12 simple ways to make every day Earth Day

First observed in 1970, Earth Day is recognized globally on April 22 each year to demonstrate support for and raise awareness of the need to protect our environment. Originally focused on the United States, the annual event is now marked with a range of events held in 190-plus countries — and involving more than 1 billion participants all over the world.

12 simple steps to sustainability

Earth Day aims to bring the world together each April behind the critical cause of preserving the planet. And here at Wastequip, we believe that sustainable living should be a year-round goal. As such, we’re sharing our 12 favorite everyday action items — one to adopt and maintain for each month of the year — from EarthDay.org’s list of impactful steps responsible global citizens can take to make a difference for the planet:
 

1. Try Earth-friendly eating — By cutting the amount of meat you eat, you can reduce your carbon footprint and help preserve valuable environmental resources such as land, water and oil. To do your part, consider participating in Meatless Mondays with the help of these plant-based recipes.
2. Fight for the forests — Consider changing your buying habits to support companies that are taking active steps to decrease our planet’s deforestation. And to further support the cause, consider donating to the Canopy Project, which is working to improve our environment by planting millions of trees worldwide.
3. Practice ‘plogging’ — Next time you step out for a jog, commit to picking up some of the trash you see along the way, a practice dubbed “plogging.” (For those who choose to get their workout in at a bit slower pace, doing the same while on a walk is equally effective from an environmental standpoint, and also good for your health.)
4. Calculate and cut your carbon footprint — Use this handy tool to calculate your carbon footprint, then take steps to reduce it.
5. Pare down your plastic use — To do your part to reduce plastic pollution, use this plastic-use calculator to determine where your plastic use stands, then work to trim it down.
6. Make your voice heard — Contact your local, state and national elected representatives to let them know how important environmental initiatives and climate preservation are to you and the future of our planet.
7. Start composting — Fight food waste by composting for your own home garden — doing so can result in a greener planet and a greener growing space.
8. Protect our pollinators — Another way to make your gardening more eco-friendly is to avoid using pesticides, which can help your crop yields persist and help support a healthier ecosystem by preventing the demise of pollinators like bees.
9. Opt for paperless billing — Save the trees it takes to produce paper bills and the fuel used to deliver them by enrolling in online billing for your utilities. Then compound your eco-friendly financial habits by using online bill pay to pay off your bills.
10. Buy farm-fresh foods — Reduce the amount of fuel used to transport foods and support the local economy by buying your produce and other groceries local and direct from area farms, farmers markets and food co-ops.
11. Avoid single-use plastic products — Cut your consumption of wasteful single-use plastic products by drinking from a reusable water bottle rather than one-time-use plastic ones, as well as by choosing to buy products sold in glass or paper packaging rather than in plastic as much as possible.
12. Lower your light usage — Cut your electricity usage and your power bills by turning off the lights when you leave a room.

(To see more suggested action items from EarthDay.org, the global coordinator of Earth Day, check out the group’s full list of 52 Ways to Invest in Our Planet.)

4 ways Wastequip is supporting sustainability
Looking to do our part for the planet, Wastequip is striving to lead the way toward waste-industry sustainability by setting a good corporate example. Among the ways the Wastequip family of brands is demonstrating its commitment to environmental and social responsibility in the industry:

• Project25: In 2021, Wastequip’s Toter brand launched its Project25 initiative, driven by a commitment to reducing the amount of virgin resin used in its cart manufacturing by 25%. The goal will help reduce Toter’s carbon footprint by at least 9% per cart.
• EVR-Green: Exhibiting a commitment to environmental innovation, Toter recently introduced EVR-Green, which features the waste and recycling industry’s first cart body made from 100% recycled material.
• Supporting SB 1383 compliance: To help facilitate compliance with new industry standards such as California’s SB 1383, Wastequip brands Toter and ConFab are creating solutions such as carts, bins and collection containers that make it easier than ever to collect and transport organic materials.
• A CORE commitment: Wastequip’s CORE (COrporate REsponsibility) program formalizes our commitment to preserving the planet for future generations, as well as to improving the lives of our employees and the communities we serve.

About Wastequip
Wastequip is the leading North American manufacturer of waste handling equipment, with an international network of manufacturing facilities and the most extensive dealer network in the industry. Wastequip’s broad range of waste and recycling equipment, trucks and systems is used to collect, process and transport recyclables, solid waste, liquid waste and organics. The company’s brands include Amrep®, Accurate™, ConFab®, ContainerPros®, Galbreath®, Mountain Tarp®, Pioneer™, Toter®, Wastebuilt®, Wastequip®, Wastequip WRX™ and wasteware™. For more information, visit www.wastequip.com.