6 ways to make a difference this earth day

This is the first day I’m experiencing Earth Day from the comfort of my own home. Usually there’s an internal note as to what our offices are doing with some opting to celebrate Earth Hour by going lights off, others planting gardens either on or off property or volunteering locally with a park cleanup effort.

Nothing makes you think about waste than watching your household double in less than three years — meaning more trash along the way. Here are some easy things we have been doing that may help give you some ideas to consider.

1. Opt for paperless bills / communications. This is so easy to do and these days, just about all companies support this. Not only is this the environmentally-friendly option but it also eliminates a large percentage of paperwork to file at home. The backup is typically easily available from each company as needed.
2. Consider the second-hand clothing market. One man’s trash can truly be another’s treasure! I’ve been loving shopping on sites like Poshmark, Mercari and ThredUP to not only find some good buys (ones I don’t have to try to rummage to score with two impatient kids) but also to give a second phase of life to these items I now need or want. This has been a very helpful option for us in finding inexpensive items that others are likely to toss that can be very helpful for daycare backup clothing! It’s also been helpful in updating my wardrobe (more on that in a future post).
3. Know what you can / can’t recycle via your local pickup. This is a big one as it has changed so much over the years. In NYC, I was used to recycling being the law. Things changed so much when we moved to New Jersey. With countries like China buying less of what the US recycles (something I never realized), there are a number of things that your local pickup will no longer accept. It’s important you follow their terms as some places view recyclables as contaminated if, for example, items are sent in without being rinsed. I recommend googling your local county, city or township and seeing what their list includes. It might surprise you!
4. Recycle your textiles. This earlier piece on Grits in the City outlines a number of ways you can do this. There’s something you can do with just about every piece of fabric or clothing once its no longer of use to you.
5. Look into electronics and appliance recycling. In our overwhelmingly tech world, the number of now defunct devices we have continues to grow. While places like Goodwill no longer take nonfunctioning devices, there are other places that do. Check out this list of what Best Buy now recycles. They even offer trade in vouchers for some appliances. If you have an iPhone, Apple has a buyback program for eligible phones. If your phone is not eligible, there are a number of other places that will buy your phone — such as Staples or sites like Gazelle and BuyBackWorld. If you have a Kindle, there are several places you can donate. I love the idea of Project Hart, which repurposes these old Kindles into free e-readers to for young people in need. You can also trade-in some Kindles directly via Amazon or also at Staples.
6. Set up a compost pile or bin. I’m new to this one, only joining team compost with our move to the suburbs. This piece from December 2017 estimates we throw out 1.3 billion tons of food a year globally. That’s insane! This will over time turn into something you can use in your garden.

What else does your family do to recycle?