Eco Green Tips

This is an interesting video of a few easy tips to incorporate in your daily life that will help you save the planet and your wallet…

Bathrooms are one of the few places in your home, which may cause green havoc (not only in terms of waste but also in your wallet). However, not everyone can afford to buy a brand new eco-friendly toilet and such, especially in this economical climate. Thus, below you will find a few easy steps you can take to prevent waste and make your loo a much greener space.

1   Stop the run-make using a sink stopper a habit. Pour some water in the sink to wash your face and hands, turn the faucet off while brushing teeth and use a cup instead to rinse. And make sure that your sink stopper does not leak as it will lead to water waste. These few steps can save up to a gallon of water a minute!

2.   Change your shower experience-showers waste gallons of water unnecessarily. You can avoid the waste by simply taking shorter showers and turning the water off while lathering. If you want to do more, you can install a timer and replace your shower head with a Water-Sense or energy efficient one, which may save up to 3 gallons of water a minute! Take it even farther by keeping a bucket close by to catch the so-called gray water (water running while you’re waiting for it to warm up) to water the garden or lawn.

3.   Flush wisely-toilets consume 30% of all household water usage, which means that 44 000 gallons of good quality water is flushed away per house each year. A single flush in a conventional toilet uses anywhere from 3.5 to 7 gallons of water and replacing the unit with a high-efficiency or Water-Sense labeled one (which use on average only 1.3 gallons or less) is your best bet. However, if you cannot afford a brand new toilet, install an inexpensive toilet dam (available in most hardware stores) or put a filled water or soda bottle in a cistern to reduce the amount of water used in each flush. And last but not least, check for silent leaks, which can waste up to 200 gallons a day, by adding a few drops of food coloring to the tank. If the colored water finds its way into the toilet bowl after 15 minutes, it’s time to call the plumber.

4.   Change to a better toilet paper-most people are accustomed to using the two-ply paper, which has become more of a luxury than people realize. According to the data provided by the National Geographic “every ton of paper recycled saves 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, 4,000 kilowatts of electricity, 3 cubic yards of landfill and 7,000 gallons of water” but the nice, soft toilet paper is made from either plantation-grown or native forest trees and only 2% of the available toilet paper is made from recycled paper. Switch to the greener variety that is recycled (if possible 100% recycled), chlorine-free and unbleached.

5.   Fan it-using the bathroom fan is important to avoid mold and other harmful pollutants but fans are still responsible for adding to the negative carbon footprint. Make sure that your fan is not connected to the light switch, which will ensure it will be turned on only for the exhaust purposes and not ever time you turn the light on. Moreover, install energy-saving and thermostatically controlled fan, which turns on when the temperature in the bathroom rises. And don’t forget to clean the filter once a month to make sure the fan runs efficiently.

This is an interesting video discussion an easy way to transform your roof into a green living roof, which not only can save you money on electric bills but also help the planet breathe easier and provide an oasis for wild life.

photo credit: shlomp-a-plompa

While it’s true that recycling plastic is an enormous weight off the planet’s shoulders, there is still plenty of other types of plastic that simply cannot be recycled and too often end up in landfills adding to the pollution. Recently a new technology that can convert plastic back to synthetic oil has become available and it brings a fair amount of hope for the future.

A company named Solid Waste Transfer Station in Derwood, Maryland can now transfer plastic back into synthetic oil for less than $30.00 per ton (compared to other similar methods costing nearly $200.00 per ton). Similarly to crude oil, synthetic one can be used for both commercial fuels and production of various types of plastic.

The process entails converting all that plastic waste into oil in a generator by thermal cracking it in low temperature, which allows to remove the hydrocarbons (that any petroleum-based plastic contains) without using some kind of a catalyst. What is really promising is the fact that over 60% of plastic that goes into the generator is converted back into the synthetic oil.

The only hope that remains is the fact that mainstream manufactures will appreciate the possibilities this new technology offers and sooner rather than later, companies will begin using the this synthetic oil for both fuel (all these vehicles on the roads) and plastic production. Surely, it is a far better way than burning or throwing non-recyclable plastic away…

Even though the CFLs are a great eco-friendly substitute for the conventional bulbs and the benefits outweigh the slight mercury content, some people still worry about exposure. And because the bulbs do contain mercury (5 milligrams comparing to old home thermostats or fever thermometers, which contain up to 3000 milligrams of mercury), they need to be disposed of properly. So the question is: how do you recycle used CFLs?

In some states throwing them in the regular thrash bin is simply illegal (and why would anyone do that?!) so the simplest solution is taking your CFLs to the hazardous waste collection site in your town. The locations of such sites can be found by calling the town hall, public works department or waste management. In some places items can be dropped off any time while in others there are established times and days for such deliveries.

However, if such service is not available in your town, the next best thing is to Sylvania’s RYCYCLEPAK program, available through their website, where you can order a consumer kit (total cost $15, including shipping and handling). This kit allows you to send up to 12 used CFLs back to the manufacturer, where they will be responsibly recycled.

And in rare cases of cleaning up the broken bulbs, remember not to pick up the pieces with bare hands. It’s best to pick them with a paper towel or gloved hands, put them in a bag and take to the hazardous waste site. And don’t forget to ventilate your house to make sure that any mercury residue or vapors will be gone.

 
photo credit: Dano