Earth Day

Every day may be Earth Day now, but April 22 is the one where our neighbors will frown disapprovingly at us if they see us put the newspaper in the regular trash instead of the recycling bin.
Who needs that kind of mojo?
So here are a few simple suggestions you can adopt to keep your earth karma healthy.

- Turn off the water. Do you leave the water running while you brush your teeth for 2 minutes? Then nearly ten gallons of water just slid down the drain. Remember, you PAY for that! Now, think about saving water when you shave, wash dishes, do laundry, water the lawn, wash the car, hose off the sidewalks…. avoid sending water and $$$ down the drain.

- Do less laundry. When you do it, do full loads on the lowest temperature setting possible. Washers can use more than 50 gallons of water per load, so avoid washing a lot of small loads whenever possible. Also, be sure to choose the lowest level of water needed for each load, use warm water instead of hot, and set the rinse cycle to use cold water.

- Break the paper towel habit. Use rags or towels instead of paper towels for cleaning.

- Carry cloth shopping bags.

- Use latex paint. Oil based paints are toxic. They cannot be thrown out in the trash, but require special “hazardous waste” handling available at most recycling facilities. Call for instructions and collection dates. Use latex paint instead. To dispose of excess latex paint, leave the can uncovered to allow evaporation, then pull out the hardened paint and recycle the can. Never pour paint on the ground or wash brushes outside, as the runoff can contaminate groundwater.

- If your city or county has curbside recycling, take advantage of it! Start looking at you’ve been putting in the waste can, and ask yourself how much of that could have been recycled instead of going into the landfill. If you aren’t sure what can and can’t be recycled, call your city manager and ask for a list. They’ll be thrilled to tell you.

Have any more suggestions? Share them in the comments.
Here’s hoping we have a healthy Earth for the many generations to come.