Blog Action Day, a yearly event for bloggers to spread awareness of important global issues, is concentrating on the topic of Water in 2010. 1-800-RECYCLING.com is proud to participate in its second Blog Action Day, focusing on water reuse and conservation issues. We all know how important water is to our very existence. But did you know that unsafe drinking water and lack of sanitation causes 42,000 deaths each week? That’s more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. And, also according to Change.org, more people have access to a cell phone than to a toilet. Try to wrap your mind around that. Today, 2.5 billion people lack access to toilets. This means that sewage spills into rivers and streams, contaminating drinking water and causing disease. These statistics coupled with knowing how precious our water supply is keeps me constantly trying to improve upon the ways my family uses and reuses water. Here are some tried-and-true family-friendly water conservation tips (translation: these are so easy, anyone can do them):

• Turn off the water when you are brushing your teeth or shaving.
• Reuse the water left from cleaning your fish tank to water your houseplants. Fish poop is apparently a great fertilizer.
• Compost your vegetable food waste instead of running your garbage disposal and save gallons of water each time.
• Run your clothes washer and dishwasher only when they are full. You can save up to 1,000 gallons a month.
• Shorten your shower by a minute or two and you’ll save up to 150 gallons per month.
• Reuse the water left over from cooked or steamed foods to start a soup base.

We recently moved into a new home and haven’t yet installed a rain barrel for recycling our rainwater. Instead, every time it rains, we run our buckets outside to catch rain. We then use the water for our trees, scrubs, flowers, gardens and anything else we can find. It may take a little extra thought, but conserving one of most precious resources is worth the effort. The next time you are about to get rid of some water, first ask yourself if you could reuse it. For more information on water issues, visit the Blog Action Day website.