we have a lot of room for improvement at our house but I’d like to think that we're doing ok in the green department….we’re getting better at the “reduce” part and we have always “reuse”d and “recycle”d (started in college). although I wish that our local recycler, KaMaR, would accept more types of recycling. we are able to recycle glass, aluminum, newspapers, magazines and catalogues but only certain types of plastics. (rule of thumb: if it has a screw cap it is probably the type of plastic KaMaR can accept in their recycling) we also have been using natural and/or environmentally friendly cleaning and laundry products for several years. a couple of years ago, I started using organic cotton tampons and that was around the same time we started using recycled paper products such as toilet paper, paper towel, napkins and kleenex. softness/quality can be an issue, so read user’s reviews online for these types of products! We also replaced all the light bulbs IN the house with compact fluorescents (another item that can vary – so many shades of white?!) and of course, we use reusable bags when we buy groceries. and my favourite reusable bag is.... (although not everyone gets the humour)
one day we will start composting and i am just waiting til we can replace our 30 year old deep freezer… yeah, like that’s not an energy hog!!! hmmm…. and maybe this summer we can put out a rain barrel.
ps. happy b-earth day, guy!
how to be green at work:
- can you carpool, walk or bike to work?
- recycle
- use environmentally friendly cleaning supplies
- turn off your computer monitor, printers, copy machines and the lights when they are not being used
- buy recycled content, remanufactured, and recyclable office products
- use spell check and proofread BEFORE you print or copy
- add reminder "Think before you print! Consider the environment. Réfléchissez avant d'imprimer! Pensons à l'environnement." to your signature for outgoing emails
- print double sided whenever possible
- buy reusable supplies vs. disposable
- reuse office supplies (such as binders)
