This Sunday, April 22nd, is Earth Day and it’s time to celebrate our planet. I think we can all agree that the earth needs more than one day to heal, but this one day can serve as a catalyst to get the do-gooder in all of us up and running. There are so many important issues plaguing our global environment, including climate change, plastic pollution, and air pollution.
This year Earth Day 2018 is dedicated to ending plastic pollution. From poisoning and injuring marine life to disrupting human hormones, from littering our beaches and landscapes to clogging our waste streams and landfills, the exponential growth of plastics is now threatening the survival of our planet.
It’s time to step it up and for each of us to make conscious changes that will ultimately have a big impact on the earth.
Here are a few things you can do on Earth Day and every day to help end plastic pollution
Say no to plastic straws
In the United States, we use 500 million straws a day. We could take those straws and wrap them around the circumference of the earth 2.5 times or use them to fill Yankee Stadium over 9 times.
Let’s make a personal commitment to say “no” to plastic straws. This isn’t an easy one for me. I have to admit that I like a straw when I’m sipping a drink. I’m going to try and I hope you’ll join me.
Commit to picking up trash
Trash is everywhere. Pick up trash whenever you see it, especially in ponds, streams, rivers, and on beaches. Have you tried “plogging”? Plogging, is the name for picking up trash while jogging (walking works too!). Did you know that more than 64 million Americans went running or jogging in 2016, while 110 million used walking as a form of exercise? If each of these people picked up a few pieces of garbage every time they headed out for a run or walk the world could look completely different. That works for me!
Invest in a favorite reusable water bottle
It’s time to say goodbye to plastic water bottles. Last year Americans used about 50 billion plastic water bottles (That’s a lot of water bottles!). The recycling rate for plastic in the United States is only 23 percent, which means 38 billion water bottles are sent to landfills each year.
Take a peek at a few of my favorite reusable water bottles HERE.
Use reusable bags (say “NO” to plastic bags)
If you haven’t already it’s time to make the switch to reusable bags. There’s no denying that plastic bags are polluting our environment. It’s hard to miss the enormous number of plastic bags swirling around in local parking lots and waterways. The bags never fully decompose and remain a significant threat to marine animals and other wildlife. Swapping out plastic for reusable bags is an easy step that will have a big impact.
I’m a fan of these BAGGU Reusable Shopping Bags.They come in so many different colors and fold into a small pouch when not in use.
Do you have plans for Earth Day this year? Whatever you do I hope you find yourself outside in beautiful weather.
Great post! My friends and I gave up using straws 2 years ago
Nice job, Ridhima! It’s not easy to give up plastic straws, but a great way to have a big impact.
Hi Lori, here in South Africa many of our large food chain stores use recyclable plastic bags which they charge the customer for at a cost of 30 to 50 cents (ZAR). Previously, these plastic bags were given free of charge at the check out counters for customers to carry groceries in.
We as shoppers, now have to pay for these bags, this is to prompt shoppers to reuse these bags (also a portion goes as a tax towards helping the environment), or rather buy bio degradable cotton shopping bags which last a very long time before having to be replaced. In 2012, one of South Africa’s largest food chain stores Pick and Pay, started having cotton shopping bags made by previously disadvantaged township woman and made them available to their customers for 49.99 ZAR of which 5 ZAR of this goes to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). This not only helps towards saving the environment but provides jobs for the previously disadvantaged.
Pick n Pay are also working with Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SASSI) to create a “sustainable sourced seafood” environment.