It wouldn’t be Earth Month without some green-living tips. Each week, we’ll feature some of our favorites from our Green Mission Team. Start Small. Millions of people reuse their shopping bags every day. It’s a simple way to do your part to keep plastic bags out of landfills and oceans. Just remember to give yours a good washing once in a while! Pay Attention to Packaging. Look for products from companies that use minimal packaging or recycled packaging materials. Also, try to buy products with as little packaging as possible. When you pay attention to packaging, you help prevent about 13,000,000 feet of 10-inch wide plastic from entering the waste stream.

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Give Meatless Mondays a Try. Producing beef can use up to 40 times the water as growing vegetables. You don’t have to be a vegetarian to add a few vegetable-centric meals to your week, which increases the return on resources used for growing crops. Eat in Season. Growing foods when they naturally grow best uses less energy and resources. Some variety of organic greens is almost always in season – often locally!

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Avoid GMOs. According to the FDA, as much as 75% of processed food in the United States may contain components from genetically modified crops. In 30 other countries around the world, including Australia, Japan and all of the nations in the European Union, there are significant restrictions or outright bans on the production of GMOs (genetically modified organisms), due to environmental impact and concerns about GMO safety. To avoid GMOs, try choosing organic. U.S. organic regulations do not allow the use of genetically modified organisms in organic foods. Learn more about GMOs. Join or Host a Community Green-Issues Group. People coming together for a common cause can be very powerful and rewarding. Get together and clean up a creek, garden a small public spot or push for more earth-friendly public transportation. Recycle. Recycle. Recycle. Think everyone is recycling these days? Think again. Only 25% of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics are recycled in the U.S.  PET is one of the most common consumer plastics and is used for a wide range of products including water bottles, food packaging, cosmetics, laundry detergent and edible oils. Help bump up the numbers by recycling what you can and by purchasing products made from or packaged in recycled material. We’ll share more tips through the month of April, and we’d love to hear what your favorite green tips are. Together, we can make a difference!