Sustainability Challenge

The challenge: eat less meat.

Agricultural systems create tremendous ecological burdens, using 70% of all fresh water, causing deforestation and water pollution, and generating an estimated 30% of global greenhouse emissions, the gasses that trap heat in our atmosphere. Animals grown for human consumption are by far the largest contributor to these environmental stresses, with beef cattle and other ruminants (like lamb) and their methane-emitting digestive systems being the biggest offenders.

What you can do:

This month, try incorporating more plant-based foods into your meals. Make one meal a week vegetarian. Or if you’re past meatless Mondays, try a vegan meal.

Find something in our spectacular cookbook collection (in print and online) for inspiration. RPL staff will share our ideas on social media — we hope you will, too.

Reading and watching suggestions from RPL staff

1. Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food, Low meat diets reduce environmental harm from food production, July 20, 2023.
2. Eshel, G., et al. Environmentally optimal, nutritionally sound, protein and energy conserving plant based alternatives to U.S. meat. Scientific Reports 9, 10345, 2019.
3. Xu, X., et al. Global greenhouse gas emissions from animal-based foods are twice those of plant-based foods. Nature Food 2, 724–732, 2021.

The challenge: know your recyclables.

Have you stood in your kitchen, holding a piece of empty packaging, wondering where to toss it — garbage? recycling bin? And if you can toss it in a recycling bin, will it ever get recycled?

Even though US recycling systems face challenges we can’t continue filling landfills and incinerators (and waterways, lakes, and oceans) with garbage that can be recycled.

What you can do:

• Keep non-paper recyclables loose, in the Ridgewood Recycling Program bin.*
• Break down cardboard boxes.
• Remove lids from bottles and throw them away; they’re a different type of plastic and they can also jam machinery at the materials recovery facility that processes Ridgewood’s recyclables.
• Follow Ridgewood’s curbside collection rules.**
• Even easier! Use the Recycle Coach app to make sure you are tossing packaging, paper, and other potential recyclables into the proper bin.

Become a recycling pro by watching our February 6 Recycle Right class with Sean Hamlin and Johanna Lutrell from Ridgewood’s Recycling Center.

Reading and watching suggestions from RPL staff

1. R. Cho, Recycling in the U.S. is broken; how do we fix it?, Columbia Climate School, State of the Planet, March 13, 2020.
2. L. Sullivan, Recycling plastic is practically impossible — and the problem is getting worse, All Things Considered (NPR), October 24, 2022.

*Because the U.S. lacks a federal recycling system, local communities decide what can be collected for recycling, leading to approximately 20,000 government recycling authorities in the U.S.

**Ridgewood uses dual-stream collection, meaning that residents use their curbside bin for cans and bottles and stack paper and cardboard in a crate or tied neatly. Separating these materials increases the likelihood that the paper will be recycled and not sent to a landfill.

The challenge: reduce your water use.

Clean water is a vital, scarce, and irreplaceable resource, so conserving water seems like a no-brainer. Using less water also reduces greenhouse gas emissions, because purifying and pumping water require vast amounts of energy. Electricity alone represents about 80% of the costs involved in processing and distributing municipal water. Heating water also consumes energy, about 18% of the energy used in a typical household.

Ridgewood residents use about 5 million gallons of water each day — except for the summer, when the usage triples to 15 million gallons daily. Lawn-watering drives almost all of this staggering increase. Because Ridgewood’s water supply can provide “only” 12 million gallons each day, the village must pay for additional millions of gallons from adjoining water sources.

What you can do:

• If you must water your lawn, please:
  • Water during cooler temperatures and deeply soak lawn and gardens.
  • If you do not have an irrigation system, use sprinklers that shoot horizontally, avoiding pavement and sidewalks.
  • Mow less often and don’t cut grass short; longer grass means less evaporation.
  • Plant drought-resistant trees and plants.
  • Use a layer of mulch around plants and trees to retain moisture.
  • Install a rain barrel to capture water for irrigation uses later.
• When washing produce or dishes, use a basin instead of running water.
• Turn off the water while you’re brushing your teeth or shaving.
• Clear your driveway by sweeping instead of spraying a hose.
• Check your toilet for leaks.
• Learn your “water footprint” on the Water Footprint Calculator.
• Ridgewood Water has even more water-saving ideas.

Watch Ridgewood Water business manager Michael Cohrs explain how Ridgewood plus Glen Rock, Wyckoff, and Midland Park (which receive their municipal water through Ridgewood Water) get their water supply.

Reading suggestions from RPL staff

1. Center for Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan, U.S. water supply and distribution factsheet, 2023.
2. US Department of Energy, Water heating, undated.

The challenge: help repair and strengthen our local ecosystem.

Ridgewood has thousands of trees and acres of grass, but these plants don’t necessarily benefit our local pollinators and other wildlife. Our cultivated landscapes are green and inviting for us but inhospitable, hostile, and barren for native songbirds and pollinators.

What you can do:

• Plant native trees, grasses, wildflowers, and shrubs.* Because their tap roots typically grow deeper, native plants sequester more carbon (a greenhouse gas) in their roots and withstand droughts more than non-natives. As our summers become hotter and drier, we need plantings that can survive weeks without water.
• Join Ridgewood’s Pollinator Pathway or Project 1000 Acres.
• Use our seed library (pictured above).
• Learn which native plants are easiest to work with from NJ Native Plant Society leader Deb Ellis.

reading and listening suggestions from RPL staff

*An extra vote for shrubs: they also provide habitats for birds looking for food and a place to rest.

1. A.A. Fisher, Native shrubs and why they’re essential for carbon sequestration, Ecological Gardening, January 2, 2019.

The challenge: become an environmental advocate.

Advocating for environmental priorities is vital, because “we can’t stop climate change with tote bags and reusable straws alone.”* Advocacy includes activities that influence decision makers, like voting, litigation, protesting, and public education. Running for office to become a decision maker is another possibility.

Getting active in environmental advocacy can also help alleviate anxieties caused by our climate crisis.**

What you can do:

• Register to vote and ask your friends if they’re registered to vote.
• Run for local office.
• Download and use a time-saving app like Climate Action Now.
• Read books about environmental issues from diverse perspectives (we can help with that!).
• Attend local events to learn about the issue, hosted by diverse groups.
• Volunteer with local organizations making change — the Ridgewood Repair Café is a great place to volunteer!.
• Support groups financially when you cannot volunteer your time.
• Listen to podcasts, audio books, and TedTalks on the subject.
• Attend non-violent protests to show your support.
• Call your representatives – at all levels of the government!

reading and listening suggestions from RPL staff

*A. Abarbanel, So you want to be a climate activist? Start here, Bon Appétit, February 20, 2020.

**M. Schreiber, Addressing climate change concerns in practice, Monitor on Psychology, American Psychological Association, March 1, 2021.

The challenge:  spend quality time with nature.

People who directly experience some aspect of nature are likelier than others to care for our planet. They also tend to have lower blood pressure, less stress, reduced mortality from cardio-vascular disease, and dozens more benefits demonstrated through 40+ years of research.

What you can do:

• Sit outside and use your senses to observe the natural world around you. Listen for birdsong, feel tree bark, watch clouds pass overhead.
• Get creative outside — take photographs, sketch, or write.
• Hug a tree — seriously, there are benefits to tree-hugging!
• Volunteer with a New Jersey state park.
• Ridgewood Wildscape Association lists several trails and parks in town.
• Try a houseplant — check out Treehugger’s list of houseplants that are (almost) impossible to kill.

1. Ives, C.D., et al., Reconnecting with nature for sustainability, Sustainability Science 13, 1389–1397, 2018.
2. Shanahan, D., et al., Health benefits from nature experiences depend on dose, Scientific Reports 6, 28551, 2016.
3. [H. Asher], Is forest bathing about hugging trees?, An Darach Forest Therapy, April 9, 2022.

The challenge: ditch single-use products.

The reasons for this challenge are clear.

• One million single-use plastic water bottles are bought every minute around the world but fewer than 1/3 of these bottles will ever be recycled.
• In 2018, each U.S. resident generated an average of 218 lbs. of plastic waste — a 236% increase from 1980 (60 lbs. per person).
• Every day, 300,000 metric tons of plastic waste from the U.S. enters the oceans — about 65 dump trucks’ worth, every day.
• If current trends continue, there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans by 2050.

Even single-use paper products, like napkins and paper towels, have an environmental cost. Paper and paperboard manufacturing churn through acres of trees, generate greenhouse gas and other emissions, and use vast amounts of energy and water.

What you can do:

• End toxic relationships with:
  • Liquid soap. Bar soap is cheaper, uses less packaging, lasts longer, is easier to transport, does not transmit pathogens, and has a much smaller carbon footprint.
  • Plastic water bottles. 40% of all bottled water in the world is actually tap water! Carry a reusable water bottle; if you don’t like your tap water, install a water filter or use a filter pitcher (like Brita or PUR).
  • Paper and plastic coffee cups. No part of this packaging is recyclable — not the cups, lids, straws, iced drink cups — nothing. Bring your own travel mug.
  • Disposable utensils. Until the late 1600s, Americans and Europeans traveled with their own utensils. It’s time to revive this old tradition! Even Etsy has a section for BYO cutlery. Remember to ask for no plastic utensils when you order take out.
  • Produce bags. Bags aren’t always needed, especially with larger produce like avocados, bananas, and lemons. Buy mesh or cloth bags made for produce, or cut down old pillowcases or try making a no-sew bag.
  • Menstrual products. Conventional pads can contain the equivalent of about four plastic bags. There are less harmful alternatives, such as reusable pads and menstrual cups.
• Foodprint has helpful tips on avoiding single-use packaging.
• Cancel unwanted catalogs and junk mail through Catalog Choice, a nonprofit organization that seeks to protect natural resources and simplify our lives.

1. US Environmental Protection Agency, Reducing wasted food & packaging: a guide for food services and restaurants, 2014.
2. World Economic Forum, Ellen MacArthur Foundation and McKinsey & Company, The new plastics economy: rethinking the future of plastics, February 2016.
3. L. Sullivan, How big oil misled the public into believing plastic would be recycled, Morning Edition (NPR), September 11, 2020.
4. J. Helmer, The environmental impact of your coffee cup, Footprint, August 14, 2019; updated December 11, 2020.
5. The Last Beach Cleanup and Beyond Plastics, The real truth about the U.S. plastics recycling rate, May 2022.
6. Foodprint, The environmental impact of food packaging, October 10, 2018; updated May 8, 2023.

The challenge: try repairing your broken belongings before you replace them.

Repair shops were once thriving businesses in almost every American neighborhood. But as mass-manufacturing processes introduced low-priced consumer goods, these shops slipped into near-extinction.

Today, each U.S. family trashes the equivalent of 400 iPhones — or 176 lbs. — worth of e-waste* every year. Increased mineral extraction and mining to acquire raw materials for new electronics generate massive amounts of nearly permanent water and soil pollution, while using enslaved or child (or both) labor.

Manufacturers like John Deere and Apple limit access to parts, tools, schematics, and information essential to repairing their products. The global “right to repair” movement is pushing legislatures to enact right to repair legislation and manufacturers to eliminate repair barriers. By repairing our own tech, we could collectively save $49.6 billion!

What you can do:

• Volunteer at a Repair Cafe or community repair event. No repair skill needed — play an instrument, help people sign in, bring some cookies — anyone can contribute. Visit repaircafegs.org for more information.
• Buy refurbished or used items instead of new. The warranties for these items often outperform those for new products. This PIRG factsheet suggests reliable vendors.
• Check before you buy:
  • iFixit rates laptop repairability.
  • Find many different items (albeit in French) on the world’s first Repairability Index.
  • The Global Electronics Council’s EPEAT rates tech products’ sustainability (but not repairability).
• Borrow from our Library of Things!

1. N. Proctor, Repair saves families big, US PIRG Education Fund, April 4, 2023.
2. Ozturkcan, S.,The right-to-repair movement: sustainability and consumer rights, Journal of Information Technology Teaching Cases, May 19, 2023.
3. N. Proctor, What is the right to repair (video), US PIRG, April 6, 2018.
4. N. Shukla, The environmental impact of broken technology and the right to repair movement, Earth.org, July 29, 2023.
5. M. Stone, Why France’s new tech “repairability index” is a big deal, Wired, February 20, 2021.
6. T. Koslowski, What you should know about the right to repair, New York Times Wirecutter, July 15, 2021.
7. S. Leahy, Each US family trashes 400 iPhones’ worth of e-waste every year, National Geographic, December 13, 2017.

*E-waste includes any household or business item with circuitry or electric components, such as refrigerators, lamps, computers and computer screens, phones of all types, vacuum cleaners, ovens, and more. See Baldé, C.P., et al, Global-e-waste monitor 2017, United Nations University, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) & International Solid Waste Association.

The challenge: reduce car use.

Driving less might seem impossible, but even a small reduction counts. Cutting our annual mileage by 10% — about 1,350 miles — would be like shuttering 28 coal-fired electrical plants for an entire year.

What you can do:

• Don’t idle your car. Idling cars harm children’s developing brains and bodies, waste at least six billion gallons each year in the US, incur preventable damage — plus idling is illegal in NJ.
• Carpool.
• Plan errands to combine trips and reduce miles.
• For short distances, consider biking or walking when time permits.
• Follow the Montclair Bike Bus model and make Ridgewood’s streets safer for young cyclists.

1. T. Root, et al., One thing we can do: drive less, New York Times, August 28, 2019.
2. K. Hostetter, Why idling is bad for your car, health, wallet, and the environment, Outside Online, July 26, 2023, updated October 31, 2023.

The challenge: avoid toxins in the products we wear, eat, and use.

Toxic substances are impossible to eliminate from our lives. Arsenic, asbestos, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, the “forever chemicals” or PFAS, and more are found in building materials, sunscreen, bottled water, phones, dental floss, cash register receipts — an almost endless list of products.

What you can do:

• Consult the Environmental Working Group’s consumer guides.
• Stop using plastic water bottles and plastic utensils.
• Microwave food in ceramic or glass, not plastic, even if a food comes in a “microwave-safe” plastic or plastic-lined paper container.
• Remove shoes when you enter your home. You will reduce environmental lead (dirt by roadways carries lead emitted by leaded-gas-powered vehicles decades ago), fertilizers, pesticides, and other harmful substances.
• Wash your hands before eating or preparing food.

1. E. Jackson, et al., Adipose tissue as a site of toxin accumulation, Comprehensive Physiology, September 2017.
2. Cleveland Clinic, How environmental toxins can impact your health, August 14, 2020.
3. J.T. Asher, Five ways to reduce toxic exposures in your home, EWG News & Insights, April 10, 2017.

30 to 40% of the US food supply is never eaten. Instead, we throw it — and in effect the water, labor, fossil fuels, fertilizers, and more — into a landfill or incinerator, or down a drain to our sewers.

What you can do:

• Buy what you need. Before your next grocery shopping trip, use the EPA’s “Meals-In-Mind Shopping List” or plan the meals you expect to eat at home.
• Select healthy produce and keep it fresh. Tips from The New York Times Wirecutter: separate ethylene-tolerant and -intolerant produce and familiarize yourself with your fridge’s produce drawers and temperature zones.
• Prepare perishable foods as soon as possible. You’ll waste less and you’ll have snacks and meals ready (or almost ready) to serve.
• Eat what you buy. Designate one refrigerator shelf for leftovers and be mindful of old ingredients that need using up.
• Compost food scraps instead of throwing them away.

1. US Environmental Protection Agency, Preventing wasted food at home.
2. Smart Prep: Prep Now, Eat Later tips from the US EPA.
3. Meals in Mind shopping list template
4. L. Stockton, How to keep your produce fresh, New York Times Wirecutter, updated August 8, 2023.
5. L. Stockton, How to store fruits and vegetables the right way (video), New York Times Wirecutter, June 23, 2020.
6. Food storage tips chart, New York Times Wirecutter, undated.

Like our food systems, the clothing industry generates tremendous waste: about 30% of the clothing produced every year will never be worn. The only industry more polluting than fashion is oil extraction and production.

What you can do:

• Buy less!
• Keep what you buy — be a “radical keeper” like fashion designer Orsola de Castro.
• Shop second-hand.
• Organize a clothing swap with friends or neighbors.
• Mend your clothing, even those moth-worn sweaters. Use visible mending to make your repair a design element.
• Turn unwearable clothing into rags.
• Use online exchange groups like Buy Less Ridgewood (on Facebook).

1. Meiffren-Swango, C., et al., The high cost of fast fashion, US PIRG, November 22, 2023.
2. E. Stallart, Fast fashion: how clothes are linked to climate change, BBC News, July 29, 2022.
3. Dzhengiz, T., et al., (Un)Sustainable transitions towards fast and ultra-fast fashion, Fashion and Textiles 10, 19, 2023.
4. R. Koenig, If you want to fix your own clothes, try this easy style of mending, Life Kit (NPR), June 3, 2023.