Your Top Earth Day Google Searches – Answered!

Each Friday, Google highlights the top search trends from the previous week.

So what did people search for during Earth Week? In addition to searches for Earth Day slogans and worksheets, searchers asked questions like “When was the first Earth Day?” and “How do we stop climate change?” See the top searches below!

Just because Earth Month is over doesn't mean we should stop loving our Earth! At Green Mountain, we know that Earth Day is every day.

Here are your Earth Day questions answered by the environmental-fanatics at GME!

1. Why is recycling important?

If you really want to preserve our resources, think about if you can reuse, upcycle or need to purchase that object in the first place; think about recycling as Plan B. To help answer this recycling question, we’ve looked to our friends at RecycleNow. Recycling is important for the environment and for our economy. Recycling conserves raw resources, turning old products into new. It also uses less energy than creating new materials and helps protect the environment by reducing mining, quarrying and logging. Last but not least, recycling reduces stuff in the landfill. Relatedly, you can read why clean energy is important here.

2. What can be recycled?

Look at the items around you – what are they made out of? If it’s metal, paper, cardboard, glass or plastic, the item can most likely be recycled. You can find out where to recycle via this website search engine: http://search.earth911.com/

3. Are foam cups recyclable?

There are certain locations (in some states) which accept clean, white polystyrene foam blocks for recycling. However, most foam cannot be recycled via single-stream or typical recycling collections or methods. At home, one alternative is to use glass, steel or ceramic mugs and cups. If you need something disposable, go for recyclable plastic. To ship materials, use boxes and shipping paper that can also be reused and recycled.

4. Where can I recycle my electronics?

Great question. TVs, cell phones, printers and other electronic devices can all be given a second-life! According to the Environmental Protection Agency, for every million cell phones we recycle, 35 thousand pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold and 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered. Take your item to the nearest Best Buy, or find e-cycling centers via this map.

5. How many soda cans are recycled each year?

Americans currently discard about 2.7 M tons of aluminum each year. About half of that is recycled, according to Waste Management.

Thanks, Google!

Got any outstanding Earth Day questions? Share them below, and we’ll find the answers!