Recycle, Reuse, Reduce: Earth Day is April 22
Earth Day is April 22.
This year’s theme is “Invest in our planet.”
From Earthday.org:
The Earth Day 2022 theme is focused on engaging the more than 1 billion people, governments, institutions, and businesses who participate in Earth Day to recognize our collective responsibility and to help accelerate the transition to an equitable, prosperous green economy for all. The goal of EDO’s campaign is to push aside the barriers erected by the ancient, dirty fossil fuel economy and their co-conspirators – old technologies of centuries past – and redirect attention to creating a 21st century economy that brings back the health of our planet, protects our species, and provides opportunities for all. EARTHDAY.ORG’s campaign is focused on reframing the conversation, accelerating action, and bringing us together to understand that this is within our reach if we work together.
How to Take Action on Earth Day
One of the goals of Earth Day is to reach a billion acts of green. What’s great about Earth Day’s take action ideas is that you can keep coming back and doing more, and there are both actions you can take once and actions you can make into habits. Here’s what they have to say:
Change starts with action. Better yet, an action that affects the world around you. A Billion Acts of Green are happening across the planet. From students in classrooms to organizers in their communities to officials in government there are ways for anyone of any background to make a difference. Start small and go big — or start big and stay big. Either way, keep coming back, keep taking action and join the movement to change the world.
A Project Close to Our Hearts as Organizers: Excess Clothing
April 22 is Earth Day, and as we try to reach a billion acts of green, one of the categories we see a lot is excess clothing. We’ve been talking about organizing our wardrobes, but when you get rid of clothing, it’s important not to just throw it away. Donate or recycle – but don’t send clothing to the landfill.
According to Earth911.com,
Clothing and textiles are nearly 100 percent recyclable. More and more people are recycling their old attire, whether it’s through donation, thrift store shopping or simple curbside recycling. The textile making process is energy and resource intensive. By recycling clothing you are cutting down on the number of resources needed to produce new clothing.
The Argument for Recycling Clothing
Clothing and household textiles currently make up 5.2% of the waste stream. Clothing that cannot be donated for consumer use can be recycled into wiping rags, paper, yarn, insulation and padding for carpets. Here are some more textile recycling facts from SMART:
Reduces the need to create more landfill space.
Reduces pollution created by incinerators.
Provides low-cost clothing to low income households all over the world.
Polyester, the most commonly used manufactured fiber, is made from petroleum in an energy-intensive process. The process emits volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and acid gases into the air. The process also uses a large amount of water for cooling.
The manufacturing of nylon emits nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas with a carbon footprint 310 times that of carbon dioxide.
Rayon, derived from wood pulp, often relies on clearing old growth forests to make way for water-hungry eucalyptus trees, from which the fiber is derived.
Cotton, found in most clothing, is the most pesticide-dependent crop in the world. It takes one-third of a pound of pesticides to make one t-shirt.
When manufacturing clothes, dyeing requires a hefty amount of water. Its fixatives often flow into rivers and sewers. Also, all “easy care” and “permanent press” cottons are treated with formaldehyde.
Recycling textiles saves the environment from tons of harsh chemicals, waste products and waste water used in the manufacturing of clothing as well. There are many things we can do to be more responsible to the environment, from planting trees to driving less. Keeping clothing out of the landfill is an easy, responsible way to help the environment.
CLIMATE ACTION MUST HAPPEN NOW
We have already reached a point where some global warming is irreversible. The only thing we can do now is urge our leaders and our business leaders to take necessary action to keep it from getting worse. Every step we take helps, but big action is needed to save the planet. Without immediate action, we should expect to see extreme weather events and heatwaves – and “if we do nothing,” according to EarthDay.org “to reverse the course we’re on, we could see the planet warm 4 degrees Celsius in a matter of decades — and with it, catastrophic sea-level rise.”
If you are an educator or parent who would like to get more involved in taking action on Earth Day and throughout the year, download one of the free toolkits available from EarthDay.org.
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