These days a lot is happening to our environment; global warming is a prominent threat to our society, along with a huge waste problem, overpopulation, deforestation, and entire groups of species suffering. Sometimes it gets confusing where we as individuals come into play in all of this. We’re told we need to make drastic changes to save our planet, yet the ways of change get lost in accusational messages. We might ask ourselves, what can I do to help? Here are countless steps you can take and changes you can make to your everyday life that can benefit the planet in so many ways.

A great way to start this process of becoming more environmentally aware is to eat less meat. A decrease in meat consumption in one person may seem insignificant but in the grand scheme of things, it is extremely beneficial. According to The Elated Vegan, every second almost four pigs, one cow, and 287 chickens are being slaughtered for human consumption. If you really want to make a difference try to go vegetarian or vegan for a week and see how you feel. It is statistically proven that every day one vegan saves 1,100 gallons of water, 45 pounds of grain, 30 square feet of forested land, the equivalence of 20 pounds of CO2, and one animal’s life. This alone proves to be an immensely positive change in our environment.

Another way to lessen your carbon footprint is to use less paper, recycle more, and avoid plastic bags like the plague. When going to the grocery store make sure to bring reusable bags and be conscientious when checking out. It can help a lot to tell the cashier you don’t need a plastic bag if you can just carry what you bought. Plastic bags don’t biodegrade they only break down into smaller toxic bits and take 400 to 1,000 years to break down in the environment. While it breaks down it contaminates our soil and water and can be accidentally ingested by animals. 100,000 marine animals a year die from plastic entanglement as well as 1 million seabirds. Most of the plastic you see on the beach is not just from people carelessly littering, but is washed up from our oceans. Another way to help our environment is to pick up trash we find on the beach, streets, or anywhere. Make sure to be mindful of throwing away your own trash or try to recycle.

Did you know that if your plastic containers have food in them and you recycle them, they cannot be recycled? Take the extra step and make sure to clean out your plastic before recycling it. Also, it is good to try and avoid single-use plastics because those cannot be recycled and will stay on this earth forever, polluting our home. Metal straws, reusable water bottles, canvas shopping bags, and reusable utensils can help a lot in this process. The less waste, the less damage done to our beautiful environment. Make sure to do your part because change starts one person at a time.

-Wash out your plasticware before you recycle it

-Use reusable, metal straws, water bottles, utensils and bags

-Make sure to reuse and recycle and be a cautious consumer

-Before you walk past and ignore trash on the ground take a second to pick it up and throw it out.