Celebrate Earth Day With Goodwill
By Alana Sesow
Every April 22nd, people all around the globe gather to celebrate Earth Day and promote a greener way of life. With over 1 billion participants per year, Earth Day is now recognized as the largest secular observance in the world.
To celebrate, Lincoln Goodwill has created a list of practical ways you can help the environment today and every day. As you complete these activities – or invent your own — remember to snap a photo and post your good work on social media with the hashtag #SustainableGood!
1. Shop thrift.
Thrifting isn’t just fun; it’s environmentally friendly, too. According to Business Insider, it takes 700 gallons of water to produce one cotton t-shirt, and 2,000 gallons to produce one pair of jeans. On the other hand, Goodwill uses 0 gallons of water to put a donation on the sales floor. When you buy used instead of new, you help preserve natural resources and keep our planet healthy.
2. Recycle your electronics.
Instead of throwing away the electronics you no longer use, drop them off at the nearest Goodwill. Thanks to our partnership with Dell Reconnect, all technology donated to Goodwill is either resold, refurbished, or responsibly recycled. Learn more about Goodwill and Dell’s fight against e-waste here.
3. Repurpose old household items.
Save money and the environment by upcycling commonly trashed items. In a few easy steps, you can turn an old cereal box into a magazine holder, an empty pill bottle into a survival kit and a tin can into a festive vase. You can also revive an old piece of furniture with a fresh coat of paint, as shown above. Browse our Pinterest boards for more ideas.
4. Donate textiles.
Every year, up to 85% of textiles end up in landfills. When you skip the dumpster and donate to Goodwill instead, your textiles are given a second chance at life through our retail stores. Additionally, textiles that do not meet our production standards are responsibly recycled. Learn more about our environmental impact here.
5. Celebrate with CHaRM.
Round up your hard-to-recycle materials and get ready for the Nebraska Recycling Council’s CHaRM Event! On Saturday, April 24th, the NRC is teaming up with Goodwill and other local recycling organizations to collect electronics, scrap metal, documents for shredding, EPS foam, batteries, textiles and housewares. Donors can drop off materials from 9am to 1pm at the Nebraska Innovation campus. For more information and a full list of accepted materials, click here.
