Gratitude is for every day, and today is an opportune time to say thank you to those making Bexley and our world more sustainable. Thank you for extending grace even if we miss people as part of this list. Without further adieu, we are thankful to our entire community, especially those who:
Rethink their lives to incorporate sustainable practices.
Continually learn about ways to save our planet from the climate crisis (we think TGGBISC and our website are good places to start.).
Appreciate our waste haulers (especially whomever left this note on their toter last week) and take care to make their job easier by leaving toters as close to the curb as possible and facing outwards.
Are conscientious of their waste, take steps to reduce it, help others do the same, and/or are aware of the City’s Zero Waste goal.
Implement reusable items instead of single-use, or renting borrowing or renting items to use instead of buying them to be used only a handful of times.
Handle our waste; from hauling to sorting, to bundling and land filling and selling and processing. We’re indebted to you, Rumpke, Innovative Organics, and the Bexley service departments!
Lead sustainability efforts in Central Ohio: SWACO, MORPC, and the green teams in other local communities.
Advocate for a greener city, state, or national governments through testifying and voting for sustainable legislation. City Council, Mayor, and residents who engage in politics – we’re speaking to you!
Buy or sell secondhand instead of new.
Refuse single-use bags when shopping and/or opt for unpackaged items (is there really a need for produce bags?).
#SkiptheStuff when getting take out.
Keep storm drains clear, protect waterways and/or conserve water by turning off faucets when not in use, using a dish washer instead of hand washing, reusing pasta water, using a rain barrel, displacing water in a toilet, etc.
Participate in our pilot restaurant composting program (Harvest and Brassica).
Support our programs (Bexley Rec., Bexley Public Library, and Picadilly).
Reduce food waste starting at the source and/or feeding people and animals (shout out to Food Rescue CBus).
Fight against fast and new fashion, wash clothes and linens with cold water or less often, refuse dryer sheets, line dry, and/or use a product to ensure microplastics don’t enter into the water stream.
Refuse single-use plastics and the amount of plastic used generally.
Pick up litter.
Recycle right by recycling only clean, accepted items, breaking down cardboard, and placing toters at the curb and facing the street (a list of accepted items is available at greenbexley.org/recycleright.).
Does their best to ensure all edible food gets eaten, and tries to compost only pits, peels, shells, seeds, stems, skin, stems, stalks, and bones (sign up for curbside composting at Bexley.org/food-waste).
Say “no thank you” to things you don’t really need.
Decrease their fuel and/or energy usage.
Plant trees and cover crops reduce the amount of carbon in the air.
Support pollinators by planting native plants, using alternatives to herbicides and insecticides, and leaving the leaves.
Recycle electronics and purchase open box, refurbished, or used, when necessary.
Compost tissues, paper towels, and BPI certified compostables instead of sending them to the landfill.
Decrease their consumption of conventional animal products, palm oil, cocoa, and/or coffee.
Eat seasonally, locally, and/or support farmers, food processors, or restaurants who create sustainable and regenerative agri-systems.
Bundle up before turning on the heat or opening windows before turning on the AC.
Moves towards regeneration instead of stopping at sustainability
Unplug electronics and appliances when they’re not in use, or use a power strip.
Protect wildlife.
All us to purchase in bulk or package free (we love you, Bexley Natural Market!).
Learn about environmental justice.
Reduce light, air, water, sound, and/or ground pollution.
Make green investments and/or refrain from investing in companies that support fossil fuels.
Reuse, repurpose, and upcycle furniture, toys, and clothes.
Make efforts to improve their carbon shadow.
Read our monthly ThisWeek column.
Support community choice aggregation and/or green energy.
Teach others about being more environmentally sustainable.
Bike/walk/scoot/skate/carpool.
Bring sustainable to their schools or workplaces (BHS Environmental Club and Capital University are doing great things! We’ve also gotten word that CSG will be beginning a compost program, BCS has programs in the works for water fountains and gardens, and St. Charles consistently has a faculty member at ESAC meetings.)
Use a sustainable search engine.
Take the time and effort to recycle niche items, like stretchy plastic to grocery stores, etc.
Use bamboo items instead of wood.
Opt out of physical receipts, but trash the ones they get on accident (receipts aren’t only paper, and can’t be recycled!).
Recognize the indigenous inhibitors of our land and their ancestral knowledge (Bexley is on Kaskaskia land).
Make Bexley’s buildings and landscapes more sustainable (thank you, ARB and Tree and Public Gardens Commission!).
Participate in our community, via through social media, emailing or messaging, or at events and programs.
Hold space for those suffering from eco-despair or eco-anxiety.
Vote of sustainability, and vote with their dollar for sustainability.
Are committed to small or big changes.
Use reef-safe sunscreen or other measures of sun protection instead of conventional products.
Follow the signage on our event waste receptacles (and thanks for having us, Bexley Recreation and Parks, the Main Event, and Jazz in the Park.).
Understand the difference between sell by, best, buy, and use by, and/or use the smell test.
Bring their own cups, mugs, cutlery, napkins, etc. out so they don’t need single use.
Use sustainable period products.
Work towards carbon neutral, and eventually carbon negative.
Purchase thoughtfully and attempt to reduce returns.
Enjoyed Earth month, Loved their alley, and plastic freed their July.
Make sure everything they flush are really flushable (these types of products often aren’t as flushable as we are lead to believe and lead to clogs.).
Joined us at the Bexley Farmers’ Market and/or assisted with our reusable bag giveaway.
Supported us during the Fourth of July parade.
Compost their DORA cups.
Bag their trash, but kept their recyclables loose.
Financially support us (Bexley Community Foundation).
Use reusable instead of single-use masks.
Educate their students about environmental sustainability.
Wrote a blog for our website as part of our Earth month series.
Uses compost from Innovative Organics.
Brakes down cardboard boxes (even those that fit inside the toter) and removed packaging materials.
Volunteered for the Green Bexley Clean Up Day.
Try to be part of the solution (not part of the pollution).
