Rethink Consumption- Get Engaged
Rethink Consumption- Get Engaged
Why?
When you are starting a new topic, it's great to find fun, informative, and impactful ways to get engaged.
If you are leading a Team, this is a great place to start when planning your Team Gathering.
Set goal to reduce waste can sizes
Did you know you can save a lot of money every month by getting down to a smaller trash can size? Plus, it will save you space to downsize to nice little 20 gallon cans.
Recology Sonoma Marin: Petaluma Rates
Recology Sonoma Marin: Cart sizes and dimensions
Recology Sonoma Marin: Sorting Guide
Monitor your trash, recycle & compost bins
Check out your trash, recycle, and compost bins. Are you (and your family) getting most items into the right bins? If not, what are the most common mistakes you’re making?
Maybe someone in your family has just given up and puts everything in the trash. Or maybe you’ve got a “wish-cyler” on your hands who, when in doubt, simply throws everything into the recycling bin. Wanting to recycle is laudable, but know that this really mucks up the works for the waste management sorters and contaminates the materials that are truly recyclable.
If you want an even more clear picture of how you and your family are doing, take a detailed inventory like this. We’re guessing most of the stuff in your bins is single-use packaging. What are your most common trash/recycle items and can you replace them with products that don’t need packaging? Not only will this save resources, but it will also save you time taking out the trash and money on your Recology bill.
Zero Waste Sonoma: Zero Waste Guide Sonoma County
See which foods are spoiling
Take stock of which kinds of foods tend to spoil – and why – before you eat them. Do you go overboard buying condiments? Do small items get shoved to the back of the fridge? Do you buy ingredients for fancy dishes that you never get around to making? Does your family shun leftovers?
There are lots of reasons for food waste. Identify your family’s food-waste Achilles heels and take steps to address them. We’ll give you tips and resources with Goal #1: Eat wisely.
Watch/read/listen to learn more
VIDEO: Food Waste: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Producers, sellers, and consumers waste tons of food. John Oliver discusses the shocking amount of food we don’t eat in his signature slightly offensive yet humorous way. (Strong language not appropriate for children.)
VIDEO: The diet that fights climate change
You don’t have to go vegan to fight climate change. Research shows that small changes to our diets can make big differences. This Climate Lab video collaboration between Vox and the University of California gives a great overview of how what we eat matters.
VIDEO: TED Talk: The surprising climate benefits of sharing your stuff
There's something simple we can all do to help the planet – and it's probably not what you think. Entrepreneur Tessa Clarke believes that sharing more and wasting less is an underrated solution to the climate crisis. Learn more about how you can join the growing movement reducing waste and building community worldwide.
VIDEO: Powerful interview with Dr. David Suzuki
We live on a finite planet, which means we cannot increase our consumption forever. In this powerful interview, Dr David Suzuki talks about climate change and the need to move beyond business as usual. The environmentalist, activist, professor of genetics, and science broadcaster hits us with some hard truths about what our future will look like if we continue to live the way we have been.
VIDEO: The Story of Stuff
From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world.
MOVIE: The True Cost
This is a story about clothing. It’s about the clothes we wear, the people who make them, and the impact the industry is having on our world. The price of clothing has been decreasing for decades, while the human and environmental costs have grown dramatically. The True Cost is a groundbreaking documentary film that pulls back the curtain on the untold story and asks us to consider, who really pays the price for our clothing?
MOVIE: The Story of Plastic
The Story of Plastic is a searing exposé that reveals the ugly truth behind plastic pollution and the false solution of plastic recycling. The Story of Plastic presents a cohesive timeline of how we got to our current global plastic pollution crisis and how the oil and gas industry has successfully manipulated the narrative around it.
Use your voice
VOTE! PLEASE, VOTE!
Tired of year after year of firestorms, atmospheric rivers, heat domes, polar vortexes, and megadroughts? THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO IS MAKE CLIMATE A TOP VOTING ISSUE!!! Tell your representatives that this is not an acceptable future for our children and grandchildren. Vote like the lives of everyone you love are at risk, because they are.
Write letters
We can't prevent all emergencies. But our local, state, and federal officials can take steps to minimize risks and come to the aid of residents after an emergency. For example, allowing building in floodplains doesn’t make sense for many reasons. Know who your representatives are and don’t be shy about letting them know what you expect from them.
And remember to also lead with gratitude, sending words of encouragement and thanks to representatives who have done good things. This is just as important.
Here is contact information for your government officials:
Assembly Member Damon Connolly
California Senator Alex Padilla
California Senator Dianne Feinstein
Talk to friends & family
Use the things you are doing and learning in this program as conversation starters. Even a little small talk around the water cooler at work might influence someone to follow your lead and do something to prepare for emergencies.
Help others take action
Not everyone has the resources or ability to take key emergency prep steps. Offer a helping hand by gathering supplies, assembling go bags, or sharing contact information, for example. After all, we are stronger together, Sonoma County! We have learned this the hard way, through fires and floods.
Help end plastic pollution
Want to go beyond being an A+ recycler? Want to take a deeper dive? Start by learning more about how the circular economy can help you create a zero waste home. Donate to or volunteer with an organization that is tackling this problem head-on at a city, state, national, or international level. You can have fun and expand your impact by digging in and then sharing that knowledge with your community. You can even organize a group activity so others can join you in this deeper involvement.
Here are a few organizations to consider.
350 Petaluma zero waste action group
Beyond Plastics: You Can Help End Plastic Pollution
Surfrider Foundation: The Ocean Needs More Friends
Plastic Free Foundation: Join millions of people reducing plastic waste
