It's no secret global warming and human activity are slowly breaking down almost every aspect of the environment. Pollution seems to be running rampant in our air and water supplies, and the land on the coasts of the U.S. is slowly eroding as the ocean pulls more and more of back into the sea with its tide. You might hear reports on the news about the state of the environment, but feel helpless to do anything meaningful. After all, you're just one person, right? Wrong! Every person can make meaningful contributions to saving the environment and protecting our planet.

The Basics

As you watch your kids grab their baseball gloves or soccer cleats, you might think about what their future will be like and if the world will continue on its terrifying trajectory. There are plenty of basic steps you can take you to help your kids inherit a healthier earth. The most basic approach is one we've all heard about time and time again: recycling. Recycling is part of a three-pronged approach to conservation, reduce, reuse, recycle. The focus in this practice is to cut down on what you throw away and to take the time to separate things that could be remade into new products. Think about reusing parchment paper when baking, saving old Christmas wrapping for next year, or wiping up a spill with a rag instead of a paper towel. These all reduce the amount of trash you generate. If there are things you need to toss out, like clean plastic containers or old newspapers, utilize your city's recycling program so these items don't end up sitting in a landfill.

A more advanced form of recycling is composting. Composting is the process of taking your organic food waste and disposing of it in a way it can actually break down and help the environment. It's estimated nearly 300 million tons of organic waste sit in our landfills, mostly in plastic bags, unable to break down because they're removed from sunlight and soil. When you start composting, you can toss in all those vegetable tops, food scraps, and coffee grinds into your bin where they will convert into nutrient rich soil for your garden or flowers. The most common, and perhaps easiest, way to compost is by using a worm box, but there are plenty of other methods if you don't like interacting with creepy crawlies.

Go Reusable

So much of our modern society is focused on disposable options. There are disposable razors, floss, food storage bags, and more. Take a moment to consider how much packaging alone you throw out in one day. If you're focused on reducing your carbon footprint, then reusable is the only way to go. The first for most people's reusable journey starts at the grocery store with their shopping bags. Many stores now offer reusable tote bags that customers can buy and use instead of plastic bags. In fact, most stores even offer a small discount if you bring your own bags. Choosing to bring your own grocery bags can drastically reduce the amount of plastic bags that are filtered into the trash system. Think about a typically grocery run, how many plastic bags do you usually need for a week's worth of groceries? All of your items could most likely fit in just two or three reusable bags because they're larger and sturdier. That also means less trips to the car when you get home!

Another way to reuse materials is to ditch your plastic storage bags for reusable ones. Instead of having boxes of snack, sandwich, and gallon size plastic bags to transport lunches and snacks in or freeze extra food, you can buy silicon options that work just as well and are washable and reusable. That means less plastic in your trash and in the landfills!

If you want to help the environment, think of all the ways you can reduce, reuse, and recycle!