Tips to Celebrate Earth Day Every Day

Earth Day has come and gone, but Kentucky Botanical Co. can help you celebrate all year long!

Christain Watt, co-owner of Kentucky Botanical Co. and Refilled (the refillery and eco-happy expansion located within their stores in Bellevue, Florence and their newest location on West Pike Street in Covington), has six great ideas for living more sustainably.

Start a home garden: What better way to get to know the planet and your surroundings a little better than with your very own home garden? Watt says she and her family are starting their own home garden, an adventure they’re excited about, on their on .5-acre homestead. “We have always nurtured the quintessential tomatoes, peppers, and herb garden,” she says. But this year they’re taking it up a notch by building a container garden as well.

If you’re ready to start your own home garden, there are some plants that are better than others, especially in our region. Watt says that in the Cincinnati area, which is in Zone 6, now is a prime time to sow beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, and corn. She adds, however, that the easiest veggies to grow include tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, lettuce, and green onions.

Start a home compost: Returning pieces of the earth back to the ground is important if you want to do your part in saving the planet. Watt says that another way to celebrate Earth Day all year long is by starting a home compost. “It’s as easy as grabbing a counter compost bin or looking into outdoor unit,” she says. “Queen City Commons, Local Compost, and GoZERO all have residential compost programs that are worth looking into!”

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: These words have been repeated to us over and over, but it seems that they’re more important now than ever before. Watt says that one of the best ways to celebrate the planet is to make your greatest attempt to limit the amount of waste you’re producing. It’s also important to repurpose some of your unused items rather than sending them off with the garbage each week.

Additionally, she says that the area has plenty of resources for recycling. “At Kentucky Botanical Co., we are currently running a beauty product recycling drive for all the things that your local hub will not take,” she says. Information on the details for their drive are available on Instagram.

She also adds that there are free programs around the region that offers recycling programs, including Terracycle. “From Keurig pods to Taco Bell packets, they have partnered with so many businesses to help you recycle those items that are hard tp process on a local scale,” explains Watt.

Perhaps the biggest way to “reuse” is with reusable bags. We all know just how pesky those plastic bags can be, and since you can’t recycle them then you can cut your use of them all together by purchasing reusable bags for groceries, shopping, and other activities.

Avoid fast fashion: Fashion is a wasteful industry. Do your part in helping the planet by avoiding fast fashion. Watt says the best way to go about this is to thrift, start a capsule wardrobe with pieces that will last rather than what’s trendy, choose sustainable fabrics like organic hemp, organic cotton, and organic linen, and avoid synthetics like polyester, rayon, nylon, and acrylic.

If you do shop for new items and pieces of clothing, Watt says to choose brand that are environmentally focused. “This means asking yourself if the ingredients in the products or textiles are all natural, eco-friendly, organic, or fair trade,” she says.

Kentucky Botanical Co. currently has three locations: 31 W Pike Street in Covington, 406 Fairfield Avenue in Bellevue, and 266 Main Street in Florence. You can keep up with them on Instagram and learn more on their website.