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Tips for Green Living

Living Green involves the Four Rs:  Reduce - Reuse - Recycle - RebuyListed below are tips to help apply the Four Rs to everyday life.

  1. Leave your grass clippings on the lawn.
  2. Compost food scraps, leaves, and other organic materials.
  3. On hot days, water your lawn in the early morning or in the evening.
  4. For those of you who are tired of getting catalogs in the mail, there is a new web-based service that lets you get off the mailing lists. This is http://www.catalogchoice.org (NOT cataloguechoice.org). It is a project from the Ecology Center and is endorsed by the National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Overbrook Foundation and Merck Family Fund.  The idea is to save trees and energy etc. This was featured on National Public Radio recently.
  5. Remove your name from Direct Mail marketers’ lists for five years by registering with the Mail Preference Service of the direct Marketing Association.
    Visit
    www.the-dma.org/consumers/offmailinglist.html.
  6. Use cloth napkins instead of paper.
  7. Use sponges instead of paper towels.
  8. Store food in reusable containers.
  9. Reuse plastic sandwich bags and aluminum foil.
  10. Turn off lights and your TV when not in use.
  11. Replace incandescent lights with energy-saving fluorescent bulbs.
  12. Buy energy efficient appliances.
  13. Clean the dryer’s lint trap after every load.
  14. Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth.
  15. Keep your car tuned up and your tires properly inflated.
  16. Ride DART, ride a bike, or walk.
  17. Take short showers.
  18. Go to the library to read magazines, newspapers, or books rather than buying them.
  19. Pack your own lunch and use a reusable lunch box or bag.
  20. Look into alternative energy sources. Check out http://www.infinitepower.org/index.html.
  21. Recycle at home, at work, and out and about!
  22. Check out Plano’s Material Exchange Web site – where you can list items you want to get rid of, but don’t want to throw away.  After providing information on what you want to give away, seekers can arrange to take and use the items that would otherwise be going into our landfill.  Look it up at http://www.plano.gov/planomatex/public_Default.aspx
  23. Buy a hybrid vehicle.  Check out http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/hybrid_sbs.shtml
  24. Switch to pollution-free electricity.  Visit www.powertochoose.com for more information.

For more tips, visit Green Living Ideas

Click here for Tips for Shopping Green!

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