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Sunday is Earth Day. For years, we have talked about the importance of this day. We have written stories on how we all need to lend a hand and do what is right for our environment. As an Army community, we have a responsibility to be leaders in this fight.

How big is the fight?

Enormous. And we all have a part to play in winning the battle.

According to Plantpals.com, 84 percent of all household materials, such as cereal boxes, old socks, aluminum cans and more, are recyclable, and yet, we recycle less than 10 percent. What doesn’t head to the recycling bins goes to landfills and we, as a society, are running out of space in them. Each day, we average four pounds of landfill trash per person, and a family of four tosses nearly 100 pounds of plastic bottles each year. If you want that bottle back, you can get it, because it is estimated that a plastic bottle takes more than 500 years to break down in a landfill.

Earth Day is also about protecting our resources. While the earth is two-thirds water, less than one percent is fresh water available for drinking. And drinking isn’t the number one use of water for an individual. Out of the average 12,000 gallons of water you will use this year, 4,000 gallons will be used to flush a toilet. Your morning shower will use another 3,000 during the year. Add a washing machine to your weekly ritual and you’ll increase your average use by another 4,000 gallons, leaving you with a mere 1,000 gallons to cook or quench your thirst with.

Our fresh water is very susceptible to contamination. The Environmental Protection Agency reports that one gallon of used motor oil can pollute two million gallons of water. Excess fertilizer on your lawn can kill a stream by increasing the algae, which chokes out all fish and wildlife. Phosphates in laundry soap can have the same effect when used in excess.

The amount of paper and lumber we dispose of every year could heat every home in the country and then some, but it doesn’t get used for this. Instead, paper, such as the newspaper you’re holding, will most likely find it’s way into a landfill instead of joining the less than 50 percent of paper that gets recycled.

Recycling not only saves valuable space in landfills, but it also reduces our energy consumption.

It takes 64 percent less energy to produce paper from recycled products than from pulp wood, and for every ton of recycled paper, we save 17 trees and 7,000 gallons of fresh water.

Recycling paper is not the only household item that can save us energy when we reuse it. The energy saved in melting down just one old glass bottle to make new glass containers, instead of using raw materials, can light a 60-watt light bulb for four hours. Aluminum is king of energy savings, requiring only 10 percent of the electricity to make a new can from a recycled one instead of raw materials.

How can you help?

Earth Day is the perfect day to change your consumer habits. While shopping, ask for paper bags instead of plastic, or even better, invest in a cloth reusable bag. If you don’t recycle in your home, start today. Even simple steps like putting cardboard and aluminum cans back into the system can save energy. The Recycling Center on Fort Leonard Wood can take all sorts of materials, to include plastics, paper, cardboard, steel cans, green glass, clear glass and, of course, aluminum cans. Just make sure you separate your items when you put them in the containers.

Earth Day is also a great day to change your energy consumption. Turning off lights when not in use saves not only energy, but can also reduce your electric bill. Power hogs, such as televisions, computers and video games use energy while idle, so unplugging them or putting them on a power strip that can be switched off can save even more.

In the bathroom, low flow toilets reduce the amount of water necessary to flush to just over one gallon and, by my own experience, are far more efficient at the task at hand. Putting a restricted head on your shower will also cut down on water waste without sacrificing your morning ritual.

For more great ways to save the environment and reduce our energy demands, go to www.energy.gov for tips and ideas.

Sunday is Earth Day, but when you think about it, every day is Earth Day, and a battle to protect our environment. Don’t wait, join the fight today.