Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: How to Celebrate Earth Day Every Day

While we think every day should be Earth Day, there are a few changes you can make starting today to help make our planet a little brighter and cleaner for future generations. By just paying attention to the little things like what you throw away vs. what you can recycle, you can start to make a difference. 

In this blog post, we’ll discuss a few simple ways you can alter your daily routine to help reduce, reuse and recycle your way to a cleaner planet! 

Reduce

Try these simple steps to reduce your environmental impact:  

• Turn off running water – By turning off the water while you perform everyday tasks like brushing your teeth or doing the dishes, you can save gallons of water each day! 
• Eat what you have in your pantry before buying more – If you’re like us, you frequently open up your kitchen cabinets and find food items that have been there for ages. Before you head to the store again, try to use up that forgotten food, or donate it to those in need. 
• Say no to unnecessary bags – Next time you buy one or two items at a store, try carrying them out in your hands instead of going for paper or plastic. For larger shopping trips, bring your reusable bags to help save on unnecessary waste.
• Cut back your energy usage – To help reduce your energy consumption, try unplugging electronics and turning off lights when you exit a room. These simple behavior changes can help dramatically reduce your environmental footprint, not to mention your energy bills!

Reuse

Before you recycle or dispose of an item, consider if it can be reused or swapped out for a reusable version. Try upgrading to the following reusable items to help improve your environmental friendliness:

• Travel mugs – Travel mugs can be washed and reused, helping to prevent the waste of millions of discarded paper cups each day.
• Fabric grocery bags – Fabric grocery bags are sturdier than traditional plastic or paper bags, and require the use of fewer raw materials. 
• Reusable dishes – By swapping out paper plates for reusable dishware, you can help reduce paper waste and emissions from the production process. 
• Cloth napkins – Reuse your cloth napkins at home to help reduce the waste of disposable paper napkins. To reduce energy consumption, wash your cloth napkins in cold water and hang them to dry.

Riceworks

To help improve the way we treat our planet, Riceworks has implemented comprehensive energy management programs at each of our manufacturing locations. We collect 17,000 gallons of rainwater per month to reduce our water usage, cook with an oven that consumes 50 percent less energy and use natural lighting throughout our facilities. This Earth Day, we challenge you to join us in our mission to reduce, reuse and recycle our way to a more sustainable future.

Have other ideas for how to reduce, reuse and recycle? Leave them in the comments!