Each year, billions of people from around the world come together to celebrate Earth Day. It’s a global movement that inspires positive change for a better tomorrow. Not only can we do our part daily and implement a more sustainable lifestyle, but it’s an opportunity to remind businesses and governments to take action and invest in our planet as well. Here are 8 easy ways you can celebrate Earth Day with your community or from the comfort of your own home.
Every day is Earth Day, and I vote we start investing in a secure climate future right now.
jackie speier.
1) Call to Action Our environmental crisis requires an urgent response. We can create a sustainable future by voting, using our voice to educate others about environmental issues, and by supporting eco-friendly businesses. Our actions can have a positive effect on our ecosystems as well as the pace of corporate and government action. Visit Earth Day’s Take Action page for more ways to help.
2) Educate There’s so much to learn about sustainability. By educating ourselves and each other, we can learn to adopt healthier habits to build a better future. When we come together, we can create positive change for generations to come. Here are three of my favorite books on sustainability along with my review,
• How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint by Ellen Tout
• Don’t Be Trashy by Tara McKenna
• Sustainable Travel by Holly Tuppen
3) Community Cleanup Is your local community hosting a cleanup at the beach, river, lake, or park near you? If so, join in! It’s a great way to soak up the sunshine, meet new people, and give back. If there aren’t any cleanup campaigns nearby, gather your family and friends and find an area that’s more convenient for you.
4) Unplug Unused Appliances How many unused appliances are plugged in your home right now? While it may be convenient to keep your lamp, coffee maker, or phone charger plugged in at all times, these devices are not only increasing your monthly bill, but carbon emissions as well. Reduce your consumption and save money by simply unplugging unused electronics.
Did you know? According to the U.S. Dept. of Energy, phantom energy, which is electricity used by appliances even when turned off, accounts for 10% of electric consumption. By unplugging your devices when they’re not in use, you can save anywhere from $100 – $200 per year.
5) Conserve Water We’ve all left the tap idly running while washing our hands, doing the dishes, or brushing our teeth at one point in time. It may not seem like a big deal, but these little moments add up. Just by turning the tap off while you brush your teeth can save up to 200 gallons of water per month. This also applies to fixing any leaks that may be happening in your home. For more ways to save water and protect the environment, visit WaterSense.
6) Consider Eco-Friendly Alternatives Plastic pollution continues to be one of the biggest environmental threats. Rather than relying on recycling programs that aren’t as effective as we may think, let’s make better choices that don’t involve single-use plastics to begin with. Here are some of my favorite ways to reduce single-use plastic usage,
• Bring your own reusable shopping/grocery bags
• Bring your own reusable water bottle
• Choose glass, steel, or bamboo for food storage
• Use beeswax wraps instead of plastic saran wrap
• Replace paper towels with reusable cleaning cloths
• Replace bottled shampoo/conditioner with solid bars
• Consider zero-waste kitchen essentials
• Try plastic-free laundry strip detergent
7) Reduce and Reuse Our fast-paced society favors what’s convenient, such as ordering take out, following fast fashion trends, and tossing worn items. This weekend, discover new ways you can implement small changes in your routine that can help the planet. This can include carrying your own reusable utensils, thrifting, and repairing and reusing what you already have before sending items to the landfill.
8) Recycle Properly Each year, Canadians throw away 3 million tonnes of plastic waste. This is a result of our high-consumption of single-use plastics. Our first priority should always be to use eco-friendly alternatives, for the remaining plastics that we accumulate, we should ensure they end up in the right place. Each city has their own rules for what items may go into the recycling bin and how to prepare them. Here’s some information for the city of Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Toronto.
Did you know? Dianne Saxe, an environmental lawyer, states that upwards of 25% of the waste we put in our recycling bins are not recyclable due to contamination. If your cardboard boxes or paper materials have food waste or other materials stuck to them, they can’t be recycled.
RELATED POST: How to Prepare Your Recyclables in 3 Easy Steps
We have the power to create positive change. Let’s use our voices and show our support for environmental protection. How will you be celebrating Earth Day this weekend? I’d love to hear your thoughts. For more eco-friendly posts, visit my tag here. For more resources and ways to invest in our planet, visit Earth Day.
RELATED POST: 4 Ways You Can Live More Sustainably
I really loved your tip for unplugging unused appliances. I have been trying to do this as much as possible this past year to help save money on electricity!
I’m glad you enjoyed that tip Heidi! After learning about “phantom energy”, I’m more mindful with unplugging unused appliances. Thank you for reading!
These are such great ideas on how to celebrate Earth Day! I love this list you have compiled. I always recycle, so much so to the point I think my son gets a little fed up as I’m constantly on about the right bins for things and our trips to the recycling centre haha, but it’s teaching him the importance of it.
You’re setting such a great example Jordanne! Preparing and sorting recyclables may not be the most exciting task, but it’s an important one. Thank you for sharing your experience!
These are all amazing ways to celebrate Earth Day. Education is so important.
Yes, education for sustainability is so important! Thank you for reading!
Thank you for being such an advocate for protecting our planet! Your tips for us as readers to do the same are always so helpful!
Thank you so much Jodie! I’m glad these tips are helpful. I hope you enjoy your weekend!
I am so self aware now of my imprint on the planet and the environment. Maybe it has come with age, or maybe we are just talking about the planet and the environment. As when I was in secondary school for example there wasn’t much talked about the environment other than not to litter in the school grounds. I definitely think education should be happening in primary school. Just so as children grow through the school system they can learn more and more. So it becomes habit to be more eco friendly.
But now, I am always turning off plug switches especially if I am out. I recycle so much that I usually have to put one or sometimes two addition clear bags. I wish some businesses were using less packaging too. These are some great ideas. Thank you for sharing your suggestions to acknowledge your impact on the planet.
I agree, having a curriculum on sustainability in schools would be incredibly impactful. I’m glad to hear you’ve been actively doing your part to be more environmentally friendly! I also wish more businesses prioritized sustainability, such as reducing their packaging. Thank you for your thoughtful comment Lauren!
This post explains exactly why we need to do what we can on Earth Day, and treat every single day as an Earth Day too. These ideas and tips were so helpful — thank you!
Yes, our choices make a big impact! Thank you for reading Molly!
These are all great ideas for helping the enviornment.
Thank you for reading!
Really interesting post and facts. Plus they’re all things that we can easily do.
Absolutely! Thank you for reading Sarah!
I like how you backed these up with statistics. Brilliant advice for getting involved. We need to do as much as we can as quick as we can.
Thank you so much Jamie, I completely agree!
It is important that we all partake in activities like this.
https://www.melodyjacob.com/2023/04/why-i-told-my-friend-to-give-his-bride-a-heart-wedding-ring.html
Yes, not just on Earth Day! Thank you for reading Melody!
I have been part of a clean-up community and it was nice. Helping to clean and make place clean feeling good.
That’s wonderful Fransic! Thank you for volunteering your time. It’s definitely something to feel proud of!
You are absolutely right, Winnie. We have the power to create positive change. Sustainable lifestyle is not just a trend but a lifelong commitment and a promise that we make to save our mother Earth 🌍🙏
100%! Protecting our home is a lifelong commitment and our choices, no matter how big or small, can make a positive impact. Thank you for reading Ranjana!
We bring our own reusable shopping bags everywhere we go. We also take our own water bottles and have a reusable coffee mug when we get coffee out.
I use glass food containers for all leftovers and storage. We try not to buy single use plastic unless absolutely necessary. This is a very informative post. Thank you for sharing.
You’re ahead of the game Kristen! I’m so happy to hear that you’ve got a great system for reducing single-use plastic usage. Thank you for reading!
I was just thinking about hosting a community clean-up! With the weather finally nice, I’ve been on walking trails more often, and the one closest to my home has been washed out completely. This isn’t a new problem. The creek that runs by it is clogged with leaf run-off and plastic trash, so much so that the path floods out pretty much every time it rains. It’s been this way for years, and people have stopped using the path. (It is pretty unusable as is.) I want to get some people out there to clean up the creek so that the flooding stops and we can enjoy this walk through conservation land again! Earth Day might be the perfect excuse.
That sounds fantastic! I’m positive it would be very appreciated by everyone in the community to enjoy those trails again. What a wonderful idea. Thank you for reading and good luck with the clean up!
Points 4 and 5 are actively in play and encouraged in our home.
There’s a lot of recycling that goes on where we live too, a bin for this, a box for that, a bag for this. You name it, we’ve got. It’s great!
But there’s always more we can do in terms of reduce and reuse.
That’s wonderful that you’ve got such a great system in place for recycling. I agree, there’s always more we could do, but just by putting things in their proper place makes a big difference. Thank you for reading!
This is a fantastic post on ways to celebrate Earth Day! I’ve been getting better at unplugging unused appliances, and I’ve been slowly making eco-friendly swaps in my home. Also, I’ll have to see if there’s a cleanup nearby!
That’s great Karalee! I hope you’re able to find a cleanup nearby. Thank you for reading!
Great tips! I have introduced lots of energy saving and plastic reducing steps over the last couple of years. Plus we have our first all-electric car. It’s so important we all do our best for the environment.
That’s awesome Gail! I’m so happy to hear that. Thank you for reading!