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Earth Day 2022: Protect the environment and Recycle Right

 City website ESD Extra Earth Day 2022

 

Happy Earth Day 2022, San José! It's the time of year when we come together to continue bringing awareness about the different actions we can take to protect our planet and make a positive impact.

We are excited to invite our community to celebrate this Earth Day with us at City Hall Plaza on Friday, April 22, from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. If you can't celebrate with us in person, there are still a lot of fun activities you can do at home throughout the month to get in the spirit. Take our Recycle Right Pledge and join the Climate Smart Challenge today! 

Below are some games, ideas about how to recycle right, conserve water and save energy, as well as some videos you can watch to learn more about ESD programs.

Activities

At-home activities for adults and kids to help celebrate Earth Day:

EVENTS 

Cinequest Film Premiere

· April 6 at 5:45 p.m.

· Location: Online

Climate Smart Champions Commendation and Reception

· April 19

· Please check the Climate Smart webpage to stay updated with details

San José State University (SJSU) Earth Day Event

· April 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

· Location: SJSU Campus, One Washington Square

Recycle Right Earth Day Zoom Class

· April 21 from 12 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

· Register for this class using this link: bit.ly/RRClassApr21

Recycle Right Earth Day Event

· April 22 from 9:30 a.m. to noon

· Location: San José City Hall Plaza

San Jose Earthquakes Title Night

·April 23 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

· Location: PayPal Park Stadium

Tips

While at home, here are some great tips to help recycle right, conserve water and energy:

In the Living Room:

  • Turn off lights and electronics when not in use. Hard to remember to turn the lights off? Post a note! Good habits save energy.
  • Computers, printers, monitors and televisions all draw electricity even when not in use. This is called “vampire” energy. Turn these devices off when not in use, or use “sleep mode”. The best solution? Connect them to a Smart Power Strip that will automatically turn them off when not in use.

In the Kitchen:

  • Recycling right is one thing we can still be doing every day to help protect our environment. To learn more about how to recycle right, or learn what goes where in San José, visit SanJoseRecycles.org.
  • Peel and clean vegetables in a large bowl of water instead of under running water.
  • Fill your sink or basin when washing and rinsing dishes. If you use a dishwasher, only run when it’s full.
  • Only use the garbage disposal when necessary. Composting is a great alternative.

In the Laundry Room:

  • Only run full loads of laundry. Up to 75% of the energy used for washing clothes goes to heating water. Even better, washing in cold water can make your clothes last longer, as warm water causes clothes to fade faster and also causes shrinkage.
  • Line dry clothes instead of using the dryer. Line drying your clothes saves not only energy and money, it also extends the life of your clothes by reducing heat damage, shrinking, and wear and tear. Start off with a few loads or with some of the quick-drying items in your closet.

In the Bathroom:

  • Wipes clog pipes! Disposable wipes (even those labeled flushable) can clog your sewer line or the public sewer system, leading to sewage overflows. Throw disposable wipes in the trash instead of flushing them.  
  • Take shorter showers. Up to 20% of our indoor water usage is spent in the shower. Taking even a few minutes off of your shower time can save 5-10 gallons of water. Multiplied by all your showers in a year, that really adds up!
  • Turn off the water to brush teeth, shave, and soap up in the shower. Turning off the faucet while you brush can save up to 1,500 gallons of water per year!
  • Collect water in a bucket when heating up the shower/bath water to use later for watering plants.
  • The biggest source of indoor water use is from toilets. If the bowl water is yellow, let it mellow – if it’s brown, flush it down.

In the Yard:

  • With rain still in the forecast, adjust your irrigation timer and scale back or stop watering.
  • Irrigation is the biggest source of water use at a home.
    • Lawns can survive for weeks without being watered.
    • Halt lawn irrigation completely to save the most on your bill.
    • For other types of plants or irrigation tips, check the South Bay Green Gardens website.
    • If the average sized lawn in the U.S. is watered for 20 minutes every day for 7 days, it’s like running the shower constantly for 4 days or taking more than 800 showers!
  •  Washing your car:
    •  Use a bucket of water to wash the car. Or better yet - let mother nature wash your car when it rains.
    • If you do use a hose to wash your car, use hoses with a nozzle that shuts off automatically when the handle is released. This helps you aim and control the water and can save many gallons.

Videos