50 Ways to Help the Planet -
Save Our Environment and Planet Earth
BECAUSE SIMPLE THINGS CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Saving the planet sounds huge doesn’t it? And in essence, it is. But there are many simple ways you can do your bit to help.
Check out this list of fifty easy ways to go green and do your bit to help! These are steps that anyone can and should take to help reduce the effect of years of abuse.
1. Use Energy Efficient Lightbulbs
Energy efficient lightbulbs are a simple way to reduce the amount of power you use. Not only will this help the planet, it will also save your bank balance too. By replacing just one lightbulb, the effect can be tremendous. If every house in the USA did this, it would reduce pollution by the same amount as removing one million cars from the road!
2. Turn Your Computer Off Overnight
If you turn your computer off every night, again you will reduce the power you use. You will save an average of $14 a year. It’s not a huge amount, but better in your pocket than your energy supplier’s right?
3. Don’t Pre-Rinse the Dishes
If you can’t live without your dishwasher, then at least cut the pre-rinse. With a decent detergent, your dishes will be just as clean and you can save an average of twenty gallons of water per load.
4. Don’t Pre-Heat Your Oven
Unless it’s absolutely essential, for example if you’re making bread, you don’t need to pre-heat the oven. You can just set it away when you are ready to start cooking. Bonus tip: When checking the food, look through the door rather than opening it until the final check.
5. Always Recycle Glass
Did you know that un recycled glass can take up to a million years to decompose? Always make sure to recycle your glass. It can reduce related water pollution by up to fifty percent and related air pollution by up to twenty percent.
Related: 10 Household Items You Can Easily Recycle
6. Choose Your Diapers Wisely
Wherever possible, choose cloth diapers – this aids the environment and is kinder to baby’s skin. If you desperately need the convenience of the disposable diaper, use an environmentally friendly brand. The average child uses between five and eight thousand diapers – which equates to 3.5 million tonnes of landfill waste. And makes a huge dent in your pocket!
7. Use A Clothesline
Do your clothes a favour and switch off the dryer. Hang clothes outside to dry naturally. The material will last longer, it will smell and feel fresher and of course, you are saving on that power usage!
8. Have A Vegetarian Day
You don’t have to give up meat for life, but try to commit to one meat free day a week. It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce a single pound of beef. And each hamburger that comes from animals on ex-forestry ground is responsible for the destruction of fifty-five square feet of forest.
9. Launder Sensibly
For your own pocket, and the good of the environment, don’t wash half loads. Wait until there’s enough to do a load and cut your laundry in half. Also, think about the water temperature. If every household in the USA switched from a hot to a warm cycle, it could save the equivalent of 100,000 barrels of oil per day.
10. Don’t Waste Napkins
We’ve all done it – gone somewhere and took a napkin or two more than we needed, only to throw them away unused. If everyone in the USA used one less napkin a day, current figures show that it could save a billion pounds of space in landfills.
11. Use All of the Paper
If you jot a note down on paper, save it and use the rest of the sheet for your notes. American business waste 21 million tonnes of paper per annum! Ideally, try to have your business as paperless as possible. When it is absolutely necessary, print on both sides of the page. And don’t forget to recycle it!