Why Conserve Rainwater?

Nature provides a free water source to keep the earth green and flourishing. Why not take advantage of it? By harvesting rainwater to use on your plants, you can save money and be able to keep your plants hydrated even during restrictions due to water shortages or droughts. It is an easy, excellent addition to a green lifestyle to conserve natural resources and protect the environment.

With the investment of a rain barrel, you can make use of rainwater after it has stopped falling. You can use a hose pipe to water landscapes, your garden, lawns, and trees. In many instances it is even better for your plants than potable water because it is naturally soft and doesn’t have added chemicals like chlorine, fluoride, or sodium. It can also be used to wash cars or pets, wash down patios and patio furniture, or as ‘grey water’ in your home to flush toilets and conserve gallons of potable water. With a specialized water treatment filtration system, you can even use rainwater for drinking.

All that you need to get started is a barrel, cistern, or even a bucket. Make sure that you use a fine screen on top to keep animals, children, and mosquitoes out. This is especially important to prevent West Nile virus exposure. If you add a little bit of soap or oil to the surface, it becomes unfavorable for mosquitoes to lay their eggs there. You also want to use the water frequently without letting it stand too long. Keeping the water aerated and moving can prevent bacteria from proliferating there.

The best way to collect rainwater is to put your collecting container under a down pipe. When rainwater is drained off the roof and collected in the gutters, it then drains down the down pipe and into the rainwater collector. There are kits available to build interlinking collectors so that a greater quantity of water can be harvested. There are all different sized rain barrels available, but the most popular hold between 50 and 80 gallons of rainwater. You can easily just use a sturdy trash barrel or plastic 55-gallon barrel available from food processors or importers.

In many drier areas, rain barrels have become an integral part of water conservation efforts. But you don’t have to live in a drier climate to make good use of rainwater conservation. Outdoor watering can account for as much as 40% of home water use. Rain harvesting is an easy way to cut down your home water usage significantly and still have a flourishing outdoor environment.

Another great benefit of rainwater collection systems is that they can reduce the volume of storm water during heavy rainfall, prevent flooding, lessen erosion, and decrease overloaded storm sewers. Because it reduces the demand for groundwater supplies, rainwater collection allows these sources, such as reservoirs, to replenish. This is very important during dry seasons or in areas with high water demand.

Rainwater harvesting has multiple benefits. Making use of nature’s free water supply reduces utility costs, eases up demand on water supplies, and prevents flooding and erosion by reducing storm water runoff. Why conserve rainwater? If living a green lifestyle is your goal, there is no reason not to.

Reduce Waste at Home-Getting Started

We all want to do our part to ensure a better environment, one that will be clean and green for generations to come. But it’s hard to get motivated when you think how big the world is we’re trying to save. What can one person possibly do to make a difference? The answer is plenty. Consider that by recycling one glass bottle, the energy you’ve redeemed is the equivalent of what it would take to power a light bulb (100 watts) for four hours. By recycling a pound of steel, enough energy is saved to power a light bulb (60 watts) for an entire day.

Multiple that one bottle or one pound by all that you can recycle in one year, and you can see what a difference one family can make. It is well worth the effort to reduce waste at home, and can quickly add up to a significant impact on saving energy. It takes some planning and effort, but isn’t at all hard to get started. Here are some ideas for you to incorporate into your daily routine:

1. Recycle – This is becoming a way of life for most American families. Keep some labeled bins in your garage to keep recyclable materials in until there’s enough to take to the curb for collection or to a local recycling center. Most communities have recycling programs for plastics, aluminum and metals, glass, newspaper, and even junk mail.

2. Get Involved – If there aren’t any local facilities for recycling in your community, join with others to try to get one started. There are government incentives available for green communities, and it can benefit everyone.

3. Reuse – Take the word disposable out of your shopping vocabulary. Only purchase items that can be reused. Use durable plates, flatware and cups instead of paper and plastic, and use cloth napkins. They’ll provide a nice touch to your table setting.

4. Get Creative – When items in your home become worn or unusable, think outside the box for a way to give them a new ‘life’ before throwing them away. For example, use old clothing for rags, craft scraps, or quilting squares. Old jeans can be made into handbags. If furniture is worn out, consider reupholstering for a brand new look. It will save a tremendous amount of manufacturing and transporting energy over buying new.

5. Give it Away – Some items that your family can no longer use, such as clothing that has been outgrown, might still have a lot of use for someone else. Be generous with gently used items. You probably have friends or family that can use them. If not, you can donate items to charity, thrift stores, or consignment shops.

6. Look for Used Items – Consider being on the receiving end of gently used items before buying new. You’d be surprised what you can find at thrift and consignment stores, flea markets, or garage sales. They are still new to you and can give your family lots of use at a low cost.

This is just a small sample of all the eco-friendly things you can do at home to make an impact for the whole planet. Any one person can make a big difference. Why not start today?

Recycling Basics to Get You Started

Resolving global warming might be out of reach for the average energy consumer. But there are things that anyone can do to make a difference to make a positive impact on the world around them. Recycling is a great thing that anyone can start to do for the planet. It saves a tremendous amount of energy and cuts back on non-biodegradable waste. Collectively, if we all did our part to recycle and reduce our home waste output, we could be ensuring a cleaner and greener earth for generations to come. It’s easy to get started and can soon be part of your home routine.

In order to find out what items are recyclable, examine the container for the recycle seal. The seal is a triangular sign with the letter R and a number that stands for the type of material which can help you know where to recycle. Make sure your recyclable items are rinsed out and clean. You can keep them in labeled bins so that they are already sorted and ready to go.

Many communities have recycling services. Because of government incentives and grant money available to green communities with effective recycling programs, there aren’t many communities that don’t have something available. In some areas, particularly large cities, recycling is mandatory, and to not participate could result in a fine. Some towns have a service that picks items up curbside. Other communities have facilities where you can drop items off. If there is nothing currently available where you live, consider getting together with neighbors or friends to see what you can do to get one started.

Here are some of the items that are recyclable in most communities:

• Plastics – check plastic containers to make sure they are recyclable. Make every effort to recycle plastic, as it will never break down in a landfill, and can be re-made into many diverse and useful items.
• Glass – most facilities require glass separated by color: clear, green, and brown. Make sure to recycle light bulbs, mirrors, and sheet glass separately.
• Aluminum Cans – some areas even reimburse recyclers for aluminum cans.
• Paper – keep newspaper separate, as it can go back into recycled newsprint. For other paper, remove all rubber bands and plastic wrap.
• Cardboard – this includes corrugated cardboard baled together and tied, and plastic lined drink cartons.

Other materials that may be recyclable but have to be taken to specially approved facilities include motor oil, batteries, metals, and paint. Some major chain office supply stores will take used rechargeable batteries or cell phones free of charge.

So many things that we use can be recycled. This allows materials to be reused to make something else that is needed, after it is specially cleaned and melted down. Items made from recycled items are called post consumer recycled content. You can purchase door mats made from old flip flops, paper products from old newspaper, or even a toothbrush from post consumer recycled content.

There is no limit to what can be made from materials that would otherwise be filling our landfills without decomposing. Recycling helps to save natural resources and contributes to a cleaner and greener environment. Besides creating jobs and saving waste and energy, it also saves money.

Green Composting Ideas for Your Home

Would you like to cut down on the amount of garbage your household generates and make your garden more hearty and flourishing at the same time? Composting your home’s organic waste is the perfect way to do both of these things. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 23% of all waste that ends up in landfills is yard waste or organic food waste that can be used instead to make compost. Compost is simply the decomposition of once living materials into humus, which is an excellent, nutrient filled addition to enrich garden or houseplant soil. It’s easy to do and well worth the effort.
As our planet is running out of landfill space and people everywhere are looking for ways to live green and reduce waste, composting is becoming more and more popular. However, there is nothing new about it. It happens in nature all the time. Rotting leaves are broken down and return to the soil where the nutrients are used to enrich roots and create new life.
Creating a compost pile in your home is a useful way to reuse leftover food scraps, especially fruits and vegetables. It cuts down on the amount of garbage your home generates, which is good for the environment. It also saves money you would normally spend on fertilizer. Plus, it can effectively boost and enrich your garden in a completely natural way with no harsh or dangerous chemicals.
The benefits of composting don’t stop with a fruitful, chemical free home garden. Compost has the natural ability to control pests and plant diseases and pests. On a larger scale, composting can be used as a low-cost way to capture and eliminate most of the industrial volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) in polluted air. It can even assist wetlands restoration, reforestation, and habitat revitalization efforts by mitigating contaminated soil.
To get started creating your own compost pile in your yard, you can build a bin from untreated wood. It only needs to be three feet by three feet and won’t take up much space. You want to balance brown materials like leaves or hay with green materials like grass or vegetable tops by alternating these two material types in layers. Soil or booster can be added to facilitate the decomposition process, but isn’t necessary. It is important to turn the pile multiple times each week so that oxygen can flow and boost the rate of decomposition.

If you don’t have enough space in your yard or don’t have the motivation to build a compost bin, you can do it right in your home. You can get bins designed just for your kitchen that don’t take up much space and help to accelerate the decomposition process while keeping any unpleasant odor from permeating your home. You can keep your kitchen scraps there until you are able to empty the bin onto your compost pile.

As landfill space diminishes and we all look for ways to reduce waste and practice sustainable living to help the environment and save household costs, composting may soon become as common as recycling. Waste can be converted to a valuable resource for a healthy, hearty garden. Why not look into starting your own compost pile or bin?

Five Important Reasons to Recycle Plastic Bottles

Plastic has made our lives very convenient, giving easy portability to our favorite beverages. Plastic bottles are lighter than glass, easier to pack for traveling, and virtually unbreakable. We don’t have to give up our plastic bottles to make a difference for the environment. The plastic used for most plastic bottles happens to be a recyclable material. With just a little effort, anyone can recycle all of their plastic bottles and make a tremendous impact for a cleaner and greener earth.

There are five main areas that stand to benefit with widespread recycling of plastic bottles. It can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conserve oil, provide the means to reuse the material for a new purpose, conserve energy, and save landfill space.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The manufacturing process for new items requires a great amount of energy and emits pollution by releasing greenhouse gases into the environment. When items are recycled to make new ones, much less processing is required. There is an output of needed product with a great deal less pollution.

Oil Conservation

One of the greatest factors driving our economy is the price of a barrel of oil. It affects the price of other staples, including gas and food. Not many people realize that recycling plastic bottles saves oil. Consider that for every ton of recycled bottles, close to four oil barrels are saved.

Reuse Benefits

You might be amazed at what could become of that plastic bottle after it’s been recycled. They are broken down and used to make a variety of useful new items. Chances are there are items in your home that are partly made from post consumer recycled content. Used plastic bottles could be living on in carpeting, deck materials, or even a fashionable jacket. New products are produced with recycled materials without added costs or pollution.

Energy Conservation

Those plastic bottles that hold water and most soft drinks contain Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET). PET is a virtual storehouse of energy. By recycling only one pound of PET, you’ve redeemed up to 12,000 BTU’s of energy. Add that to the fact that it only takes a third of the energy to manufacture products from recycled content compared to new, and the energy savings is tremendous.

Landfill Preservation

Landfill space is unfortunately at a premium. There just isn’t enough room to put all of our garbage output. Any effort to reduce the amount of trash taking up space on our earth is well worth it. Plastic bottles are not biodegradable, and could continue to take up space in a landfill long after your children and grandchildren are gone. Think of the waste that could be eliminated and landfill space saved if everyone recycled their plastic bottles. For every ton of plastic recycled, close to 7.5 cubic yards of landfill space is freed up.

When you consider these areas that stand to benefit by recycling plastic and how imperative they are to the sustainability of our planet and a clean environment, there is no excuse not to recycle. There are programs in almost every community and local collection centers to make it easy. Start today to save those bottles and recycle them for a better tomorrow.

Easy Green Living: Tree Free Your Home

Making you home tree free has nothing to do with the number of trees on your property. It actually has to do with your indoor environment and how much paper waste your home generates.

Although disposable paper products might simplify our lives, they contribute to a vast amount of home waste that our planet doesn’t need. They also use up a valuable commodity in our world: trees! Did you know that in the United States, each person uses more than 580 pounds of paper each year? By reusing non-disposable items instead of paper, and taking some of the following suggestions, we’d all be doing our part have a clean, green, sustainable earth for generations to come.

Napkins and Paper Towels

In the United States alone, 3,000 tons of paper towels are sent to landfills each day. By using cloth products such as tea towels or cloth napkins and washing them and reusing them, just think of all the waste that you can save. It is estimated that this one little eco-friendly habit can also save families more than $100 annually.

Paper Plates

No one likes to do the dishes, but paper plates do nothing to help a home become tree free. Washing and reusing durable dishes can save a lot of paper. Can the inconvenience of running the dishwasher a few more times compare to the inconvenience of a polluted earth with no more available landfill space?

Newspapers

Every Sunday in the United States, about 500,000 trees are wasted in newspapers that are not recycled. It doesn’t take that much effort to recycle newspapers, and is worth the time. Most recycling centers will take them baled and tied, and they can be recycled to make new newsprint. Better yet, consider reading your newspaper online and there is no waste and nothing to recycle.

Junk Mail

Each year, the average household receives the equivalent of one and half trees in junk mail. Though it might be annoying, there are a few things you can do about unsolicited junk mail. You can sort through and recycle what isn’t glossy or plastic lined. Though it takes time and effort, call, write or email companies or agencies you receive junk mail from and request to be removed from the mailing list.

Toilet Paper

Granted, there thankfully aren’t any reusable substitutes for toilet paper. But an environmentally friendly option is to buy post consumer recycled content for all of your necessary paper items. Read labels to try to find the highest recycled content possible, and make sure the items are bleach free.

Writing Paper

Besides buying recycled content writing and printer paper, you can also recycle paper you have in your home. Print on both sides. Use the back of used papers for scrap to write notes or take messages. Consider putting up a dry erase message board in your kitchen that you can reuse to take messages and you will automatically be saving paper waste.

It might take some effort to make your home tree free, but it is well worth it. Any of these ideas can help your family to have a green home and free up landfill space. Keep the trees out of your home so that they continue to sustain and beautify the environment.

Basic Reuse Ideas to Green Up Your Life

Reusing items is one of the easiest things that anyone can do to live a green lifestyle at home. Most of us do it without even thinking about it. We save Christmas gift boxes to reuse next Christmas, we reuse coffee cans as a container for nails, cardboard paper towel holders and egg cartons for children’s craft products, plastic containers to hold leftovers… the possibilities go on and on. Even those leftovers are one night’s dinner reused as another meal or snack. When you find a new use for something that would otherwise be thrown out or redevelop it to be used again, you save waste and conserve energy.

Reuse might seem like a trivial idea, but it can make a huge difference. Landfill space is quickly running out. Our planet doesn’t need any more trash. Anything that we can keep out of landfills is beneficial to the environment. Reusing items rather than buying new also saves natural resources and energy.

Here are some methods of reuse that anyone can take advantage of to help the environment:

Recycling for Money

Some areas actually allow you to put down a deposit on plastic or glass containers, which is refunded when the container is returned. There are also places where you can turn in aluminum cans for a small reimbursement without any deposit required. This can be a great activity for kids to get involved in. If there are children in your home and a program like this is available, encourage them to collect as much as they can to make a little of their own spending money. It’s a great way to teach them about earning money and also helping the environment.

Regiving

Regiving is a form of reuse that you’ve probably been doing for years. It’s been around for a long time and is now considered green living. If clutter has built up in your home, try to identify items that aren’t being used but can still have use for someone else. Chances are there are items that you own and no longer want or need that can be a blessing to someone. If you don’t have any friends or family members that can use them, there are charities and thrift stores that take donations.

Conversely, when you need an item, try to find a reused product before buying new. Check out a website like freecycle.com, where people grouped by location can list items they no longer need, so that all takers have to do is reply and arrange to pick them up. Sites such as Craigslist.com have local listings of resale items that are usually great bargains. Or if you love bargain hunting, make a hobby out of local yard sale or consignment shop prospecting.

Remanufacturing

Many items can be remanufactured or refurbished for resale and are just as good as new. Consider buying remanufactured items such as cell phones, disposable cameras, or toner to save money and reduce environmental waste.

Reusing is a great way to help the environment. Not only do you keep waste out of landfills and save energy and resources from the manufacturing of new products, but you will be living green and saving green too.

Buy In Bulk – Reduce Waste

For large families, buying in bulk makes a lot of sense. It saves costs and trips to the grocery store. But did you know that it’s good for everyone, as well as the environment? Consider that in the U.S. a third of our garbage is made of up of just product packaging. Most things that we buy are over processed and over packaged to get our attention. Start paying attention to items and brands that have less packaging and spend your money wisely. It can save you money, reduce costs, and reduce your household trash output significantly, contributing to a greener planet.

The first thing you need to do is change your mindset when you go to the store. We’ve been programmed by an aggressive marketing industry to pay for convenience. Single serve packaging is convenient, right? Carry it, use it, throw it away. But what is the true cost of this convenience? Our landfills are quickly running out of space, and someday soon we might be completely out. Decide that you will no longer pay for convenience if it means increased packaging. When you do buy packaged products, look for materials that can be used again or recycled. And when at all possible, buy in bulk.

Buying in bulk just means buying multiple items in one package. Warehouse stores are known for selling items in bulk for economical shopping. Even if you don’t have a big family, here are the three main reasons why it makes sense for everyone:

1. Cost Savings: When many items are packaged together, the manufacturer doesn’t have to spend as much to process and package them, and the savings is almost always passed on to the consumer. Bring a calculator with you to the grocery store and compare bulk item per unit costs to single item costs. You might be surprised how big the difference can be.

2. Waste Savings: Simply put, less packaging means reduced waste. Think of everything that is needed to ship an item from factory to distribution center to store and keep it fresh – foil liners, cardboard, boxes, plastics. It all adds up to major garbage output. When you buy bulk items, there is usually less to throw away.

3. Time and Space Savings: Let’s face it. We all want to recycle, but it takes time and effort to get all of those materials cleaned sorted, and dropped off. Buying in bulk not only cuts down on disposable waste, but also the amount of items you have to recycle. Your recycle bins won’t fill up as fast, and you will have more space in your garage or your home. Another great time savings from buying in bulk is that you don’t have to go to the grocery store as often for non-perishable items. Less trips to the store means less transportation costs and pollution, and more free time.

If you ever thought buying in bulk was just for large families and businesses, you might need to think again. It can help your family to live a green lifestyle and save money, waste, time, and space.

Water Conservation Tips for Your Home

When you turn on the faucet at home, chances are water will come pouring out. It’s something that most of us take for granted, that there will always be clean, potable water ready for use. However, increasing population demands on water supply and rain shortages leading to drought situations can trigger water use restrictions. Taking steps to conserve the precious natural resource of water is a smart aspect of green living and can save money on your city water bill or give wells a chance to replenish groundwater supplies.

Taking steps to conserve water at home today can help ensure that we will have a viable supply for generations to come. There are many small, simple ways to save water at home. Here are a few eco-friendly, money saving tips:

Don’t Let Water Run

So many people let water run when washing dishes or brushing teeth. Just by shutting the faucet off and turning it on only when needed for rinsing, you can make an impact toward conserving water over time.

Fix All Leaks

Leaky pipes or dripping faucets mean money lost and water wasted. Examine plumbing for leaks or drips and fix them immediately. Even if a plumbing professional is needed, it will be worth the cost because you will be automatically conserving water and reducing your water bill.

Use the Dishwasher

This is good news for anyone who dreads doing dishes by hand. If you use an Energy Star rated, efficient dishwasher, you actually will use less water than if you hand washed all your dishes. If your washer isn’t energy efficient, consider investing in one when your dishwasher needs to be replaced. Any extra cost will be paid back in lower utility bills. Never run the dishwasher unless it is fully loaded in order to avoid wasting water. If you do wash dishes by hand, adjust the water stream so that it is not on full blast.

Get an Energy Efficient Washer

Clothes washers that are energy efficient also conserve much more water than traditional washers, saving up to 40%. Like with your dishwasher, never run the clothes washer with a partial load if you want to conserve water. Also, avoid the permanent press cycle, as it uses an additional five gallons of water for the extra rinse.

Install Low Flow Plumbing

Low flow shower heads or toilets are an instant investment for water conservation. They help to cut down how much water your family uses every time someone takes a shower or flushes the toilet. Low flow shower heads can cut your home’s water consumption by 30 percent and still provide sufficient pressure. If your toilet is less than 12 years old, it is probably already efficient, as the National Energy Policy Act of 1995 required new toilets to use 1.6 gallons of water or less for each flush. However, if your toilet is older, it could be using as many as seven gallons per flush.

Conserving water around the house isn’t difficult. It takes some effort, and the greatest savings in water usage and money requires an investment in energy efficient appliances or plumbing. However, any effort is well worth it to keep your water supply flowing and make your home environmentally friendly.

Tips to Help You Reduce Household Waste

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, most American families throw away about 29 pounds of garbage per week, per family member. That comes out to 1,600 pounds per person each year. Landfill space is at a premium, and at the rate we’re going we’ll soon have nowhere else to put all of our waste. You might be surprised at all of the little things you can do to keep your garbage output lower. Less waste means a cleaner environment, and cost savings for your family as well.

- Recycle. Never throw recyclable materials away. Just about every community has a recycling program or facility. Recyclable materials include plastics, glass, cardboard, aluminum, and newspaper. If your community doesn’t have a recycling program, why not see what you can do to start one? There are government grants and incentives available for communities that want to go green.

- Reuse. There are plenty of new uses for things that would otherwise be thrown away. For example, save those plastic grocery bags and use them to line trash baskets. Use glass jars and plastic containers to hold leftovers. Old clothing can be made into rags. Plastic bread bags can be used to hold a packed lunch. The list is endless with a little bit of creativity.

- Say no to disposables. Though they might be convenient, disposable items contribute an amazing amount of trash to our landfills. Wash and reuse plates, cups and flatware instead of buying disposable. Use cloth napkins instead of paper.

- Buy minimally packaged products. Did you know that around 30% of all of our trash is just from product packaging? It’s impossible to avoid packaging altogether, but look for packaging materials that can be reused or recycled. The easiest materials to recycle are paper, aluminum, tin, and some plastics. Look for the recyclable seal on all packages.

- Buy in bulk. This goes hand in hand with looking for minimally packaged products. The more products in one package, the less packaging wasted. Besides that, you’ll end up saving money on your grocery bill too.

- Fix it, don’t throw it. Don’t throw something away that doesn’t work if it can be fixed. Repairing an item, even if you have to bring it to an expert, might be less expensive than buying a new one. Consider bringing ripped clothes or clothes that need to be hemmed to a tailor. Bring electronics that don’t work to your local electronic store and ask for a repair estimate.

- Give it away. Consider giving gently used items you don’t want or need anymore to friends or family members who can use them. If you don’t know anyone, charities, thrift stores and consignment shops all take gently used donations. You can even ask for a receipt so that you can put it towards a charitable donation tax deduction.

There’s so much at stake if we don’t find eco-friendly ways to manage our waste. We are all citizens of this planet and have a vested interest in keeping it clean and green. Helping to free up landfill space can be achieved one family, one consumer, and one decision at a time. Start to make your household greener with some of these tips today.