For us, every day is Earth Day, but for those who would like to do something special on April 22nd this year, Zero Waste Communities would like to help you make a big impression. Since we’re talking about impressions, why not start with a footprint? EarthDay.org’s Ecological Footprint Quiz is a great way to see how the things you do in everyday life affect the planet on a larger scale. Not only that, but by taking the quiz multiple times, and playing around with your answers, you can get an idea of how changing some small things in your daily routine can have a huge positive impact.

When you’re ready to take these changes off the computer screen and put them into practice, we think it’s great to always review the 3 R’s: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

Here at Zero Waste Communities, one of our favorite R’s is Reuse. It can bring a lot of positive effects with the smallest amount of effort: you don’t need to buy more stuff and you don’t have to throw anything away either. It’s all about making the best of what you’ve got! But if residents of San Bernardino County do happen to want something new to reuse, you can like us on Facebook and receive a FREE Zero Waste Reusable Bag made from recycled content.

The next R to tackle is Reduce. People often think this is the most difficult one to tackle, but really, when you’re reusing, you’ve already started reducing! Take for example your reusable bag. Every time you bring it to the store, you’re reducing the amount of disposable plastic or paper bags that are wasted on one time uses. That adds up to a lot of saved resources over time!

Finally we get to the most popular R: Recycle. We’d like it if you kept this one in mind as you start your spring cleaning. There’s a chance that all your extra stuff may not be reused at home, but it sure can be recycled rather than thrown away!  Our website will help you find out what items your City will accept in your curbside pick-ups.

So as Earth Day approaches, why not try out an R, or three? On their own, each one can save you money, but used together they are an Earth-saving power combo that the planet will appreciate on April 22nd and every day on Earth afterward! After you’ve checked your carbon footprint, try lowering it with our FREE Zero Waste Reusable Bag and maybe add a few more special bags for Earth Day. Then take the quiz again and let us know how much smaller your footprint got by reducing, reusing and recycling!