Welcome to the first day of International Compost Awareness Week( or ICAW)! Today we are focusing on you, the individual, and what you can do to help bring awareness to this week and what you can do to help our planet.
Because it all starts at home. That’s how changes are made, by individual actions. We want to give you the resources to start making changes in your daily life that will make a difference in our community and the world.
The most important thing we can do as individuals is reduce how much we use. Reusing things is great, but by constantly seeking new things we contribute to the amount of materials (water and energy) needed to make these new objects. There are a lot of ways to reduce how much we use, from reusable grocery and produce bags and water bottles to cloth diapers. The most important, however, is to stop and think before buying.
Ask yourself:
Do I really need this?
Do I already have something that could be used instead?
After that important step, we can all focus more on reducing our use of those most important resources: Food, Energy, and Water.
Luckily, we’ve already talked a lot about reducing food waste on the blog, here are some of our posts about it:
- A recipe for a meal that creates little waste.
- A guide to reducing food waste in general.
- A review for a food waste cookbook.
Here you can find some tips for reducing energy usage, as well as just general ways to reduce waste:
- The EPA’s guide on energy use reduction
- A way to measure your impact
- Some ideas on items you should reuse in your own home
- Great tips on ways to use less, and reduce waste
Here are some great water reduction tips:
- 14 Ways to Reduce Water Waste
- Water Conservation: 45 ways to conserve water
- Make a game in your household by having people time their showers for a week, whoever has the shortest time wins!
If you have kids, or know kids, then it really starts at home. Pass along your eco-knowledge to your kids with some fun activities. Here is a coloring sheet you could print on recycled paper or lightly
Make sure you tag us in your photos of activities through the week! We would love to see how you celebrate!
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