Nine years ago I made a New Year’s resolution to quit smoking. It was the first and only resolution I have ever made. In celebration of Earth Day this year, I have decided to commit myself to an Earth Day resolution to be a better Earth inhabitant. As much as I pride myself on being someone who makes eco-friendly choices often, I think that we can all work a little harder. Here is a list of the three efforts that I will make this year as my Earth Day resolution.

1. I will try to eliminate bottled water from my everyday life. It is unbelievable how much waste is created by water bottles and I have been guilty of ignorance until recently. Did you know that only 30% of plastic water bottles are recycled and that the other 70% will take up to 700 years to decompose in trash heaps? I need to make this change right now. How, you wonder will I achieve this goal?

This Brita Ultramax has a fresh filter and a full tank and is currently chilling in my fridge. I promise to drink this water, refill the tank and replace the filter every three months. I have tried it, it tastes great, there is no excuse.

2) I will try to use only washable reusable containers in my kids lunchboxes. It wasn’t until yesterday, when a friend of mine (and fellow parent) pointed it out, that I realized how much garbage is produced in an average week from a lunch box. One child’s lunch box can produce 38 kilograms of waste per year! I have been a fan of zipper sandwich bags for a long time, but I must break this habit! From now on, when my kids open their lunchboxes they will find their edibles in containers like these:

and these bottles for their drinks:

3. I will REALLY compost. I will no longer take a passive approach to composting. The City of Ottawa has made it very easy for its residents to participate in composting. I will take this program and the enormous benefits more seriously. This is something that I will use daily in an effort to reduce the amount of waste that I produce.

These may not seem like big changes, but that’s the point. By sticking to these goals I will dramatically reduce the amount of waste produced by my household, I will be more aware of the impact that I make and hopefully, I will positively influence my children.

If you are wondering, I haven’t had a single cigarette in nine years. I take my resolutions very seriously.

What are your Earth Day resolutions?