We all have a role in protecting our planet. Incorporate these habits into your daily life to help our planet.

• Dispose of your household hazardous and electronic waste at one of our free local roundups. Some items are too toxic to trash or to pour down the drains and need proper disposal.
  
  
• Keep trash away from streets and place in trashcans instead. Litter can end up in storm drains which drain to our rivers and the ocean, which can harm the plants and animals in these areas. Similarly, be careful with what runs off your driveway. Gasoline, oil and pesticides used at home should not be allowed to run off to a curb and storm drain where they can harm downstream rivers and the ocean.
  
  
• Put paper, cans, bottles and other recyclables in the appropriate bins. This way, they are more than likely to end up at a Materials Recovery Facility, where they can be recycled.
  
  
• Dispose of your food waste separately if your city’s trash hauler supports food waste recycling. Did you know that food waste that produces methane in landfill and that, in poorly managed landfills, this gas can escape and harm the environment? Soon, California will begin enforcement of Senate Bill 1383, a law that requires cities and businesses to divert food waste from landfills. This will eventually require residents to separate their food waste. The Sanitation Districts have a program that converts 300 tons of food waste into green electricity and vehicle fuel every day.
  
  
• Save water. Water-saving techniques and appliances can save you money, while protecting our water supply and reducing the environmental impacts that come from importing much of our water from hundreds of miles away.
  
  
• Lower your use of disposable plastics. If you buy take-out food, consider using reusable utensils and plates. Also, using a reusable water bottle can end up saving you money in the long run while protecting the environment from disposed plastics which do not break down quickly and are accumulating in the world’s oceans.
  
  
• Opt-in to paperless subscriptions such as bills, paystubs, newspapers, etc. Less use of paper reduces the need to cut down trees and impacts associated transportation of “snail” mail.
  
  
• Try carpooling, biking, walking, mass transportation or an electric vehicle to get places.
  
  
• Incorporate more vegetarian-friendly meals into your diet. By replacing meat with vegetarian sources of protein, you are helping reduce the amount of carbon and green-house gas emissions