1. Reduce Plastic Usage

When shopping for your summer barbecues, purchase paper and supplies made from eco-friendly materials.

• Sustainable Hosting Tips from the Green Business Bureau

• Green Guardian Tip: Desiree Socarras reduces plastic usage in her home by reusing her glass containers that previously held food or ingredients.

2. Swap Your Standard Sunscreen

Many standard sunscreen formulas contain harmful chemicals like oxybenzone, retinyl palmitate, and parabens that can pollute your skin and the environment. Mineral sunscreen is a great alternative!

• Green Business Bureau Partners with ExoLuxe: Biodegradable Organic Bamboo Products
• Green Guardian Tip: Valerie Capasso recommends Sun Bum Sunscreen because it is cruelty free, paraben free and reef safe!

3. Recycle, Recycle, Recycle!

The summer offers many opportunities to recycle. Items like cans and bottles collected from graduation parties, barbecues and summer holiday celebrations can easily be separated from the regular trash and recycled.

• USPS Adhesives used in stamps are biodegradable, and Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express boxes and envelopes are fully recyclable
• Green Guardian Tip: Sue Schwarz recycles her household Greywater to use for nourishing her outdoor plants and shrubs.

4. Buy Food Locally

Visit your local Farmers Market to help support small farms, which typically enforce organic farming methods. You’ll get to choose from a vibrant array of fresh, seasonal produce!

• Benefits, Advantages, and Limitations of Buying Local from the Green Business Bureau
• Green Guardian Tip: Denise Seebold enjoys walking to her local farmers market every weekend during the warmer months!

5. Carry Reusable Shopping Bags

If you forget your reusable bags, paper bags can be recycled from home, and many grocery stores now offer special recycling bins for plastic bags.

• The USPS recycles nearly 300,000 tons of waste paper, cardboard, cans, plastics and other materials annually
• Green Guardian Tip: Jessica Ketcham uses her reusable bags at the grocery store, post office, bookstore, and dry cleaner!

6. Look for Eco-Friendly Fashion Options

Avoid fast-fashion garments by opting for alternative options made with low-impact dyes, organic pesticide-free cotton and upcycled natural materials.

• Uncovering Fast Fashion Flaws with the Green Business Bureau
• Green Guardian Tip: Johnny Napoline has collected the majority of his wardrobe from shopping at local thrift shops!

7. Reduce Food Waste

Food that is left to rot in landfills generates planet-warming greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide, accounting for the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the U.S.

• Green Business Bureau on Implementing a Compost Bin
• Green Guardian Tip: John Hiltz uses the app Too Good To Go, which delivers unsold surplus food from local restaurants or shops for just a few dollars a month.

8. Consider Investing in Solar Power

On average, a solar panel system can generate 40-50% more electricity from July to August than November to December!

• The USPS has a renewable energy generation system consisting of more than 25,000 solar panels at their LA mail processing facility
• Green Guardian Tip: Kaylie Pape has solar panels installed at her house!

9. Participate in a Community Clean-Up

Find local volunteer activities focused on beautifying your neighborhood or vacation destination while enjoying the outdoors!

• Find a coastal cleanup near you using the Ocean Conservancy’s Interactive Map
• Green Guardian Tip: Jessica Bittmann plans to volunteer this summer with Save the Bay – Narragansett Bay to help eliminate marine debris and keep the Newport coastline beautiful!

10. Use Fans over Air-Conditioning

Fans typically use 90% less energy than central air conditioning units and can still keep areas of your house cool during summer months!

• Energy Efficient Appliances from the Green Business Bureau
• Green Guardian Tip: Mike Norris uses reflective insulation in his RV to help keep the heat from the sun out without using electricity.