Sustainable living is becoming more popular over time. Plenty of people are trying to reduce their ecological footprint by doing things such as eating less meat, composting food waste and using reusable shopping bags. While all of these things are great, creating a greener community will increase the effects of these efforts. Here are five ways to get your community to live greener lifestyles.

Eat Local

Transporting food thousands of miles increases emission output into the air. This increases pollution, and experts tell us that this effects our climate. Purchasing local also keeps resources in the area and benefits local farmers.

Create a community garden! This is a great way to get family and children involved in a project benefiting the residents and environment.

Recycling

Everyone knows our trash output is too high. Trash sits in landfills for decades before composing, if it ever does decompose. Communities need to have multiple recycling drop off points, and have a skip bin in each location from their local waste management company.

Electronics often end up in the landfills as well. This is the improper way to dispose of old and broken electronics. Set up drop off points so residents have a safe way to get rid of these items.

Transportation

A large portion of the pollution in our air is caused by transportation. Reducing this will clean up the community. Here are some ways to help.

• Organize a carpool group.

• Have a walk-to-school program. This decreases emissions and provides exercise times for children.

• Petition for bike lanes on the roads.

Encourage Political Participation

Everyone has a voice that should be heard. Creativity is one of the things needed to create greener communities. Getting involved in local politics can make these visions come to life.

This is also a great way to get the residents involved. Let them know about local butchers or farmers so they know where to purchase food products. People will participate if they know how.

Volunteering

People who volunteer their time can help create preserve and aid the land. Organize a group of people who are willing to take time and pick up litter along the roads. This is a great way to get children involved as well. Cleaning up the area and streams is beneficial to the land and animals as well.

There are so many ways to get involved in the community. The first step is spread awareness and encourage a discussion on methods to better the community.