I love being green, and I count the days until Earth Day every year, because it means a celebration of all things green. Yippee for Earth Day! Whether you’re already an eco nut or need some help in the green department, we can all afford to green up our Earth Day and day-to-day lives. So, in celebration of Earth Day (which is April 22), I’ve decided to share some ways to make your daily routine a little more green:
Celebrate Earth Day and Start a Garden
Some of the best ways to celebrate Earth Day have to do with my favorite thing–food! You can become eco-friendly by cutting back on meat consumption and buying local, organic foods. The easiest way to do that is to start a Earth Day backyard garden! By bringing your food source within feet of your front door, you save green while going green! Cha-ching!
Afraid you lack a green thumb to celebrate Earth Day? The key to gardening is knowledge, patience and a little luck. Pay close attention to the sun exposure, drainage and soil quality. Choose your crops based on how well they will thrive in your area. Pro Tip: Every Saturday this month, LA County is offering free workshops to help get your Earth Day garden going. If you can’t make one, ask lots of questions at your local nursery or to search the internet. To know is to grow!
Celebrate Earth Day and Start Composting
Now that you’ve had a delicious Earth Day dinner with your backyard veggies, what to do with the scraps? Compost them! While some are scared off by the idea of compost because it’s “too complicated” or “gross,” that’s not the case! You don’t need a fancy degree or a lack of smell to effectively compost on Earth Day. There are tons of guides floating around the web to help you get your compost bin started. In the true nature of sustainability, compost will be a great addition to the Earth Day backyard garden you just started. Hello, free fertilizer! I can already taste the many years of delicious veggies coming from your Earth Day garden.
Celebrate Earth Day and Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, & E-Cycle
By now, most of us know about the “3 R’s,” or “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” They are excellent ways to help keep the earth happy on Earth Day. I want to introduce you to another concept–e-cycle. You know all those old computers, cell phones, and batteries sitting in your garage? You can’t toss those in the garbage; you have to dispose of them properly, especially on Earth Day. When electronic goods end up in landfills, they leak toxic chemicals and contribute to the heap of non-biodegradable materials that are taking up too much precious space.
The proper disposal method for these goods is called “e-cycling,” or “electronic recycling.” If you have goods that still work, you can donate them to charity on Earth Day. If they’ve seen their better days, use this handy search database to find a recycling center near you that will take that e-waste off your hands. In certain communities, there are even e-waste recycling events where you can take your e-waste to local sites like schools or malls. If you’re moving, NorthStar Moving can take care of disposing of that e-waste for you with the Al Gore package.
Those are just a few ways you can make your Earth Day and every day greener. How do you celebrate Earth Day every day? Tell me about your green ways in the Comments section!