Matthew Jones

I will sign up for my utility company's clean/renewable energy option.

I will spend 5 minutes learning about greenwashing and how to avoid it.

Hand washing dishes can use more energy and hot water than running a full dishwasher. To save water, I will scrape instead of rinsing dishes before loading them into the dishwasher, and only run it when it is full.

I will spend at least 5 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

I will keep 2 forks, spoons, and/or knives from entering the landfill by using reusable utensils when eating at work.

I will turn my computer monitor(s) off at my work station when not in use to save energy (I will follow my organization's IT instructions for keeping on, turning off, or restarting computers).

I will adopt a "Needs Vs. Wants" approach and only buy things I need.

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will spend 5 minutes learning about which items are recyclable both at my workplace and at home since they may be different, and recycle only those items.

I will spend at least 5 minutes learning about water and air quality issues in my area, how they are impacting human and environmental health, and how I can help.

I will Practice the "5 Rs" — refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, and recycle — to reduce my waste more than I can with just recycling alone.