Being part of your community leads to connections, supporting local businesses and making an impact close to home. Here are a few things you can do to be part of and help your community this Earth Month, and hopefully even after Earth Month is over!
Simple things to do to support your community
Support local businesses like restaurants, coffee shops, grocery stores, hair salons and more. By doing this you are directly stimulating your local economy and helping your neighbors by supporting their businesses. Learn more about Green Dining Alliance approved businesses! Going to see and support local artists at local museums, galleries or events. Visit local parks and get active. Find a park near you! Meet your neighbors at neighborhood association meetings and be able to take part in important discussion as well as learn more about how our city operates. Find information on your neighborhood meetings!
Volunteer!
Volunteering in your community allows you to make a direct impact on the world around you. You can volunteer to pick up trash, plant trees, talk to your neighbors about important topics, remove invasive plants and more! Brightside St. Louis has a program called Project Blitz where you can borrow supplies for a trash clean up or public area beautification for free! Register your Blitz project!
You can also become a Recycling Ambassador and volunteer at an upcoming community event with STL City Recycles!
Volunteering is a great way to learn about your community and make your area safer, cleaner and more connected! Check this list of published volunteer opportunities in St. Louis!
Spread the word
Tell your neighbors about recycling, plants, or your favorite local businesses. Spreading the word can help your community grow and flourish.
We would love to see you sharing our social media posts to your community pages and neighborhood associations!
Invite us to give a presentation, speak, or table at your event! We can work with almost everyone in the City of St. Louis! Click here to invite us!
Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
Rethink is your first step when considering a new purchase. Do you actually need the item? What is it made from? How does it get to you? Where will this item end up after its useful life? Will it go to the landfill? Can it be recycled? Can you repurpose it for another use? These are all important questions to consider when making a purchasing decision. “Close the Loop” whenever possible by choosing items made from recycled or repurposed materials!
Reduce means to decrease the waste you produce. You can do this by refusing to buy items that aren’t recyclable or compostable. The easiest first step is refusing to use plastic bags or plastic straws! Instead, use a reusable bag or reusable metal straw! When you reduce the amount of unnecessary purchases you make, you save money and the environment!
Reuse is a simple concept! Reuse what you already have at home and to decrease the amount you buy, which in turn leads to a decrease in waste! If you do have to buy something new like new pasta sauce, try to choose a container that you can first reuse, then recycle – like a glass jar!
Recycle means to send an item to a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) so it can reenter the manufacturing or production stream. Make sure the item you are recycling fits in one of these 6 Blue Bin categories: Paper, Flattened Carboard, Plastic Bottles & Containers, Glass Bottles & Jars, Metal Food & Beverage Cans or Food & Beverage Cartons. Recycling is important! If you throw your recyclables in the trash, those materials never get turned into something new and add to a landfill! This means that new materials are mined or produced to make more items, which creates more waste overall. Knowing what to recycle might be confusing at first, but after taking a look at our resources you will certainly get the hang of it! See if your item goes in the Blue Bin!
Why is this important?
By following this guide you are stimulating your community. This can lead to more success for you and your neighbors, so start today! If you pick up litter, then you are keeping our communal spaces cleaner and safer. If you Recycle Responsibly, and encourage others to do so, you contribute to an increased rate of recycling and decrease the rate of contamination present. Want to do more? Become a Recycling Ambassador. Thank you for all you do!
Earth Month Events
4/6: 9am-1pm – Electronics Recycling Event – 25 Saint Ferdinand Park Dr. Florissant, MO 63031
4/18: 12pm-5pm – Electronics Recycling Event – 2 Millstone Campus Dr. St. Louis, MO 63146
4/20 & 4/21: 11am-5pm – earthday365 festival – Forest Park
4/27: 8am-11am – Electronics Recycling Event – 1640 South Kingshighway Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63110 – Hosted by Brightside STL & fees waived for city residents!
