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Recycling Tips
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Those screen saving fish swimming across your monitor are wasting energy – to keep them alive, your monitor runs on full power. And since electricity comes from a fossil fuel-burning power plant, the longer they swim, the more carbon dioxide (CO2) is released into the air. And that causes global warming! So try sleep-mode: it uses barely any electricity. If everyone switched, we’d keep almost one billion pounds of CO2 out of the air each year.
Environmental Fact WebsitesCitizens' Environmental Coalition Earth 911 National Recycling Coalition Scorecard: The pollution information site
Other Ways to HelpTree4Life.com SaveOurEnvironment.org Environmental Defense Fund
For KidsEnvironmental Kids Club
Local Houston Environmental IssuesScorecard: The pollution information site - Look – and ask – for pesticide-free fabrics like organic cotton or hemp when you shop. Regular cotton, one of the most intensively sprayed crops, accounts for 25% of all insecticide use. These pesticides contaminate our soil and water, killing at least 72 million birds and 10,400 people in the U.S. every year.
- Plastic bags kill about one million birds and 100,000 sea mammals every year. When plastics aren’t recycled, they can end up in the ocean (about 90% of the trash floating there is plastic). Animals eat the bags and suffocate to death. So when you shop, bring along a big tote bag to put your items in, instead of having each store give you a plastic one.
- Plastic six-pack rings kill birds (and fish) because they can’t get out of the ring, and end up starving or suffocating. So from now on, cut open all six rings before you throw them away so that there are no full circles for the birds and fish to get stuck in.
- Washing clothes in hot water uses 15 times more energy than using cold. Each laundry load done in hot water releases 15 pounds of CO2 into the air. But using cold adds less than a pound. The average family does about 400 loads of laundry every year. If yours used cold water instead of hot, you’d use 95% less CO2. CO2 traps heat in the earth’s atmosphere, and that can cause droughts, floods, and hurricanes. So you can see why every bit of energy saving helps!
- Americans use about 2 billion disposable batteries a year – and instead of being recycled (like they should be!) most end up in landfills. Batteries contain toxic chemicals like cadmium, which leak into the soil and water, and can cause brain, lung, and kidney damage. Using a set of rechargeable batteries will help keep toxins out of landfills, and can save you up to $2,000 In the long run since you can reuse them hundreds of times.
- Americans use 90 million tons of paper a year. We'd never suggest you stop using paper, but why not give it a second life? Paper can be recycled many times to create new paper products like standard printing paper or paper towels. It also can be turned into new products, such as egg cartons or board games.
- Use CFLs – By replacing three frequently used light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, you will save 300 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $60 per year.
- Plant a tree - Trees suck up carbon dioxide and make clean air for us to breathe. Save 2,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide per year.
- 2.5 million individual plastic water bottles are thrown away every hour in the US. Start using a reusable water bottle and just say no to plastic!
- Check your car's air filter monthly. Save 800 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $130 per year.
- Run your dishwasher only with a full load. Save 100 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $40 per year.
- Move your heater thermostat down two degrees in winter and up two degrees in the summer. Save 2000 lbs of carbon dioxide and $98 per year.
- Install a low-flow showerhead. Using less water in the shower means less energy to heat the water. Save 350 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $150.
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