Easy Ways to be a Good Citizen of the Environment

In just a few weeks – on Saturday, September 20 - hundreds of Martin County residents will hit our beaches and waterways to collect litter, beautify our community, and take positive steps to save the ocean as part of the International Coastal Cleanup effort.

Keep Martin Beautiful is proud to be the local coordinator of this annual worldwide event. We can help you find spots that need a good cleanup! We’ve got gloves, bags, and all the supplies you’ll need, just don’t wait too long, or they might be gone.

If you haven’t signed up for this day of collective action by individuals, businesses, organizations and agencies, there’s still time. Go to www.keepmartinbeautiful.org/international-coastal-cleanup.html and sign up TODAY.

You can also take individual actions to be good environmental citizens. Even small actions can make a big difference. How many of these can you do in the next few weeks?

1. Grab your reusable water bottle instead of single-use plastic ones. Make this a habit and count how many bottles you’re keeping out of the waste stream on a weekly basis.
2. Bring your own reusable shopping bags to the grocery store to avoid using plastic. If you do use plastic bags, be sure to recycle them at appropriate locations.
3. Make thrift shopping a habit. Check out local thrift stores for clothes and other items before buying new ones. Bonus: donate your gently used items to keep them out of the landfill.
4. Reuse. Be creative about how to find new uses for things you already have or try to fix what you’ve got before you decide to buy new.
5. Pick up litter when you see it. We don’t need to tell you not to litter, right?
6. Conserve water by taking short showers, even in the summer heat. Let’s conserve our water while we’re not in a water crisis.
7. Eat your leftovers—and get creative! Transform them into new meals to reduce food waste and make the most of what you have.
8. Turn off lights, appliances, and electronics when you’re not using them—every little bit of saved energy counts.
9. Given a choice of cleaning supplies, personal care items, and detergents, choose the ones that are biodegradable.
10. Recycle. What can we say except Recycle! Recycle! Recycle! Check the Martin County website for the right ways to do it.

Let us know at info@keepmartinbeautiful.org if you have other great tips on simple but effective ways to help us all care for our environment.

And we hope to see you on September 20 at a beach or waterway near you!

Tiffany Kincaid's opinions are her own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint.