It’s time to celebrate Earth Day 2020! April 22nd marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and there is no question about it, this Earth Day is going to look quite different than all of the others due to COVID 19.
“Now more than ever, Earth Day offers an opportunity for us all to reflect upon our relationship with the planet, amid the most powerful possible message that nature can surprise us at any moment, with devastating consequences for pretty much every individual. It is a time when the health of the planet and its people has never been so important.” (The Guardian)
The theme for Earth Day 2020 is climate action. The enormous challenges — but also the vast opportunities — for action on climate change have distinguished the issue as the most pressing topic for the 50th anniversary. (Earth Day)
Being at home doesn’t mean that you can’t find ways to celebrate our planet and work towards living a more sustainable lifestyle. Below we are sharing tips, tricks and life hacks for you to engage in Earth Day 2020 and celebrate with the rest of the world right from your living room.
Eco Friendly Life Hacks for Earth Day 2020
Properly dispose of all fats, oils and grease after cooking a meal. Cooking grease and oil in your plumbing and city sewer lines leads to toxic sanitary sewer overflows. While we are all cooking from home more right now, we need to be especially cognizant of how we dispose of all cooking oil and grease.
Use environmentally friendly, non-toxic cleaning products. Cleaning products don’t have to be toxic to be efficient. Do your research and find an eco friendly one that will work in your home.
Skip the plastic. Stop using disposable plastics, especially single-use plastics like bottles, bags and straws.
Recycle and upcycle. Recycle paper, plastic and glass. If it can’t be recycled, try to upcycle it and turn it into something else in your home.
Move to online billing. Change your paper bills to online billing. You’ll be saving trees and the fuel it takes to deliver your bills by truck. This will take you less than 5 minutes but have a major impact.
Read documents online instead of printing them. Working from home has changed a lot of the ways we do business, try seeing if this is one thing you can work into your new routine. When you need to use paper, make sure it’s 100% post-consumer recycled paper.
Plant an urban garden. Start a small urban garden with some of your favorite herbs, fruits and vegetables. Gardening is the perfect social distancing activity. Take it one step further by composting kitchen scraps for use in your garden — turning waste into fertilizer.
Hit the off switch. Turn off lights when you leave a room.
Use energy-efficient appliances and electronics. Now you don’t need to go out and buy new appliances and electronics, but when one of your older ones needs to be replaced search out energy efficient ones.
Fix the leak. That sink with the slow drip, the leaky shower-head or the toilet that has been running more—fix them. Don’t waste water and let money slip down the drain.
These are all things that you can do from the comfort of your home to celebrate Earth Day 2020 and mark the occasion in a sustainable fashion.
Earth Day 2020 Heads Online
Looking to engage with others online this Earth Day? Earth Day Live 2020 is a great resource on where you can tune into performances, engage with calls to action and meet others that are also working for a healthy planet.
Let us know how you are celebrating Earth Day in the comments below.
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