5 Things you can do to help the planet

As 2023 begins, many people make new year’s resolutions to improve health, but have you thought about habits that also help the environment? There are small things we all can do that will help our planet.

1. Adopt a climate-friendly diet at least once a week – Foregoing meat, even one day a week, helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GGEs). Nearly 57% of GGEs come from raising livestock and the feed required to nourish livestock. Also, throughout the world, eating beans is a common meal of Centenarians, people who live past 100 years old.*

2. Recycle – You may think everyone recycles already, but according to the NRDC, less than 14 percent of plastic packaging is recycled. When you recycle newspapers, glass jars and plastic containers it reduces the energy, water, trees and other natural resources needed to produce more goods.

3. Reuse and buy less– Reusing products instead of buying them new helps save energy, curb global warming emissions and save the earth’s resources. Check out websites like Freecycle.com and Facebook “Buy Nothing” groups to keep your old items out of landfills and swap your way to “new to you” treasures.

4. Use a refillable water bottle – Disposable plastic water bottles are a big issue in the waste stream and are littering the landscape all over the world. When you use a refillable water bottle instead of buying plastic bottles, you not only help the environment by reducing plastic waste, you also save money.

5. Buy in bulk to reduce packaging waste – Single serve items like yogurt and individually-wrapped snacks create a lot of plastic waste. Consider the packaging of the items you regularly purchase and switch to buying in bulk to reduce packaging while saving money. Many bulk items are packed in recyclable containers so it’s a win-win with less food packaging and recycled packaging.

* Sign Sustainable Earth Eating’s Meat Down Pledge here: www.sustainableeartheating.org