50 Ways to Take Eco-Action

Eco-action = taking action to help our planet by adopting more sustainable individual habits, supporting our communities, and/or creating systemic changes.

It’s important for all of us to take action for a more sustainable planet and future. Here are 50 ways to take eco-action and make a difference. Challenge yourself to try something new every week or every month.

• Become more knowledge on one major climate-related topic. Topic ideas: zero waste, Green New Deal, sustainable fashion, recycling, native plants, sustainable coffee.
• Join a CSA.
• Take a train or bus rather than fly.
• Buy from a sustainable fashion company with your next clothing purchase.
• Try a bar soap or refillable hand soap for your bathroom sink.
• Make veggie broth from scratch (extra points for broth made from food scraps).
• Visit your library and borrow a book. Or renew your card if you haven’t gone in ages.
• Find a community garden in your area and visit.
• Rent or test drive an electric vehicle.
• Make your own yogurt.
• Do something nice for a stranger.
• Tour your city’s recycling facility.
• Sign up for an intro to woodworking class.
• Make your own nut milk.
• Organize a cleanup with friends and family.
• Go vegan for a week.
• Get a product to capture plastic microfibers in your laundry.
• Read a climate action book.
• Visit the ocean.
• Ride public transit to work rather than take a car.
• Buy local honey.
• Visit a local nursery and get an herb plant for your windowsill.
• Adopt a drain in your neighborhood.
• Find a Terracycle box in your area to drop off items that can be recycled rather than thrown away at home. Examples: coffee bag recycling, deodorant container recycling, disposable pen recycling.
• Utilize a part of your fruits or veggies that you don’t normally use (i.e radish greens, orange peels, potato skins).
• Start a vermicompost bin.
• Buy a refillable pen.
• Plant a tree at a tree planting event.
• Put a bucket in the shower to capture water and use in your landscape.
• Buy coffee from a local coffee roaster rather than a big chain.
• Let clothes air dry to reduce energy use and help your clothing last longer.
• Sprout seeds to enjoy on top of salads or in sandwiches.
• Save used paper or envelopes to use as scratch paper.
• Take a composting workshop.
• Use a rag rather than a plastic loofah in the shower.
• Go for a hike.
• Walk or bike to run your errands.
• Batch your errands when driving to use less fuel and reduce carbon emissions.
• Join a climate march or climate strike (or both!).
• Visit a thrift store.
• Make your own body lotion.
• Get bulk flour rather than buying from a brand name.
• Listen to a climate action podcast.
• Learn what can and cannot be recycled in curbside recycling.
• Bring your own cup to takeout restaurants for soda or drinks.
• Find out your ecological footprint with this simple quiz.
• Donate and borrow books from a Little Free Library.
• Make sun tea.
• Stop buying fast fashion.
• Sign up for a cleanup.

What are some other ways to take eco-action?