Green Office Tips

1. No more styrofoam!  Do you serve coffee at your office?  Eliminate styrofoam cups in favor of reusable cups for coffee or other beverages.
   
2. Are you an admin? Do you get the mail every day with that thick rubber band around it? Most of them get thrown away, but they can be recycled. Bag them! When the bag is full, put a "please recycle" note on the bag and place them right back in your mailbox. Your mail carrier will take them and reuse them.
3. If you have a laptop, unplug it until the battery starts draining. You'll save up more energy that way.
4. Turn off your monitor. It saves a whole lot more energy than simply using a screensaver. Did you know the EPA has estimated that using a computer’s “sleep mode” reduces its energy consumption by 60-70%, and, on a large scale, ultimately could save enough electricity each year to power Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, cut electric bills by $2 billion, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by the equivalent of five million cars? A screen saver that displays moving images causes your monitor to consume as much electricity as it does in active use. A blank screen saver is only slightly better because it reduces energy consumption by a small amount. The best screen saver is also the best energy saver. Turn off your monitor when you are not using it. The next best idea is to use your computer’s power management feature to automatically shut the monitor down when it is not in use. Despite the rumors, leaving your computer on overnight is in fact less efficient that shutting it down and booting it up the next day. Turning off your computer will decrease the amount of energy it uses, reducing its mechanical stress, and prolonging its life!
5. After you have brewed a pot of coffee, pour the coffee into a thermal carafe instead of leaving the coffeemaker on to keep the rest of the pot warm for hours. It’s a complete waste of energy to leave your coffee maker on for hours on end. Not having your coffee maker on will make it last a whole lot longer too!

Green Living Tips

1. If you're into green shopping and sustainability, you may want to bookmark a new Web site called Earthster.  The site is still under development but will become an open source database that will allow shoppers to find green products and evaluate them based on their entire life cycle.  In other words, it takes into account things like the energy needed to produce the products, the materials used, the transportation necessary, etc.  The site's founders are also behind Sylvatica, a life cycle institute that works with Fortune 500 companies.  Get more information at www.earthster.org.
   
2. Re-useable water bottles are a great choice, but make sure they are BPA-free.  Contigo makes BPA free water bottles that are also spill-proof. www.GoContigo.com.
   
3. A driveway car wash is estimated to use 80 - 140 gallons of water. These soapy suds are filled with brake dust, gasoline, detergents and other contaminants which pollute waterways. Consider switching to a waterless car wash products like eco touch, visit www.EcoTouch.net. Simply spray on the dirty car panel and wipe clean with two microfiber cloths. Intended for lightly-moderately soiled cars.
   
4. I am attempting to take my green living to a new level that I call my "green conscious" state. Being a victim of the big box shopping, buying toilet paper in the 120 rolls (seems like it anyway)has left me perplexed on what to do with the behemoth plastic wrapper.  I have started to line my trashcan with the wrapper.  At some point I hope that my area will start to recycle plastic wrap and then I will change my plan.  Until then, if I must throw something in the landfill, what can I do with it before it goes there?  Also, consider what alternative use can be made of that object you are considering throwing into the trash.  Start that small compost pile in your back yard.  Research and discover what you can do with some of the trash before it becomes trash. ~ Submitted by Fred Dean
   
5. Recycle VHS tapes
    
   To keep old VHS tapes out of landfills, drop them in the mail to Alternative Community Training, a nonprofit Missouri company that provides jobs to people with disabilities. Workers erase the tapes, reselling the old ones that are in good shape and recycling the plastic parts of the rest. They’ve recycled more than 1 million tapes so far. Mail the tapes (at the cheaper USPS media mail rate) to:
    
   ACT
   2200 Burlington
   Columbia, MO 65202
   

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