Go Green: At the Office

Printing
The printer room is one of the biggest money-suckers in office buildings. Encourage your company to invest in energy-saving printers. Be smart about what you’re printing. Use both sides of paper when printing documents, avoid unnecessary color printing and consider electronic documents as opposed to hard copies. Use recycled paper and refillable ink cartridges to save on cost and garbage. Also add recycle bins for paper and reuse the backsides for scratch paper.

Commuting
Cut back on commuting costs by carpooling to the office with fellow workers. Also consider biking or walking or taking advantage of public transportation. Have your workplace look into setting up video conferencing and other technologies to cut back on company travel.

Electricity
It takes a lot of electricity to run an office building, but there are ways to cut down on energy use at work. Suggest the company uses Energy Star-rated light bulbs and fixtures. Install sensors to automatically shut off lights when not needed. Also make it a habit to turn off lights when you’re leaving a room. Save energy by turning your computer all the way off when you leave for the day and set it to go to automatically go to sleep when it’s not being used.

Break Room
Make your breaks green by having your own coffee cup and dishes at work. They can be washed and reused so you’re not using paper, styrofoam or plastic cups, plates or utensils. Request your office provide filtered drinking water to reduce the use of bottled water. Set up recycling bins in the break room for pop cans, plastics and more.

Go Green: In Your Yard

There are ways to make the great outdoors a little greener. You can save energy, time, money and the environment. Check out these ways to make your yard even greener.

Compost Bin

Why throw away and take up landfill space with materials that can nourish your plants? Start a compost pile instead. Fill a bucket with biodegradable items, like plants, newspaper, junk mail (shredded first to make for easier decay), leaves, sawdust, veggie and fruit peelings, egg shells, coffee grounds (filters, too) and grass clippings. Use these leftovers to feed your flowers, plants and garden. It’s cheaper than buying fertilizer and saves the environment from harsh chemicals. Some companies make compost pails with built in charcoal filters to eliminate any smells.

Garden

Growing a garden is one of the best ways to go green. And you can’t beat the taste of fresh­-from-the-garden vegetables and fruits. Buying produce and herbs, especially organic produce, is expensive. Growing it in your garden is much more cost-effective. Plus, you can be assured that your produce will be free of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Short on yard space? Check to see if your hometown has a community garden. Many plants can also grow in pots or in window boxes, making it possible for apartment-dwellers to use their green thumbs, too.

Yard & Landscaping

You can lessen pollution by switching from a gas-powered lawn mower to a reel mower. Granted, it’s not ideal for large yards, but is great for smaller yards. Even though they’re not self-propelled, they weigh a lot less than typical mowers and are easy to push around landscaping. There’s no gas required either, so no more carting a gas can around. They’re quiet and just require blade sharpening. Sticking with native plants and grasses is a way to make your yard and landscaping green-friendly. They require less energy, resources and time to maintain.

Greywater

You can conserve water by hydrating your plants with greywater. Greywater is water that you’ve collected, leftover from doing dishes, laundry and cleaning. Store leftover water in a bucket and use it to water plants and your garden. You can also set up a station to collect rainwater to use for the same purpose.

 

 

Go Green: In the Home

 

Making a few simple changes inside your home is one of the biggest things you can do to benefit the environment. Following these tips can not only make your home green, it can also put a little more green in your wallets. Here are four simple, low-cost ways you can make your home greener.

Recycle

So much of what we use on a daily basis can be recycled. Recycling items like glass, plastic, paper and aluminum saves space in our landfills and reduces the need for new materials and the depletion of natural resources. Many communities are making recycling easier for residents, too, by combining garbage and recycle pickup. As a bonus, you can even make a few bucks since some centers pay you for your recyclable goods.

Water

Water is one of our most precious resources so we should try to use less of it around the home. Take a shower instead of a bath. The California Energy Commission says you use less energy taking a shower. You can save up to 40 gallons of water by showering with a low-flow shower head compared to a bath. Set a goal of taking 5 minute (or less) showers. Also remember to turn off the faucet while you’re brushing your teeth and shaving to conserve water.

Thermostat

Readjusting your thermostat can save energy while at the same time reducing your heating and cooling bills. Just turn the temperature up a few degrees in the summer and down in the winter. The U.S. Department of Energy recommends turning your thermostat back 10 to 15 degrees when you’re gone from the home. By doing this, you can save between 5-15% on your bills. Turn the temperature back while you sleep, too. You can save 1% for each degree if the setback period is 8 or more hours long. Investing in a programmable thermostat makes it easy to save energy since you don’t have to remember to manually adjust the temperature. Keeping the window coverings closed and having good insulation can also keep heating and energy costs to a minimum.

Lights

If you’re not in a room, save energy by keeping the lights turned off. Converting to energy–saving bulbs can also shave money off your electric bill. Compact Fluorescents use a fraction of the electricity and don’t burn as hot as conventional bulbs do. That mean means lower electricity costs, lower cooling costs in the summer and less impact from global warming pollution.

8 Benefits of Being Green

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By Annie B. Bond