How You Can Help Clean And Heal The Planet
Feel like you aren’t going enough to clean the environment?
We do everything we can to make sure our homes are clean. We mop, sweep, vacuum, and dust. However, we seem to fall behind when it comes to cleaning the planet.
We leave trash all over the streets, dump plastic in our oceans, and emit a lot of carbon dioxide to poison our air. We need to do better.
We need to clean up our planet like we clean up our houses. What can we do to clean our planet? There are a few things individuals can do to help clean Mother Earth.
Recycle
Recycling is a great activity to do to help clean up the environment. It's simple but very few of us do it. By recycling, we can reduce the amount of trash being dumped in landfills. There are garbage disposal companies that offer recycling services. Be sure to check in your area to see if they can help you recycle.
Separate your garbage into different bins, one for glass, aluminum cans, paper, electronics, etc. This can be done in the home and in public areas. Then once a week or month, the recycle bins can be collected either curbside or drop-off centers.
From there, the trash can be taken to a recovery center to be sorted, cleaned, and processed into materials to be used in manufacturing. This is where the reuse from reduce, reuse, recycle comes in.
More and more products should and are being made with recycled materials. Newspapers, glass bottles, and Aluminum cans are examples of items made from recycled materials.
This will save time and money from mining operations to get the materials for new products, not to mention protecting the ecosystem from more damage.
Switch To Solar Or Wind Energy
I’ve seen more and more people having solar panels on their houses in the area. For good reason, they have many benefits. One benefit is that solar energy is much cleaner than oil and gas. This is a good alternative to those living in areas where the sun is out more times than not. Also, the sun will be around for billions of years to come.
You can save money on your energy bills when you switch to solar energy. How much you’ll save depends on the size of the system and your energy usage. Also, there’s a chance that you can be paid for the extra energy you can give back to the grid. You have the potential of saving hundreds if not thousands when you have access to solar energy.
The cost of having solar panels installed and Maintainance has dropped. There’re commercials on TV and on the Internet offering solar panel installations at rates people can afford. Manufacturers also offer a 20–25-year warranty for people to save money on maintenance.
Use Reusable Bags
The disposable bags from the grocery store may be useful, but they do have a hidden cost in using them. They are a great harm to the environment just like any of the plastic materials used today. Switching to reusable bags will benefit us in the long run when it comes to environmental impact.
The more we use reusable bags, the less plastic will be in landfills. Many places are running out of space to place the trash. Plastics take a very long time to decompose, which puts wildlife, like turtles, in danger of being harmed. Animals can eat plastic and get really sick or die.
The cost of using plastic bags hurts people’s wallets. In the US it cost 5 cents a bag in the grocery store and Ireland it pays 15 cents per bag. Over time that adds up. Not to mention it cost cities millions of dollars from recycling costs to processing the bags in the landfills. Recycling plastic bags aren’t even feasible. It cost a hefty price of $4,000 to process and recycle a ton of plastic bags.
Buying and using reusable bags like tote bags a the grocery store can save the environment and wildlife from being buried in plastic. They will save hundreds if not millions of dollars for both consumers and businesses. You can reuse the bags over and over again because they’re very durable and reliable. You can fill them up to the top and not worry about them tearing.
Walk or Ride A Bike
Depending on where you live in the world, you don’t have to drive everywhere. Places in Europe you can walk or ride a bike to work and back. Get a dose of exercise in and you can clean up the environment.
You can also save money on gas and produce less CO2 emissions by walking or riding a bike. If walking or riding a bike isn’t possible, you can carpool with a friend or coworker to a mutual destination. But if you must drive your car, there are ways to offset your carbon footprint to help protect the environment.
Conclusion
There are many other ways to help clean and protect the environment. Some involve saving water, unplugging unused electric appliances, reduce the use of air conditioning, the list goes on. I don’t know if we are able to do everything at once, but we can start by doing the things we can do today. You have the power to change the world.
You can choose to spend your money on companies that do protect the environment and not on those that don’t. Push the government to come up with policies that protect the environment. It may start small on the individual level, but when more and more people get on board you will see the change in your local community and beyond.
