7 Fun Ways To Cultivate A Sustainable Community This Year

We can't solve the climate crisis alone, and the most effective environmental action happens in community. This is something that low-waste advocate Tara McKenna knows all too well. In this excerpt from her new book, Don't Be Trashy: A Practical Guide To Living With Less Waste and More Joy, McKenna shares ideas on how to join a sustainable coalition in your community this year—and have some fun in the process:

Volunteering can be a one-time thing, like going to a beach cleanup, helping out at repair cafés, or representing an organization at an event and sharing your knowledge. Volunteering can also be a regularly scheduled commitment, like a monthly committee meeting; regular administrative work at your local tool library, helping people find and sign out items; or helping weekly with a nearby community garden.

Join any local clubs at school or in your community that are focused on sustainability. It'll give you a chance to work on cool projects, meet new people, learn a few new things, and expand your sense of community in a productive and helpful way.

Most important, have fun! While I was really proud of the action my office's team took, my favorite part was eating pizza after a big green team litter cleanup. Is that so wrong?

Shopping local also helps us reduce waste because independent stores tend to be more flexible in responding to new trends, like offering refill programs and being supportive of reusable containers and bags. Big-box stores might have more red tape in terms of updating policies to support low-waste shopping.

Attending events is entertaining, but you can often volunteer to help make public events in your community less trashy and more sustainable. Use your passion and interest to come up with ideas for reducing the waste footprint of events like festivals, concerts, outdoor movie nights, art exhibitions, pop‑up markets, religious gatherings, and more.

Fridays for Future is a great resource for climate-related demonstrations, and while not directly a waste-related platform, the main issues are deeply interconnected because waste contributes to climate change. For example, organic material that breaks down in landfills generates methane gas, which is a greenhouse gas contributing to climate change.

Excerpt from DON'T BE TRASHY: A Practical Guide to Living With Less Waste and More Joy. Copyright © 2022 by Tara McKenna. Published by Rodale Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.