Tips and facts:

• Recycling makes a difference! Making one aluminum can from recycled material requires only about 5% of the energy that would be needed to produce the can from raw aluminum ore. The amount of energy saved from this one can is enough to power a TV for 3 hours.
• Reducing waste means using and spending less, and getting more out of what is used. It costs money to dispose of trash. Some organizations are adopting simple waste reduction habits such as reducing paper consumption through the use of e-mail and duplex printing.
• When less energy is used to make products, fewer fossil fuels are burned and less green house gas, mercury, and other harmful chemicals are emitted into the atmosphere to pollute our air, water, soil. Recycling also prevents the pollution that comes from landfills. As it decomposes, garbage produces methane gas, a potent greenhouse gas. By diverting material from landfills, recycling can reduce methane emissions. The material decomposing in landfills also produces leachate. Leachate is a liquid formed when water percolates through the garbage in a landfill. It can contain metals, bacteria, and toxins that sometimes end up in our soil and water. Recycling prevents pollution in yet another way by reducing the number of trees that are cut down to make products. Trees help clean the air by absorbing carbon dioxide. With more trees standing, more carbon is absorbed from the air.
• Recycling allows us to use natural resources more than once, reducing the need to chop down, extract, process, refine and transport natural resources such as timber, petroleum, and mineral ores. Glass, for example, never wears out. It can be recycled over and over again. By supplying industry with recycled materials, rather than virgin resources, recycling also preserves biodiversity by slowing the destruction of forests, wetlands, rivers and other places essential to wildlife. Additionally, other detrimental impacts, such as the soil erosion associated with logging and mining, are lessened.
• Recycling generates many significant benefits for the economy. In fact, the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive estimates that recycling and remanufacturing industries account for more than $200 billion in revenue annually. New businesses are created to haul, process, and broker recovered materials, as well as manufacture and distribute products made with recovered materials.

            These new businesses create new jobs. And the jobs created by recycling businesses   employ workers             from a broad spectrum of the labor market, ranging from low- to high-skilled positions in a variety of    jobs, from materials handling and processing to high-quality product manufacturing to engineering new           processes. The D.C. based Institute for Local Self Reliance (ILSR) reports that on a per ton basis the        sorting and processing of recyclables alone sustains ten times more jobs than landfilling. Recycling        based manufacturers have an even bigger impact, employing even more people and at higher wages. For        example, on a per ton basis, some plastics manufacturers employ up to 60 times more workers than do             landfills (ILSR).

           

      Investments in recycling equipment and the companies themselves also filter through the economy and           contribute to growth. Moreover, the drive for efficient handling and use of recycled materials spurs     innovation, a key to long-term economic growth.

·      Reduce Junk Mail:

·       DirectMail.com - a quick, free way to reduce junk mail.

·       DMA Consumer Assistance - we used it and our junk mail fell by 75% in 3 months. 

·       OptOut - never receive a pesky pre-approved credit card offer again. Do it online or call 1-888-5-OPTOUT.

·       Ecological Mail Coalition - businesses: stop unwanted mail through this free service.

·       Native Forest Network's Guide - five easy steps to stop junk mail.

Top 10 Ways to be Waste Less (www.getcaughtrecycling.org)

10. Share a ride to work because…each gallon of gas your car burns creates 20 lbs. of carbon dioxide, contributing to the break down of the ozone and global warming.

9. Don’t use Styrofoam beverage and food containers. They aren’t recyclable or biodegradable. 500 years from now, the foam coffee cup you used this morning will be sitting in a landfill.

8. Use double-sided photocopying or printing whenever possible (you can print double-sided documents from your computer by sending the print job to your Bureau’s copier)…because this could cut our paper consumption by almost half.

7. Use e-mail instead of paper copies whenever possible. Attaching files to e-mails instead of printing out reports can eliminate reams of paper on a daily basis…because the typical U.S. office worker uses about 10,000 sheets of copy paper each year.

6. Recycle old cell phones…because in the U.S., more than 100 million cell phones are taken out of service each year. Most of these discarded phones end up in landfills, leaking toxic metals and chemicals into the ground.

5. Recycle paper in bins located near printers, including colored paper and envelopes…because recycling each ton of paper saves 60 lbs. of air pollution, 17 trees and 7,000 gallons of water.

4. Recycle plastic beverage containers and aluminum cans in break room receptacles…because recycled aluminum uses 95% less energy than aluminum made from virgin sources. And recycling a ton of plastic bottles saves 7.4 cubic yards of landfill space.

3. Turn off your monitor if you won't be using it for 20 minutes or more…because Kansas electric utilities emit over 200,000 tons of air pollution each year.

2. When you leave a meeting room or vacant break room turn off the lights because electric power plants pollute our air with toxic chemicals like Mercury and Dioxins.

1. Buy recycled content products because…recycling saves energy, conserves natural resources, prevents air and water pollution, and creates more jobs.

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle in the Workplace

Reduce
-Double sided photocopying.
-Don’t use disposable containers.
-E-mail and bulletin boards instead of separate memos to everyone.
-Make sure your business cards have your e-mail address on them, and request the e-mail addresses of your contacts.
-Keep mailing lists current to avoid duplication. Ask to be removed from unwanted mailing lists.
-Use postcards when appropriate to save paper, envelopes, and postage. Eliminate unnecessary forms and redesign to use less paper.
-Edit documents on the screen before printing.
-Use a transmittal stamp or a small fax sticky note instead of a separate cover sheet for faxes.
-Use smaller typeface, margins, single spacing, and rigorous editing to keep documents small.
-Use plain white paper whenever possible.  Dyed paper produces dioxin, which was the primary toxic component of Agent Orange.
-Use half-sized sheets when possible.
-Save documents on disk instead of making hard copies.
-Bring your own coffee mug to work.
-If you have a water cooler, use a glass or your mug instead of the cups or plastic bottles.
-Bring litter-less lunches: No disposables - reusable containers only.
-Purchase a reusable coffee filter for the coffee machine and don’t add a paper one over the reusable filter.
-Don’t use straws, paper napkins, and disposable stirring sticks, if you do just wash them so you can use them again and again.
-Buy creamer, sugar, and coffee for break areas in bulk containers.
-Set up a car pool notice in the building.
-Make sure that copiers, printers, desk-side lights, and other electric appliances are turned off when you leave at night. About 81 tons of mercury is emitted into the atmosphere each year as a result of electric power generation. Mercury is the most toxic heavy metal in existence.
-Avoid excess. For items you use less often, order only what you need.

Reuse 
-Send used books and office equipment to a local charity.
-Post a sign informing staff that cardboard boxes are available for their home use.
-Re-label old file folders and use again and again.
-Use outdated letterhead for in-house memos.
-Circulate newspapers and magazines.
-Donate old magazines to hospitals, clinics, or nursing homes.
-Make scratch pads from used paper.
-Place a tray beside the photocopier for one sided paper that can be reused.
-Use inter-office envelopes.
-Use refillable pens and pencils, and reuse paper clips and file folders.
-Buy and use remanufactured printer/toner cartridges.

Recycle
-Make a recycling container to keep next to your desk.
-Buy materials with recycled content.
-Ensure there are adequate recycling receptacles throughout the building.
-Investigate composting options.
-Place adequate signs above recycling bins describing the materials accepted.

When you’re at Home (www.realsimple.com)

Use a water-filter pitcher
Bottled water isn’t necessarily cleaner or better for you than tap water. Get a water-filter pitcher or an in-sink faucet filter. Take advantage of what you already pay for and save the environmental cost of transporting bottled water to the grocer’s shelf.

 

Clean up your dishwasher
Switch to a dishwashing powder that’s biodegradable and plant-based (try Ecover Ecological or Trader Joe’s powders). These cleansers cut through grime, but they do it without the bleach and phosphates that threaten river and marine life and leave chemical residue on your dishes.

Curtail junk mail
The Federal Trade Commission website, www.ftc.gov, spells out how to remove yourself from lists. (Click on “For Consumers,” then “Telemarketing,” then “Unsolicited Mail, Telemarketing and E-mail: Where to Go to ‘Just Say No.’”) You’ll save trees, water, and emissions, too. If everyone in the United States reduced the junk mail he receives every week, 100 million trees would be spared each year.

Install a better showerhead and faucet aerators
If you have a wrench, you can preserve the diminishing fresh-water supply and reduce expensive water-heating costs. Install faucet aerators and high-efficiency showerheads and in a year’s time you’ll save between 1,000 and 8,000 gallons of water. Bonus: The added air makes the pressure feel greater, too. (Try Energyfederation.org for highest efficiency products)

 

Turn off the tap
The average faucet releases about three gallons of water a minute, so shut it off while you brush your teeth or shave.

 

Set a programmable thermostat
It will automatically adjust the heat or the air-conditioning to match your daily patterns. You won’t waste energy while your home is empty, and you won’t have to remember to turn the thermostat up or down. Want to do better? Turn it down two degrees in the winter and up two degrees in the summer and you’ll keep nearly 880 pounds of carbon dioxide from warming the earth.

Plug in a laptop, not a desktop
In the market for a new computer? A laptop uses about half the energy of its desktop counterpart. Choose a model with the federal government’s Energy Star rating and use 70 percent less energy than a noncertified model.

Reuse everything
Change your mind-set and think twice before throwing anything out. Resealable plastic bags that held carrots today can hold crayons tomorrow. Coffee-cup cardboard sleeves from this morning’s brew can be tucked in a purse pocket to be used again at 4 p.m. Mom might just like that cashmere sweater you’re sick of wearing. And Fido doesn’t know the difference between a new chew toy and the one you make yourself out of old dish towels. (To learn how to make one and to find other new uses for old linens, visit www.realsimple.com/linens.)

 

Carry a water bottle with you
Buy a reusable bottle that fits your lifestyle (and your purse) and skip buying a new one at every lunchtime stop. Need a reason? Americans use 3.3 million plastic bottles every hour but recycle only one in five.

Don’t idle
Pausing somewhere? Shut down your engine: Idling for any length of time burns more gas than it takes to restart the car.

Donate old cell phones
About 130 million mobile phones are retired every year, resulting in more than 65,000 tons of waste — including potentially hazardous materials, such as lead and mercury. Recycle yours with Call2Recycle.org (log on to find a drop-off location near you) or programs like www.collectivegood.com (a clearinghouse for nonprofit phone-recycling efforts) to benefit groups such as the American Red Cross.

 

Buy a package of recycled napkins
If every American household purchased one package of 100 percent recycled napkins, we would save 1 million trees. While you’re at it, buy recycled paper towels and tissues, too. Seventh Generation and Whole Foods’ 365 label use nearly all post-consumer recycled paper.

Think local food
Your last meal may have traveled 1,500 miles to get to your table. Find food near you. Green markets, farm stands, and conscientious supermarkets all offer locally grown produce. Buy it and you’ll conserve fuel, reduce pollution, and enjoy fresher food. Try our local farmer’s market for fresh food…this also helps support people in the Garden City area!

Bring your own bags to the market
Sounds obvious, right? Well, in an average year, U.S. households use about 100 billion plastic bags, 99 percent of which are never recycled. Stash some canvas bags in your car or buy a pair of Acme Workhorse 1500 bags (www.reusablebags.com).

And finally…slash the packaging
Shop wisely: Choose concentrates, skip the tampons with plastic applicators, let your vegetables roll around the cart (no more plastic bags for every cucumber), and download your music.

 

 

By taking green steps you also save another important green…your money!