Small Ideas That Make the Earth a Better Place

In honor of Earth Day last week, Wantagh-Seaford Patch came up with some eco-friendly ideas that can collectively make a big impact on our world. We’ll talk about composting in your backyard, walking to the store, using reusable items, saving electricity, recycling and planting some greenery. Earth Day was yesterday, but there is plenty that everyone can do to make the world a better place all year round, so check out the list below and see where you can get started right here in the Wantagh-Seaford area:

Recycle: The Town of Hempstead offers a very comprehensive recycling program, which ranges from weekday pick ups and pollutant events to electronic recycling programs. Check out the website to find out when your area is scheduled for a recycling pick up this week. They accept glass, metal, paper and plastic products. If you or your family has any kind of pollutant, such as paint, solvents, swimming pool chemicals or aerosol cans, the S.T.O.P. program enables residents a safe way to hand these chemicals over to the town for safe disposal. For electronic parts and products, save them up for the E-Cycling program, which now takes place six times a year in Wantagh and Seaford as well as surrounding communities.

Downsize Your Power Usage: Remember how your mom used to yell at you to turn off the light when you left a room? Well, she had a point- turn off the lights when they are not in use and save big on your energy bill. Switch to the ever-popular energy efficient bulbs or appliances to make the best use of your power. Plus, it puts less stress on the energy grid, assists in lessening the overall energy dependence and will save your family some dollars.

Plant a Tree: Sure this seems like a simple one, but it is something that can make a little different in our environment. We all know Long Island is densely populated and the urban sprawl has left much of the local land developed for residential and commercial. Putting in a couple of new trees will make sure that we have green in the town for generations to come. With global deforestation, any help with growing new trees is always a good thing.

Take a Walk: Long Island was built more so for driving than walking. Cars contribute greatly to air pollution and traffic congestion in the area can be a nightmare. Lose the car for a week (if possible) and try to walk everywhere local that you need to go – you’ll be surprised how reinvigorated you will feel with all of that exercise and fresh air!  Besides environmental reasons, walking boosts your general health and gives you some needed daily exercise. It may be a tough and even more time consuming process, but the fact that you are doing your part to help the area's quality of air should be well worth the trouble.

Make a Compost Pile: A compost pile is a simple and straightforward way to reduce families your waste. At the same time, it provides you with some great organic nutrients for a home garden. This can be done in any backyard – whether big or small – and just requires you to put natural waste, such as discarded fruits and vegetables, into a designated spot. Combine with some soil to aerate the pile and you have compost material that will definitely make those tomatoes grow tall this summer.

Use a Reusable Shopping Bag and Water Bottle: If you have ever realized that you probably have a million and one of those plastic shopping bags in your house, a reusable bag is definitely for you. We all know that plastic bag production and use is not good for the environment. Picking up a few of those totes would help reduce this consumption (and make it easier to walk home with your groceries!). In some places, such as Washington D.C., shoppers pay an additional tax for utilizing plastic bags. Additionally, try out a reusable water bottle to cut your plastic water bottle usage. If not properly recycled, those bottles take years to decompose in a landfill.