Small farmers can lose fruits and vegetables after harvest because they lack affordable access to refrigerated storage. When produce spoils before reaching buyers, the water, fertilizer, energy, and labor used to grow it are also wasted.

Large asphalt schoolyards can become intensely hot during warm months, increasing radiant heat around students and nearby classrooms. Because these surfaces also store heat, they can contribute to uncomfortable conditions even after direct sunlight decreases.

Household detergents, soaps, and cleaning liquids are frequently sold in rigid plastic containers that are discarded after a single use. Even when bottles are technically recyclable, collection and processing rates vary widely.

Extreme heat is increasingly becoming an urban planning problem rather than simply a seasonal inconvenience. In dense neighborhoods, large paved surfaces, limited tree cover, and dark building materials can cause temperatures to remain high long after…