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Celebrating Earth Day – Here’s How!

Earth Day is just around the corner. April 22nd each year is designated as Earth Day where Earthlings across the globe are encouraged to make an impact on the health of our home planet by making small or large changes that have a lasting effect. No matter what you choose to do, small changes can make big differences not only today but for future generations.

Since Earth Day is almost here, we’ve put together some ways you can celebrate Earth Day and make a difference.

Make Recycling Bins
Whether you’re looking to make an impact in your home only or if you want to make a bigger impact on your neighborhood, you can start by making your own recycling bins to sort out your home’s recyclables. In some communities, recycling is already a major part of the city’s waste management strategy while in others, it’s up to individuals to take care of recycling on their own.

By sorting through your recycling at home with DIY recycling bins, you take out a great deal of the guesswork for waste management companies as well as your own individual efforts to lessen your environmental impact. Recycling bins can be small, simple, and still aesthetically pleasing to keep in your home or garage.

Use Recyclables for Craft Projects
While you can always give your recyclables to your local waste management or recycling drop-off points, the reality is that most of America’s recycling is done in other countries. Recyclable material is often packed away in cargo containers and shipped overseas. What this means is that your recycling efforts do little more than making a problem visually go away in our country.

Instead, consider using some of the recyclable materials you already have to make craft projects around your home. For example, you can make bird feeders out of soda bottles, milk cartons, or water bottles. If you already have a garden, you can use water or soda bottles to help water your garden or use plastic milk jugs to slowly and deeply water a raised bed or planter.

Plant Something
Few things can have a more sustainable impact on our environment than planting something. For the most long-lasting results, consider planting a tree in your local park, your own yard, or donating a tree or trees to your local municipality for planting in parks or in green spaces.

You can fairly easily start a vegetable garden or flower garden, but remember that maintaining these beautiful pieces of landscaping may actually cost more in terms of water and maintenance than other green endeavors. If long-term maintenance of a garden or flower bed is a concern, then consider xeriscaping parts of your yard or flower beds with drought-resistant or native plants.

Go Car-Free and Make a Commitment
Rising gas prices alone should motivate you to go to alternative forms of transportation, but in honor of Earth Day consider going car-free entirely. For some, this is as simple as using public transportation for a day and keeping your car keys at home. For others, it may mean dusting off your old bike or putting on some walking shoes to go to work or run your usual errands.

Whatever the case, make a concerted effort to keep your car parked for the entirety of April 22nd and make a commitment to further reduce your dependency on your vehicle. A commitment to going car-free once per week can have a long-lasting impact on our planet and reduce your overall carbon emissions immensely!

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