April 22 is an important day for Mother Nature. Since 1970, Earth Day has been the one square on the calendar dedicated to picking up litter, reinforcing the idea of recycling and bringing attention to global initiatives in the pursuit of a better environment.
While not every roadside cleanup or rally for a cause is held exclusively on April 22, it is the time of the year when a spotlight is brightly shined upon the issues that are of the deepest concern to the world.
But what if everyone decided to do their part every day of the year? What if the mindset was centered around the idea that all 365 days of each year should be Earth Day?
“Obviously, the earth is not going to survive if it’s only one day we think about it,” said Mike Munhall, Chair of the Bennington Conservation Commission. “So it comes down to a changing of the mindset.”
Last year, the Bennington Conservation Commission began an environmental sign contest where local school children designed a yard sign and came up with a slogan, Munhall said. In 2020, the winner focused on picking up litter and the signs were placed around Bennington in the spring and stayed until the snow came. This year’s contest-winning sign focuses on recycling and will be put up soon.
“It’s the effort to try and keep people conscious of recycling, picking up litter,” Munhall said. “And more than just April 22 because you’re seeing these signs all year to remind you.”
One of the biggest parts of the contest is to get the younger generation thinking about the planet and what needs to be done to protect it.
“It’s sometimes very difficult to change the mindset of adults, but if kids can see the importance of recycling, not littering or putting trash in the river, then things can change,” Munhall said. And part of that effort will be held on Saturday, May 1, when the Bennington Conservation Commission sponsors its 12th annual Earth Day Roadside Clean-Up from 9 a.m. to noon.
Scott Hecker, chair of the Temple Conservation Commission, said taking care of the world around us “has to be a way of life.”
“I do try to make quite an effort to adapt my life to include a better ecological footprint,” Hecker said. One way is that he tries to buy what he can from local farms in an effort to reduce the amount of fossil fuel required for the food he eats.
While his work as the Director of Bird Conservation/Shorebird Initiative with the International Conservation Fund of Canada, is spread out over 35 countries, Hecker does everything he can to operate in a remote fashion and really limits his travel.
“I do a lot of things to reduce my carbon footprint in both my life and my work,” Hecker said.
In his personal life, he connects with nature as often as he can. It’s a good reminder of what he’s striving to protect and encourages others to do the same. And doing your part to clean up after others is also necessary, which is why the Temple Conservation Commission is hosting a virtual Good Roads Day 2021, where residents work individually whenever it’s convenient for them, over a two-month period, from April 17 to June 5.
But it goes well beyond just the trash that either finds its way onto area roads or eventually in a landfill. It’s about changing the way people choose to consume.
“As conscious as I try to be buying things that are wrapped minimally, I still end up with a pile to take to the transfer station,” Munhall said.
And it will take a shift in consumer thinking.
“Until consumers stop asking for their vegetables to be wrapped individually, companies are going to keep making it that way,” Munhall said. “Unfortunately the US is so far behind and it’s amazing we aren’t leading the charge in all this.”
So in the meantime, Munhall reuses what he can for as long as he can. Lettuce containers are used for seedlings in the spring and then converted into storage for things like nails and screws.
“They shouldn’t just be tossed away,” Munhall said. “It takes thought, so I think, can I use this in another way before I take it to the dump?”
According to the EPA, worldwide, as many as one trillion plastic bags are used each year and less than 5 percent of plastic is recycled. In the United States, according to the EPA, over 380 billion plastic bags and wraps are used yearly.
In an effort to eliminate those plastics ending up at the dump, Jaffrey is hosting a Trex Challenge Plastic Bag and Overwrap Drive that began on April 10 and runs for six months.
Bins have been placed at the Jaffrey Transfer Station/Recycling Center for residents and at Belletete’s in Jaffrey for both residents and non-residents to deposit their unwanted plastic bags.
“Our main objective is to keep the plastic out of the waste stream and off the streets,” said Jaffrey Climate Initiative member Peggy Ueda.
The bags will be sent to Trex, which recycles them into decking and railing material. If the drive yields at least 500 pounds of plastics, Trex will award a free bench for the community. As of last Friday, the drive had already collected 200 pounds.
“I think it’s really speaking to people and seeing there’s a problem,” Ueda said. “We put these bins out to collect plastic bags and look what happens.”
While the amount collected so far is gratifying, there’s a bigger issue in Ueda’s mind: not using them in the first place. It’s having that mindset of Earth Day, every day.
For Hecker, it comes down to everyone making subtle changes in both their life and way of thinking.
“If we all kind of try to do these little things, it would be a step in the right direction,” he said.