Next time you hit the grocery store, shop around for the best buys that support your own local environment. Check labels and signs of the produce you purchase and make an effort to buy locally grown products. Buying locally means less energy expended to bring food to your table, cutting down on everything from air pollution to the burning of fossil fuels from trucking in cargo. Buying locally also means fresher fruits and vegetables that are healthier for your body and tastier to your taste buds. Fruits and veggies shipped from abroad are usually harvested at least two full weeks before they are ripe so that they don’t go rotten during their long voyages on planes and in crates before arriving to your grocer.

By buying from people in your area you’re also supporting the local economy and helping to make your home part of a more sustainable community. If products aren’t labeled at your grocery store, talk to the management and let them know you would like to know whether the tomatoes your buying were genetically engineered at some factory or whether they were grown under the same bright skies you wake up to in the morning. By buying locally, not only are you bound for a fresher taste but also for a healthier conscience by making simple decisions that go a long way in protecting all of our environments.

1) If you buy "long life" products (such as batteries and light bulbs) or "concentrated" products, (such as juices or detergents) you not only prevent buying unnecessary packaging, but you prevent more products from ending up in a landfill!
2) If you buy less disposable items or none at all (cloth napkins, towels and diapers instead of paper ones), you prevent more things from ending up in a landfill, and you don't use any packaging.
3) If you bring your own bags to the store with you, you not only prevent having to recycle additional bags, you recycle an existing bag.

Keeping a computer on day and night will consume about 250 kilowatt-hours of electricity and will cost you around $50 dollars a month, by shutting down your computer at night, will consume around 100 kilowatt-hours saving you about $30 a month. Make sure you point this out to others and at work.

One dollar of every ten dollars spent on food products is used for packaging, which is rapidly filling our landfills. Most products have layers and layers of unnecessary wrapping, plastics, and boxes and as consumers we have to let companies know we don't want to support such wasteful practices.


Pay attention to the packaging that comes with what you purchase. Most plastics are now recyclable, but manufacturers are still selling their wares by packaging them in hard to recycle or non-recyclable plastics. Look for the symbol with three chasing arrows to find out what type of materials the packaging consists of. Then, call up your local recycling center to see what types of paper and plastics can be recycled in your area. Plastics stamped #1 or #2 are most widely recycled but some facilities can take other types.


Also, try and look for products that have been packaged in already recycled materials. Buy products in bulk to reduce the amount of packaging that ends up in landfills or try and buy products that are themselves reusable (i.e. reusable razors instead of disposables). Do you need a bag for one or two items? Make sure you let them know that you don't. These are just a few simple steps we can all take to decrease our waste and clean up our environment.