We CAN Be Green

Green News: America Recycles Day

CONTACT:
Skip Anderson
anderson.skip@epa.gov
202-564-9551
202-564-4355

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 13, 2009

Make Everyday America Recycles Day


WASHINGTON – Want to help the environment?  Why not spend some time this America Recycles Day, November 15^th, looking for new opportunities to recycle throughout the year?  Keeping good recycling habits at home, work, and on the go can help with climate change.  By reusing, recycling, and being smarter in the amounts and types of materials used, people can save energy, use fewer natural resources, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  

Thousands of Americans across the country are making a difference, simply by keeping plastic bottles, paper, unwanted electronics, and other recyclable materials out of the waste stream.  The lifecycle energy savings of recycling rather than landfilling one aluminum can is equivalent to the energy use of a laptop for 5 hours, a 60-watt incandescent light bulb for 4 hours, or a 60-watt compact fluorescent light bulb for 20 hours.

America Recycles Day is a great time to think about our role in creating a sustainable environment by being responsible consumers.  Products are created from raw materials that are transported and processed, distributed, consumed, reused or recycled, and ultimately disposed of in a landfill.  Each stage of this materials lifecycle creates impacts on the environment.  By making smarter choices, consuming less, and reusing and recycling, each of us can contribute to a healthier and more sustainable environment.

More information on recycling:  http://www.epa.gov/recycle/
More information on America Recycles Day:  http://www.americarecyclesday.org

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Going Green: 5 Ways To Go Green For Halloween

Go Green: How to make Halloween not so scary for the environment

1. Similar to hosting a family swap party, you could host a costume swap party
2. Compost any unwanted candy (remove the plastic wrappers first)
3. Compost pumpkins and gourds
4. Buy reusable Halloween decorations instead of one use and done decorations
5. On November 1, walk around your neighborhood and clean up from the Halloween activities

Thank you for reading and here's to Going Green on Halloween!

If you found this post helpful, please pass it along to a friend.

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Going Green: What's the Difference Between Natural and Organic?

Go Green: Natural, all natural, 100% organic, organic...why can't it be simple?

One question I get a lot from family and friends is what the heck is the difference between natural and organic? They go shopping and they see similar items on the shelves but one says All Natural and the other says Certified Organic and since they are right next to each other, then they are probably the same, right? Wrong!

To decipher the difference, let's take a look at what the USDA has to say.

• The word "organic" means: Crops grown without the use of conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers, or sewage sludge. Animals raised without cloning, antibiotics and growth hormones with 100% organic feed or free ranged feeding for at least a year. Packaged food processed without irradiation and cannot contain a large range of food additives contained in most conventional packaged food. Food produced without the use of genetically modified organisms (GMO’s).
• 100% Organic: Product must contain 100 percent organic ingredients.
• Organic: At least 95 percent of ingredients are organically produced.
• Made with Organic Ingredients: At least 70 percent of ingredients are organic. The remaining 30 percent must come from the USDA’s approved
• Natural: Not necessarily organic. USDA defines “natural” only for meat and poultry products as, “not containing any artificial flavoring, colors, chemical preservatives, or synthetic ingredients.” Aside from it's use for meat and poultry products, this term is meaningless.

Since I've been writing about organic oral hygiene this week, here are two toothpastes to compare.

As you can see, the Tom's Of Maine toothpaste is marketed as natural but the Kiss My Face is labeled as certified organic aloe vera gel toothpaste. This does not mean that the Tom's toothpaste is not as good or better for your teeth than Kiss My Face, just that it is not made from organic ingredients like Kiss My Face is. For a lot of us, that could be the deciding factor in our purchase especially given that "natural" products are not regulated or monitored.

If you found this blog post helpful, please pass it on to a friend.

Here's to Going Green!

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Green Quick Tip: Squeeze More Out Of Your Toothpaste

Go Green: Reduce Waste by Getting More Out Of Your Toothpaste

Sometimes we overlook simple things we can do to reduce waste; like using the entire tube of toothpaste rather than throwing it away once it becomes hard to get anymore out of it. There are little gadgets out there like this that make the job easier to do not to mention saving you some money over time from not having to buy as much toothpaste. 

Here's to Going Green!

http://www.twitter.com/jaygregory

Going Green: How clean is the air in your house?

Go Green: A Breath of Fresh Air

It is a little-known fact that the air inside your house is dirtier than the air outside it. Unfortunately, no matter what you do, this will always be the case because of the amount of hiding places that your house has for dust and other particles, while at the same time having a limited amount of escape routes for the particles.

To get some help towards alleviating this problem, you might want to consider purchasing an air purifier. This will be especially helpful to you if you have allergies or asthma that can be aggravated by dust or other particles such as pollen. An air purifier can remove most of the dust and particles from the air for you.

Air purifiers come in all sorts of sizes and shapes with various functionalities and technologies like HEPA. The most popular filter type is a mat that goes inside a frame or housing, and can quickly remove 99.97% of pollutants from the air – this is known as a high efficiency particulate absorbing (HEPA) filter. However, HEPA air purifiers can be expensive, especially as the filters need to be replaced quite often.

If you just want your air to be cleaner, but not necessarily completely purified, you might consider placing plants throughout your house, replacing your carpet with another type of flooring and removing your shoes when entering your house to prevent tracking of outside particles.

Here's to Going Green!

http://www.twitter.com/jaygregory

Green Quick Tip: Ride Your Bike To Work

Go Green: Reduce Pollution By Biking To Work

If you are fortunate to live close enough to work that you could commute to work with your bike, you should strongly consider ditching your car/subway for the warmer weather months. Not only is it beneficial for the environment (and your wallet) but it will help improve your overall health.  Check out sites like Trailnet for support and ideas.

Here's to Going Green!

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#Green Tips: Everyday Living: Greening up the BBQ

With the grilling season upon us, I wanted to see how I could green up my BBQ.  Aside from going meatless, which I am not ready to do, one of the most common suggestions was to use a propane grill instead of charcoal. If you can't resist charcoal, choose natural charcoal that doesn't contain coal, fillers or chemicals.

According to Treehugger, 63% of backyard BBQs in the U.S. use briquettes, but using them results in 105 times more carbon monoxide than if you cooked it on a propane grill.  When lit, briquettes also give off harmful Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), which lessens air quality.

What suggestions do you have to green up the BBQ this summer?

Green Tips: Everyday Living: Enjoy Nature #green

We are experiencing some unseasonably warm weather in NJ right now and I thought this post would be a great way to kick off the summer since it appears to have arrived already.

While out enjoying nature this spring/summer, follow these guidelines to lessen your impact on the environment. 

• Dispose of waste in trash receptacles.  If a trash receptacle is not available, take your trash home with you to throw away; don't bury or burn it.
• Take waste home to recycle it, instead of throwing it in the trash receptacle.  If recycling containers are available at the campground, park, etc. use them.
• Pick up any trash you see, even if it's not yours.  This will keep the trash from harming wildlife or ending up in our rivers and streams. 
• Stay on marked trails as leaving a marked trail can seriously harm the natural ecosystem.
• Ride your bike, whenever possible, to explore the area, instead of driving.
• Use natural sunscreen and insect repellants, especially if entering rivers, lakes or oceans, to keep the chemicals out of natural waterways.
• Don't strip branches off trees, or collect downed trees for firewood. When downed trees decompose, they release important nutrients into the soil.  Bring your own wood, if you're camping locally, or purchase from a reliable vendor, such as a state park.  Also, use a light-weight, portable camping stove to cook and you can decrease the amount of wood you use.
• If washing dishes, use non-toxic, biodegradable, phosphate-free soap and dump your dirty water in designated places; not near fresh water or in the bushes.

So what do you do to limit your impact on the environment while enjoying the outdoors?

Green Tips: Waste Reduction: Buy in Bulk #green

An easy way to reduce waste and save money is to buy in bulk.  You should save around 50% on the cost of goods, and you will significantly reduce the amount of packaging going to the landfills.  Even if you recycle, it still uses a lot of energy to take all the extra packaging to the recycling centers.  Some common items sold in bulk are cleaning products, baby products, paper products, canned products and pet products. 

If you are planning to purchase several cans of the same good, buying in bulk makes sense.  You can use what you need and store the rest in reusable containers.  “If every month each U.S. household substituted one large can for two smaller cans, the annual savings in steel could build an Eiffel Tower on each of the six other continents.” The Green Book – Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas M. Kostigen

One thing that I do is reuse cat litter buckets purchased at Petco instead of buying new 1 - 3 gallon plastic buckets each time we need more cat litter.  Not only does this prevent the bucket from heading to the landfill but we save a little over $1 on each refill. 

Do you buy in bulk?  What measures do you take to prevent packaging waste from going to our landfills?

Green Tips: Everyday Living: DIY Natural Household Cleaners

Unfortunately, many common household cleaners include toxic ingredients that can pollute the environment once they go down your drain. Cleaning in an all-natural way is easy and affordable.  Using ingredients such as baking soda, vinegar and tea tree oil, you can make low-cost cleaning solutions for windows, floors and disinfecting that are easy on the environment and your budget.



Here are a few suggestions:

• Use 1/4 cup white vinegar mixed with 1 gallon distilled water to clean hardwood floors.
• Mix 1/4 cup baking soda (or 2 teaspoons of Borax) with 1/2 cup white vinegar for an all-purpose cleaner.
• For mold, mix one part 3 percent hydrogen peroxide with two parts water in a spray bottle. Spray moldy areas and leave to dry for an hour and then rinse the areas off.

Do you make your own natural non-toxic cleaners?  Share your "recipes" with us.