Green Tips
Re-think, Re-Duce, Re-Use, Re-Cycle:
IN THE KITCHEN
Reuse Glass Jars:
- Baby Food Jars:
- Store paint
- Organize your tools box
- screws
- bolts
- nuts
- nails
- Jelly, Sauce, and other Large Jars:
- Canning preservatives
- Drinking glass
- You can even use it as a to-go glass if you keep the lid
- Store leftovers
Compost
If you have a small yard, purchase a composter that spins (for mixing the compost). Otherwise, dig a large hole in your back yard or field for the compost.
- Keep a bowl with a lid handy for produce scraps that can easily be added to the compost pile on a daily basis.
- To start a new compost pile, add a little soil and some grass clippings.
- Add the compost to your flower beds when it's ready. You will know that it is ready when you have nice black, rich soil.
- Each time you empty the compost bin, keep a little compost as a starter mix for the next batch.
Use Re-Usable Dishes and Flatware
I always question why people think it's "more convenient" to use disposable dishes and flatware. If you have to pay over and over for them and run to the store everytime you need them, how can that be more convenient than reaching into your cupboard for those nice re-usable dishes that you already have?
- By using re-usable dishes and flatware, you not only keep these items from going into the landfill, you also reduce the amount of water used to manufacture them (it takes about 5 gallons of water to produce one paper plate!), as well as the air pollution as a result of the factory output and the trucks used to haul them.
- Take containers with you to restaurants for leftovers, rather than using a to-go container.
Say NO to Styrofoam!
- Styrofoam (also known as polystyrene) never biodegrades and is harmful to wildlife. When polystyrene breaks down, it breaks into small pieces. Birds and fish ingest it, mistaking them for eggs and insects. Unfortunately, they cannot digest it; it builds up in their stomachs, eventually killing them.
- Never add hot food to a polystyrene container or re-heat food in a polystyrene container. The toxins in the plastic leach into food.