Energy
Unplug the “secret energy addicts” in your home
TVs, VCRs, DVD players, cable TV boxes, computers and printers, video game consoles, microwave ovens and AC adapters for cell phones, digital cameras and other electronics. Most electronic equipment, including anything that uses a remote control, is designed to consume energy when it is turned off. That “off” setting is actually a “standby” or “idling” mode. Standby power in the average household consumes 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually. That’s enough energy to power an entire home for two months, or more. The solution? Unplug anything that isn’t being used.
Swap out incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescent bulbs.
CFs use about 66% less energy and last up to 10 times longer.
Turn down your thermostat by two degrees
in the winter (and up two degrees in the summer).
You’ll save 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide this year!
Switch to cold-water washing
and save 80% on laundry energy.
Reducing, Reusing and Recycling
Use Less
Whenever possible. Instead of buying plastic water bottles, reduce the same bottle,
buy a thermos for your morning coffee and say no to the paper or Styrofoam cup.
Recycle your Electronics
The Environmental Protection Agency (link: http://www.epa.gov/)
an help you find local electronics recyclers.
Say no to junk mail
100 million trees’ worth are sent out each year. Visit www.dmachoice.org/MPS/
to opt out of the Direct Marketing Association’s member mailings.
Take the extra step
Packing peanuts and other loose fill will sit in a landfill for centuries, but there are lots of places you can bring them for recycling. Call the Peanut Hotline at 1-800-828-2214.
Use recycled Paper Products
If every household in the US replaced 1 roll of 1000 sheet bathroom tissues with 100% recyclable rolls, we could save 373,000 trees, 1.48 million cubic feet of landfill space, and 155 million gallons of water.
CLEANING
ECO FRIEND PRODUCTS
Use non-toxic, environmentally safe, biodegradable cleaning products, including laundry products
Don’t Polute the Air; Choose fragrance-free products
TRANSPORTATION
Look for public transit, carpool, walk or ride a bike.
PERSONAL PRACTICES
BUY LOCALLY
Look for farmers markets in the late spring, summer and early fall. Locally made products require distance of transport and there fore use less fossil fuels.
FABRIC BAGS
Whenever possible bring your own reusable to the grocery store. You alone could keep up to 1,500 bags per year out of landfills! If you must use disposable bags, ask your bagger to avoid double-bagging whenever possible.
WATER
Only run full loads in the dishwasher and the laundry machine.
Be careful not to leave the water running when you brush your teeth or wash the dishes. Scrap food instead of running the longer pre-rinse cycles.
