The Committed Environmentalists Guide to Home Greening
1.Contact utilities.
Many have energy saving programs
The utilities in all Mid Atlantic states offer green energy (
2. Recycle everything you can:
From 1955-1995, the population increased 60% while garbage increased 179%. Each person generates 6 pounds of trash per day.
Use a recycling center if curbside recycling is not available
Some other examples of recycling:
Plastic bags can be recycled at grocery stores
Milk in returnable glass bottles that go back to the store
Rubber bands from mail can go back to the post office
Ink cartridges from laser printers can go back to the manufacturer
Ink cartridges from ink jet printers and lap top batteries are accepted at Staples for recycling
Packing peanuts can be taken to UPS stores, Parcel Plus and similar stores. To find a location near you:
With the exception of old electrical appliances, repair or refurbish instead of replacing whenever possible
3. Replace old appliances with energy efficient ones
Energy Star appliances can reduce utility bills as much as 30%.
Horizontal axis washers (front loaders) save ~$65 annually
New efficient refrigerators save ~$70-80 annually
SolCool (SolCool.net) sells an air conditioning system that runs on Direct current instead of alternating current, and it draws much less power than typical air conditioners.
Recycle old computers. Computers are more than just plastic, metal and glass. Inside every computer is a cocktail of toxic substances, starting with five to eight pounds of poisonous lead in the monitor's cathode ray tube (CRT) and the printed circuit boards. Computers also contain arsenic, cadmium and mercury.
Many nonprofit groups are delighted to receive old working computers and will give you a tax deduction. Start by calling local schools, churches and community groups.
IBM will accept any PC for recycling or reuse, regardless of maker. Cost to the consumer is $29.99, which buys a postpaid shipping label. Depending on the computer's age and capability, IBM will either recycle the components or will refurbish the system and donate it to Gifts in Kind International, which contributes products to a network of more than 50,000 nonprofit organizations worldwide.(888) SHOP-IBM. For the $29.99 recycling pickup, ask for part number 06P7513.
GreenDisk, a Redmond, Washington-based nonprofit, recycles up to 60 million computer discs a year. This year the company plans to partner with computer manufacturers and the U.S. Postal Service to pick up any old machines nationwide for $20 a unit.[(425) 883-9165]
4. Buy recycled products
Recycled paper uses 60% less energy than virgin paper. Each ton purchased saves 7,000 gallonsof water,24 trees and 11,000 kW-h of energy – the same amount of energy used by the average household in 10 months;one tree has the capacity to filter up to 60 lbs. of pollutants from the air.
Bathroom tissue, facial tissues, paper towels, napkins
If you must use disposable plates, cups, bowls – buy products made from recycled, biodegradable materials
Paper, file folders
Plastic bags, sponges
DID YOU KNOW?: Post-consumer content indicates how much of the product was made from stuff that we recycled. The rest of the recycled content comes from industrial recycling such as sawmill scraps. Remember: the higher the percentage, the better for the environment!
5. Choose alternatives for products made from oil or other mined minerals
Use insect and weed control products made from herbs and other plants
Use soap made from plants as opposed to detergents made from oil
Use low VOC paints and varnishes
Switch to non-toxic dry cleaning if available in your area
6. Green Roofs
A “green” (or “living”) roof is, in most cases, exactly what the name implies: plants growing on a building’s roof. Depending on the slope, strength, and size of your roof, you can have a roof covered with grass, flowers, or even shrubs. Besides looking pretty, green roofing offers numerous advantages:
Lower energy costs. Soil and plants add an extra layer of insulation to your home, keeping it cooler in summer and warmer in winter. This is particularly helpful in cities, where pavement and buildings reflect heat and raise air temperatures about 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
Environmental benefits. Rooftop vegetation provides food and shelter for insects, birds, and other wildlife, and plants’ natural mechanisms for filtering impurities help improve air and water quality. Green roofs can also play a small role in flood prevention by reducing storm runoff.
A longer-lasting roof. By providing a buffer against temperature extremes, wind, and heavy rain, soil and plants can help protect the underlying roof and extend its useful lifetime.
7. Solar Shingles
Photovoltaic (PV) shingles provide the same look, protection, and durability as asphalt shingles but have the added benefit of converting sunlight into electricity that can power your home (or specific appliances), reducing the need for electricity generated from fossil fuels and lowering your electricity costs.
PV shingles work best on south-facing roofs that are not shaded by trees for a significant portion of the day. To determine the best solar energy option for your home or find a professional installer, visit FindSolar(see the related links), a joint project of the U.S. Department of Energy and several professional organizations.
8. Consider Green design when building/buying your next home
Whole-building design takes into consideration the building structure and systems and examines how these systems work best together to save energy and reduce environmental impact. For example, a building that uses extensive day lighting techniques will reduce the amount of heat given off by lighting fixtures, thus allowing for a smaller air conditioning system. Benefits include:
Reduced energy use, by 50% or more
Lower maintenance and capital costs
Less environmental impact
Enhanced occupant comfort and health
9. Plant a tree
Areas with trees are 5-30 degrees cooler in the summer
A deciduous tree shading the house in summer reduces cooling costs
A tree or bush shading an exterior air conditioning unit reduces cooling costs
An evergreen wind break reduces heating costs in windy areas
If every American family planted just one tree, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere would be reduced by one billion lbs annually. This is almost 5% of the amount that human activity pumps into the atmosphere each year.
10.Use environmentally friendly furniture
Assists furniture makers in their quest to harvest wood in an environmentally responsible way
Sustainable materials maintain the supply chain, keeping products in production without depleting the natural material, and ensure that the area where wood is harvested won't be wiped clean of its natural resources.
Bamboo is fast-growing and robust, and is a popular alternative to hardwood. However, bamboo is not so green if it was planted at the expense of native forests, grown with pesticides, and sealed with formaldehyde.
11.Ditch the Mansion
Oversize houses generally require more energy to heat and cool than smaller ones, even with efficient appliances.
12. Choose a high-efficiency Toilet
If your toilet is from 1992 or earlier, you probably have an inefficient model that uses between 3.5 to 7 gallons per flush. New and improved high-efficiency models use less than 1.3 gallons per flush - that's 60 to 80 percent less than their less efficient counterparts. Over 10 years, one high-efficiency toilet can save a family of four roughly $1,000. If 1% of American homes replaced an older toilet with a high-efficiency toilet (HET), the country would save more than 38 million kWh of electricity—enough to supply more than 43,000 households electricity for one month.
WaterSense toilets and other plumbing fixtures are certified by the US EPA as being water efficient.
Flushmate offers an alternative technology. Toilets equipped with Flushmate use less than 1 gallon of water due to a pressure-assisted flushing technology. (
Low flow shower head saves ~$29 per year and 300 lbs CO2/year
Aerators for faucets saves ~$6 per year
Low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators can reduce your home water consumption as much as 50%, and reduce your energy cost of heating the water also by as much as 50%.
13. Erase your carbon footprint
First, use a “carbon footprint” calculator (gocarbonzero.com) to find out your individual annual carbon dioxide emissions (the average American is responsible for 10 to 24 tons).
Then, purchase carbon offsets to make up for your emissions.
Offsets are available from nonprofit groups and companies such as Native Energy nativeenergy.com), The Conservation Fund (gocarbonzero.com), Carbonfund.org, TerraPass (terrapass.com), Solar Electric Light Fund ( Sustainable Travel International, and Trees for the Future ( (
The money you spend purchasing the offsets is channeled to clean-energy projects such as wind, solar and methane capture, planting trees and other energy-saving initiatives.
14.FreeCycle
The Freecycle Network™was started to promote waste reduction in Tucson, Arizona's downtown and help save desert landscape from being taken over by landfills. The Network provides individuals and non-profits an electronic forum to "recycle" unwanted items. One person's trash can truly be another's treasure! Today, the The Freecycle Network™ is made up of many individual groups in most communities in the U.S. You can get rid of just about anything through the Freecycle Network – a great way to keep stuff out of our landfills. More information: