Supernatural Botanicals

We all know the 411 when it comes to recycling, and that’s simply to DO IT.  We know better than to make excuses.  We should also know it’s simply a way of life for us now.  It’s should be a way of life for your children, too.

So lets take it a step further and precycle.  What is precycling?  It’s Proactive meets Recycling.    Here are 10 ways to proactively recycle.

_____________________________________________________________

1. Bring reusable bags to the store with you. Cloth or paper will do!

2. Buy Large Quantities. If you buy products in bulk or in large sizes and quantities, you can put them in smaller containers as you need them and this uses less containers.

3. Buy products with the least amount of packaging or none at all. Items packed in multiple containers may look nice, but they are a waste!

4. Buy products packed in recycled packaging. If you have to use a container, it might as well be green. Additionally, you help support green corporations. (Important: make sure you look for the recycled symbol)

5. Don’t buy disposable items (plates cups, pens, diapers, batteries, etc.) They only fill the landfill more.

6. Buy less paper towels and napkins or none at all. Use cloth ones!

7. Buy long life and concentrated items (batteries, bulks , etc.) This saves on packaging as well as product.

8. Don’t purchase styrofoam. It contains polystyrene, which is the most difficult material to break down in our landfill and is considered a hazardous waste.

9. Buy items in cardboard. aluminum, steel, glass, and plastic containers marked 1 and 2 ( They are stamped on the bottom 1 and 2). These containers can be recycled more easily.

10. Read labels for ingredients. Stay away from chemicals that harm our plant and animal life and poison our land.

Did you know that 84% of all household waste can be recycled?  Recycling is one of the easiest ways to go Green, yet makes a monumental impact to the environment.  At a bare minimum, everyone should be recycling.  Take care of the waste you create.  Be eco-responsible.

Plastic bags are not biodegradable. Even if they say they are, they do not decompose fully. Also the ink is made up of cadmium, and is highly toxic when it is released. Whereas paper bags are reusable and biodegradable. If your purchase is small don’t take any bag, this alone could save hundreds of millions of bags. Bring a cloth bag when you shop, or use string bags.

Daryl Hanna: www.DHLoveLife.com

Alicia Silverstone: www.TheKindLife.com

Adrian Grenier: www.Shft.com

Gwyneth Paltrow: www.Goop.com

Leonardo DiCaprio: http://www.leonardodicaprio.org/

According to the American Humane Association, more American households have pets than have children, and we spend more money on pet food than on baby food.                                                                                                    

• It takes 90% less energy to recycle aluminum cans than to make new ones.
• The garbage in a landfill stays for a for about 30 years. In 1995 over 200 of the world’s landfills were full.
• Each person throws away approximately four pounds of garbage every day. If we are cognizant, we can reduce that…a lot!
• Most lighters are made out of plastic and filled with butane fuel, both petroleum products. Over 1.5 billion end up in landfills each year.
• Going Green” doesn’t have to be a daunting task that means sweeping life changes. Start by planting a tree in your backyard.
• Lighting an empty office wastes enough energy to boil water for a 1000 cups of coffee and doubles a company’s annual electric bill.
• Adjust your thermostat 1 degree higher in the summer and 1 degree cooler in the winter. Each degree less will save about 10% on energy use.
• Nearly 90% of plastic water bottles are not recycled, instead taking thousands of years to decompose. Why? It’s so very easy to recycle.
• Recycling just the Sunday papers would save more than half a million trees every week.
• A single quart of motor oil, if disposed of improperly, can contaminate up to 2,000,000 gallons of fresh water.
• A laptop is more environment friendly than a desktop. It consumes five times less electricity.
• A plant on your desk acts as a natural filter, absorbing airborne pollutants and computer radiation while replenishing oxygen levels.
• An aluminum can that is thrown away will still be a can 500 years from now! It’s so easy to recycle. Please do!
• Everytime we burn oil, coal and gas to generate electricity and power, we produce the heat trapping gases that cause global warming.
• Average number of pounds of paper used annually by every American: 680
• Number of gallons of water wasted by a leaky faucet dripping once per second: 2,700
• Eco Facts: Number of trees required by every American to meet their yearly demand for paper and wood products: 7

Did you know that plasma-screen high-definition TVs can use nearly twice as much energy as their LCD screen counterparts, and more than three times as much as the standard models?  TVs account for 4 percent of our energy use nationally.  With plasma screens, that could reach 8 percent or more before the decade is out. 

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jxi-OlkmxZ4

Go Green at work.  With the availability of instant messaging, video conferencing, and other innovative workflow tools, it makes telecommuting a reality.  If you have the option to telecommute, take it.  It saves you commute time in the car (sparing your time and the air), gas money and tons of money you’d spend on lunches.  Time taken off from work is practically non-existent for telecommuters (because you can drag yourself to your home office looking miserable with a cold, where as you’d be far more inclined to call in if you worked in an office environment.)  Telecommuting works for 44 million Americans.  I love that TreeHugger’s staff works from their home offices! 

Can’t telecommute?  Then stack it up.  Work four 10-hour days instead of five 8-hour days a week, cutting the energy and time spent on commuting by 20% …not to mention a three-day weekend.

Find more great design ideals at Hooked On Houses.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT_TVd41vyQ&feature=player_embedded