up That Trash
You’re already doing your part by disposing of your trash properly. Take things to another level by helping clean up your surroundings. Something simple as picking up trash you see while walking and throwing them in the proper place is a good earth day tip that everyone should be doing.
Ask around if there are clean-up drives on Earth Day. You should join the drive and make new friends while helping save the planet. If your community doesn’t have a clean-up drive, maybe you can arrange it with the help of other people.
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
You’ve heard it a gazillion times but you need to take this Earth-saving tip seriously. Don’t throw away trash that can be reused or repurposed. Toilet paper tubes, for example, can be used for arts and crafts projects with your children. Empty pill bottles can be used for storing small items. You can even hide money and other valuables in them. There are plenty of other ways to reuse trash. You just have to let your imagination run wild.
Aside from reusing items, you can also send them to recycling plants. Some items that can be recycled include clear, brown and green glass bottles, paper, cardboard, and hard plastics. Those that can’t be recycled are coffee cups, foam, pizza boxes, bubble wrap, disposable diapers, straws, and plastic bags.
Barter or Buy Second Hand
Think twice or even thrice before buying a brand new item. Is it really worth it knowing you could get a used one for less the price or in exchange for something you don’t need anymore?
When you buy second hand, you prevent things from being thrown away and adding to the world’s pollution. The same can be said about bartering. Both parties involved will get rid of something they don’t need any more without throwing it away. Bartering also keeps people from buying new stuff, which will eventually become trash. Bartering and buying used goods are noble acts. Don’t be embarrassed to take part in these age-old forms of commerce.
Buy Responsibly
Whenever you’re out to shop or buy something, you must consider how to do so responsibly. Think about how you can still help save the planet while getting something you need or want. One way to do so is to purchase products that can be recycled.
You should also buy in bulk. Many people buy products in small packs because they can’t afford the bigger servings. The problem here is that you create more trash this way. A pack of 16 toilet papers is cheaper than a pack of 4 if you compute for the individual price. Plus, the former uses only one plastic pack while you’ll get 4 pieces of plastic waste for the same number of rolls. Other everyday products you should buy by the bulk include shampoo, conditioner, detergent, and coffee.
Buy local. Visit local businesses on Earth Day and get your fill of locally made goods and produce. Not only are you helping local businesses, you’re also making Mother Earth really happy. Plus, you’re getting products that are likely cheaper than those sold in large retail corporations.
Always Carry A Tote Bag
Plastic was once praised for its many uses when it was introduced to the world. Now, it’s pretty clear that it is one of the worst mistakes ever made by humankind. Plastic bags, for example, are pretty handy as you can carry almost anything in them. However, they also cause harm to animals, especially if they mistake it for food. Burning plastic is also bad for the environment as it releases heavy metals and other hazardous substances.
The best way to save earth is to completely stop production of plastic. That’s a tall order for now, however. One of the simple Earth Day tips to help save the planet is to bring your own bag or container whenever you’re out. Refuse plastic bags and use your own Earth-friendly tote bag instead when you purchase something. If the item you purchased is small enough to fit in your pocket or carry in your hand, refuse that plastic bag.
Use A Water Bottle or Reusable Cup
Stop buying water that comes in plastic bottles. Majority of used plastic bottles end up as trash, especially in the ocean where they are dangerous to marine life. Even if they are made from recyclable PET material, plastic water bottles take an estimated 450 years to decompose.
As a prepper, you will be tempted to stock up on bottled water for emergencies. This is fine to some extent though the better option is to store drinking water in large food-grade storage containers. Remember: the less plastic, the better for the planet and everyone on it.
When it comes to your everyday life, it’s better to always carry a water bottle than buy one in plastic bottle every time you get thirsty. In fact, a BPA-free water bottle is a must-have in your everyday carry kit, bug out bag and other emergency kits. It would be better if you can get one of those water bottles with its own water filter. This will be pretty useful in emergencies or when you go on an outdoor adventure.
For your daily coffee fix, there are plenty of reusable coffee cups available in the market. Bring yours every time you line up to get a cup of Joe to go at your favorite coffee place.
Refuse Plastic Disposables
Aside from plastic bags and PET bottles, disposable utensils are also notorious for polluting the environment. The “disposable” part is actually misleading. These supposedly disposable plastic utensils will still be around long after you’re gone. The process used to produce these plastic spoons and forks is in itself bad for the planet. Then you have to deal with how to properly dispose them once you’re done using them.
An Earth Day tip that you should be doing every day is to refuse these plastic disposables whenever you go for takeout or eat out. You could bring your own food container for take-outs and earth-friendly utensils in case you eat out.
Eat Less Meat
This Earth-friendly tip will not sit well with meat lovers but you should lessen your animal intake. Skip meat on Earth Day and lessen your consumption from here on out. If you wish, you can go vegan or vegetarian.
You may not be aware of it but eating meat is bad for the environment. It all boils down to meat production and its effects on Mother Nature. The process results in air pollution through gas emissions and waste production. They also use up an excessive amount of water and land.
Start A Garden
See that little plot of land in your yard? You could turn it into a garden and help Mother Earth a bit. Plant vegetables, herbs, and fruit trees so you can grow your own food. Growing food in your survival garden helps lessen carbon footprint, which is the amount of harmful greenhouse gases produced to grow food and bring them to grocery stores. Moreover, the oxygen produced by your plants will help the environment.
Compost
Composting is one thing you can do at home that can benefit the environment immensely. For one, you reduce methane emissions generated in landfills since you’re keeping your organic waste to make compost. Compost also immensely helps enrich soil thus preventing use of chemical fertilizers. Of course, healthier soil means better harvest for you.
Set aside your kitchen scraps while you’re preparing your meals in the kitchen. It’s a good idea to have a mini compost bin in your kitchen so you have a particular place to throw your compost materials. At the end of the day or when the bin is full, you can take it out and dump the kitchen scraps in your compost pit. Just remember that there are things you should not compost such as fish bones, meat scraps, oil, and dairy products.
Spread Awareness
You can pride yourself with doing what you can to help save the planet. Truth be told, these Earth Day tips can only do so much if it’s just you doing them. You can help spread the word by telling everyone who will listen about the need to change our mindset and lifestyle.
We only have one Earth and everyone needs to do their part to keep it liveable. Simple steps like the Earth Day tips we listed here are a good start. But we also have to spread awareness so other people will follow. We can then take things further by asking the government and huge corporations to do their share.
Earth Day tips such as the ones we discussed here should not be confined to the 22nd of April every year. These are actions that should be practiced on a daily basis. Gentleman Pirate Club talks a lot about tips on how to survive any predicament. Protecting our planet is also about survival. If humans continue to abuse the planet, we may no longer have a home in the future. If that happens, humans will not survive at all unless Elon Musk’s SpaceX successfully develops a spacecraft that willing humans to the moon or wherever we can set up camp.
