April showers bring May flowers. But, April also brings us Earth Day, Arbor Day, and a perfect opportunity to keep the conversation going about environmental sustainability for our community.

We have all been taught that recycling is good for the environment. Alongside recycling, reducing and reusing are just as critical.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, paper makes up 30 percent of the total waste in America and 63 percent of that gets recycled. Pretty good, you might think. Well, let’s look at plastic. Americans generate 33 million tons of plastic waste and only 9 percent of that gets recycled. For glass, 29 percent of that waste gets recycled (epa.gov, 2013).

Some of the tips the EPA recommends to help the environment include: stopping unwanted mail; buying items made with less packaging; buying reusable, not disposable; donating items with life still left; avoid wasting food and compost scraps and leftovers and repair or upcycle items. These steps help reduce the need to consume natural resources and also reduces the amount of items going to landfills and lowers their greenhouse gas emissions.

The city has taken some leaps forward in its quest for “being green”. Along with standard green practices like recycling bins and reusing products, here are some of the things the city is doing:

• Using primarily rechargeable equipment.

• Consolidating daily vehicle trips.

•Utilizing electronic copies instead of printing.

• Ordering/using recycled office supplies whenever possible.

• Using energy efficient light bulbs in all city facilities.

• Installing a rain bucket at Covington Community Park to save 6.000 gallons of water per day.

• Purchasing hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles.

• Partnering with King County to bring several recycling collection events to Covington annually.

There is still so much more the city can do to help sustain our corner of the environment and we will continue to explore all opportunities. Just being in the “green” mindset helps immensely!

If you’ve ever thought about or already do composting, you might be interested in learning more about food waste and why 40 percent of all food produced is wasted. Covington and the cities of Maple Valley, Kent, and Black Diamond, along with King County, are hosting a free film screening of Just Eat It at Kentlake High School on Thursday, April 28 at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6 p.m.). The film follows the path that food takes from the farm to your fridge and beyond!

At the city, we hope that we are setting a good example for the community in our efforts to contribute to environmental sustainability. We also hope you might consider participating in an activity to celebrate Earth Day or Arbor Day this month. One thing we know though, is that we must be bigger than just one day! The need for “being green” happens every day, not just on Earth Day or Arbor Day.

Jeff Wagner is the mayor of Covington