Green Living Quick Start

Sustainable Green Living- Quick Start
Did you know that the average U.S. citizen produces about 4.5 pounds of garbage every day!!! According to some statistics, 90 percent of materials which make up durable goods in the U.S. become waste almost immediately…. the wrapper from your candy bar, the package that came with your new cell phone, CD, tool, and even the plastic bag that it all came home in. All trash immediately! In the United States, two thirds of all oil consumed goes towards powering vehicles, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The average American uses more than 80 gallons of water a day, while the rest of the world uses just 2.5 gallons per person according to the Rocky Mountain Institute.

We as individuals are directly responsible for our contribution to these statistics, so here is the first place we can start to make a difference. Many of these call outs are things that we should already be doing. In addition to that, there is not one thing here that will cost you any extra money, in most cases with these steps you will be paying less!

Reducing-

1. Food- Buy only what you and your family really uses. In the United States we throw away a great deal of food…. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency we trash about 28 million tons of food each year, which is about 17% of all municipal garbage!!! and that does not included what we put down the garbage disposal! With that savings we could actually be buying better food.

2. Car Trips- Organize your errands, make lists before you go, so you don’t forget things, and plan your trip to reduce the number of miles traveled. This will help your pocketbook, save time, and be better for the environment.

3. Water- Encourage the family to take showers instead of baths, turn the water off while brushing your teeth, or doing the dishes, and if you must water your lawn, do so in the cooler hours of the day to reduce evaporation (early morning is best)

4. Home Energy- Turn the lights off when you leave a room, put your electronics on a power cord so you can  turn everything off at one time when not in use. This should include the chargers for all your hand-held electronics. The chargers are still using electricity even when the electronic is not attached.   Turn your thermostat up at least two degrees in the summer and down two degrees in the winter.  This will save on the heating and cooling bills. And when you can , OPEN THE WINDOWS!

5. Plastic Throwaway Containers- Be they the plastic bags from the store, or one -time use bottles for water, juices, sodas, etc. , or containers for take-out foods.  These one-time use items are filling our landfills, and take forever to breakdown.  If you must use them at least reuse them before tossing them in your recycle bin. 

6. Paper- When printing from you computer- use both sides of the paper.  Use the reverse side of other single- side printed paper for scrap paper. Reduce the number of magazines and newspapers you buy at newsstands. If you have some favorites then subscribe to them. They will be less expensive, and delivered to your home or business.  The majority of the magazines at newsstands are never purchased or used. 

Reusing-

1. Clothing- Buy vintage! Color coordinate you wardrobe so that you can mix and match things for different looks. Then you can buy less and use the items you do buy in more ways.  When you are tired of your clothes put them up for adoption rather that throwing them out. Have a clothing swap with friends, take them to a consignment shop, offer them up on your local branch of freecycle , take them to Goodwill or the Salvation Army drop offs. Let them live again and be appreciated by someone else.

2. Buy Antiques or furniture and home furnishings from times gone by.  If your a mid century, retro person; then look in consignment shops, at tag sales, and on your local craigslist. If you do have something that is no longer servicing the purpose that it once did, try to  put it to another use? 

3. Containers from the grocery store- reuse the glass jars for storing leftovers, nails, thumbtack,s etc. Save a regular size bottle for toilettes, dish soap, laundry soap, etc. and then buy in bulk or family size bottles.  Transfer from the larger size container to the more convenient smaller size bottle for everyday use. You save money per use when you buy the economy or family size, reduce the plastic used on the container and reduce what you send to the landfill from your recycle bin. 

4. Books and magazines- when you are through with them offer them to other readers you know or to your local library.  Maybe even a local business, with  a waiting room would appreciate them for their clients. This may seem like a pain or that it will take up too much time, but when you ask around, you will be surprised how quickly you find a taker, and then it becomes a routine. You will know what to do on a regular basis and can include it on your errand runs.

5. Remodeling- check out a reuse center for building supplies. There are a number of them in Connecticut. You can find great flooring, doors, bathtubs, sinks, hardware, and even full kitchens at a great savings and very often in very good condition.

Recycling-

1. Please remember reusing is better than recycling. If you can’t reuse it, try to offer it to someone who does want it and can use it.  Recycling is the last resort, before an item goes to the landfill, and recycling still uses a great deal of energy to breakdown the item being recycled and then made into something new.  Recycling does use less raw materials and frequently uses less energy that creating something new from scratch but it still does takes energy.

2. Recycle as much of your trash as possible. Most paper products can be recycled, aluminum cans can be recycled,  many plastic containers can be recycled,  electronics can be recycled (check with your local community for details for drop offs).

3. When you are at the store, think about the package the goods come in, a dozen eggs in a cardboard container is better than  a dozen eggs in a in a plastic container, which is still better than a dozen eggs in a styrofoam container.  Make the better choices where you can.

4. Compost- if at all possible compost. Food is a huge amount of the trash that ends up in the landfill.  In big plastic bags it doesn’t decompose with any great speed. The same goes for lawn clippings….. composting is quite easy, not nearly as yucky as many might think, and creates great ‘black gold’ for your flowers and veggies (if you have them).

Trash-

1. If it can’t be reused or recycled….then it truly is trash.  Please dispose of your trash responsibly. An example is everyday batteries, which  should not go in the regular trash. They are responsible for a large portion of toxic heavy metals.  Please check with your municipality for their guidelines or visit earth911.org   for a local place in your area for proper disposal.  A lot can really be recycled if handled properly.

2. Take a moment and really think about what is going out in the trash and will end up in the landfill. Could you have made a different choice along the way to effect  the kind of trash as well as the amount of trash that is going out to the curb?  Take those batteries again, where they worn out re-chargables… or regular one-time use batteries.  Re-chargable would be the better choice.

Simple – right? Just think what a difference we could make, if everyone took these simple steps to living greener. There are many more easy steps we can all add to  our lives.  We will be publishing much more information through our news letters and at www. eco-richconnection.com

So lets get started!