What are easy ways to help the environment at home and protect water quality?

Easy ways to help the environment often start right at home – and many of them can also save us money.

One simple place to start is to reduce food waste at home. Unfortunately, food waste is one of the top contributors of greenhouse gas emissions in landfills, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Here are a few simple Earth Day tips for reducing food waste: 

• Eat one “leftovers night” per week. Plan to repurpose leftovers into new dishes so your family doesn’t feel like they’re eating the same meal twice. Turn roast chicken into chicken salad, grilled pork chops into pork fried rice or ground beef into a next-day nacho bake. 

• Use your freezer and buy in bulk when it makes sense. Buying larger quantities can save you money. Watch for sales on whole pork loins, ground beef or family packs of chicken breasts.

Shop at a full-service meat counter, and ask the butcher to cut the meat into smaller portions. Place it in freezer bags, label with the date and store for up to several months.

If freezer space allows, consider purchasing a quarter or half hog or beef directly from a local farmer. You’ll often pay less per pound for high-quality, Iowa-raised meat.

Freezing meat doesn’t affect its safety or nutrition. Iowa farmers follow strict standards for animal care and food safety, so you can buy with confidence and save money. 

Another easy way to help the environment: Choose E15 gas (Unleaded 88)

Your choices outside the kitchen can make a difference, too. Another easy way to help the environment - and save on fuel costs - is to choose an ethanol blend like E15 gas, often labeled as Unleaded 88. 

• Find E15 (Unleaded 88) at participating Iowa retailers like Casey’s, Kwik Star and many locally owned gas stations. It is approved for 2001 and newer vehicles, offering 15% ethanol and higher octane at a lower price, usually saving 10 to 30 cents per gallon.

E15 is also a better choice for the environment. It reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 40% to 50% compared to pure petroleum. It also reduces cancer-causing emissions such as benzene and other air toxins. 

Water quality tips: Simple at-home habits that help keep water clean

In addition to cleaner air, protecting water quality takes all of us. Families can make small changes at home to keep our water clean: 

• Don’t pour grease down the sink. Fats, oils and grease can harden inside pipes and build up in sewer lines. That can lead to clogs and sewer overflows. Wipe greasy pans with a paper towel, pour leftover cooking oil into a jar or can to throw away, and scrape plates in the trash before rinsing. It’s a small habit that also helps protect plumbing at home.

• Use only what you need for lawn fertilizer. Lawns can’t use more nutrients than they can absorb, and it often becomes runoff into storm drains, ditches and streams. Follow the bag label exactly, avoid fertilizing right before rain and consider spot-treating thin grass instead of spreading fertilizer everywhere.

• Pick up pet waste. (It’s a real water quality issue). Pet waste can carry bacteria and nutrients that don’t belong in waterways. The easy fix is to scoop every time, tie off the bag and put it in the trash. If you have a yard, a simple routine, like one quick pick-up loop once a week, can make a noticeable difference for local water quality. 

Just like families try to waste less and keep yards and drains from polluting water, farmers work year-round to keep soil and nutrients where crops can use them – on the field, not in the water.

But there’s more work to do. As communities grow and businesses thrive, water usage increases. Upgraded treatment plants, improved stormwater management and the latest technology on the farm and in our city infrastructure is essential to continue to safeguard water quality for generations.

Together, we can keep Iowa’s land and water healthy for the next generation. Learn more at conservationcountsiowa.com.