Here at Austin Recovery, we are striving to be a more ecologically-conscious organization. As part of these efforts we now have a Green Team who is working on initiatives to reduce waste, promote sustainability, and lower the carbon footprint of our organization. Being Earth Month and Earth Week (with Earth Day being this Sunday, April 22nd), it has been a busy time for the Green Team! Chair of our Green Team is Jodie Hooks, Accounts Payable Clerk. She has provided us with today’s guest blog post on Earth Day – a little about the history of the day, as well as some ways you can celebrate. Enjoy, and Happy Earth Day!
Earth Day
The celebration of Earth Day on April 22nd began in the United States in 1970 and was the brainchild of Senator Gaylord Nelson, who had long pondered about finding a way to “put the environment into the political ‘limelight’ once and for all” (his words). There are actually two Earth Day celebrations (the other one is held in March on the equinox, see “Tips”) but this blog focuses on the April 22 Earth Day, which is now celebrated in most countries of the world. Earth Day is a perfect time to reflect about what you are doing to help protect the environment. There are many ways that you can celebrate alone and with others.
- 1. Plant a tree. As the date also roughly coincides with U.S. Arbor Day, over time Earth Day has taken on the role of tree-planting. Planting trees helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, cleans pollution, secures soil in place to prevent erosion, and provides homes for a lot of biodiversity.
- Make nature crafts at school or home. Get together with your family and build a birdhouse or make a bird feeder to encourage the local bird population, which plays an important role in every ecosystem. Use objects that would’ve otherwise been thrown away to create beautiful works of art.
- Reduce, reuse and recycle all day long. Buy as little as possible and avoid items that come in lots of packaging. Support local growers and producers of food and products – these don’t have to travel as far and so reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Take your drink container with you, and don’t use any disposable plates or cutlery. Recycle all the things you do use for the day or find other uses for things that you no longer use. Carry a cloth bag for carrying things in and recycle your plastic bags
- Rid litter. Rid litter from our roadways. Many groups use the weekend of Earth Day to clear roadways, highways and neighborhood streets of litter that has accumulated since the last clean-up day. Many companies donate gloves and bags for clean-up groups and villages organize bag pick-ups. Once the group has collected the trash and placed the recycled bags along the road, get the public works department to pick the bags up. It’s a wonderful community project. Great for scout troops, rotary clubs and the like.
- Create a “Green Team” at work!!! Get everyone involved at your place of business to create a “waste free” facility!
Great green post Jodie–Happy Earth Day everyone!
The Green Team at Austin Recovery went door-to-door to hand out Earth Day Week goodie bags to all our staff. Let’s look at all the great tips Green Team provided in addition to a little information our eco-friendly vendors who donated 100% of the green items in those goodie bags.
How to be more eco-friendly at work:
• Recycle! Don’t forget that we recycle here, and you may be surprised to see that almost all general office waste is recyclable. See the guidelines near each blue recycle bin around the office.
• Print only when necessary, and when you do, print double-sided and in black and white ink.
• Turn off your office lights and completely power down your computer when you leave for the day. You can also set your computer and monitor standby settings to a shorter amount of time to conserve energy during the workday.
• Use reusable mugs and cups (see the information on the environmental impact of using disposable water bottles in the section above).
• When possible, try Skype and virtual meetings to avoid physically driving to meetings.
• Get a plant for your desk! Plants absorb indoor air pollution and increase the flow of oxygen.
How to be more eco-friendly at home (remember, a lot of these tips also save you $$$):
• Switch to compact fluorescent bulbs (see the information on the impact of changing just one bulb to CFL in the information above).
• Shut off your faucets when brushing your teeth and shaving (which can save 3,000 gallons of water a year!), and consider baths instead of showers.
• Turn off or raise your thermostat when you are not home so that your house isn’t being cooled unnecessarily.
• Unplug “phantom power vampires” like cell phone chargers not in use video game systems, etc. as they pull electricity even when not in use.
• When you replace your appliances, look for appliances that are Energy Star or are power and water efficient.
• Use environmentally-friendly cleaning products, and use reusable (as opposed to disposable) cleaning utensils like mops, sponges, and rags.
• Consider a rain collection barrel.
• Plant drought tolerant plants and succulents that require less watering while still promoting healthy oxygen. You can also water your grass early in the morning to promote better absorption of the water (as opposed to evaporation).
• Consider composting. Composting at home for just one year can save global warming gases equivalent to all the CO2 your kettle produces annually, or your washing machine produces in three months. You may ask “Why do I need to compost when my waste will break down in landfill anyway?” When waste is sent to landfill, air cannot get to the organic waste. Therefore as the waste breaks down it creates a harmful greenhouse gas, methane, which damages the Earth’s atmosphere. However, when this same waste is composted above ground at home, oxygen helps the waste to decompose aerobically, and after nine to twelve months, you get a free fertilizer for your garden and plant pots to keep them looking beautiful.
Austin Recovery’s vendors are green too!
• Office Mate: Why did we choose Office Mate for all of our office supplies at Austin Recovery? Office Mate offers a full line of Earth friendly office supply products. They are located directly across the street from the Cross Park location, which dramatically lowers the carbon footprint of deliveries. Office Mate provides complimentary recycling of image and computer supplies. They are also working towards being landfill free by the end of 2012.
• Valley Food Services: Valley is committed to working to achieve a more environmentally friendly food service operation. Valley implemented a “green program” that is tailored Austin Recovery’s vision and will continue to evolve as new trends emerge, techniques are discovered, and technology advances. Valley understands that small changes can make a big impact and is introducing a green purchasing and waste management plan that will reduce your company’s carbon footprint. They work to identify the programs that will work best for our facility and to develop any alternative strategies that may be easily incorporated into your daily operation. The following sustainability programs have been introduced into Austin Recovery: Biodegradable Products, Recycle/Waste Management Program, Reduce Packaging Waste, Eco-Friendly Trays & Materials, Organic Foods, Eco-Friendly Equipment.
• Texas Disposal: Our waste management provider, Texas Disposal, is the recipient of the most prestigious landfill management excellence award for their outstanding solid waste programs and facilities that advance the practice of environmentally sound operations and technology. Not only do they run an “environmentally superior” landfill that goes beyond federal requirements, but they also recycle and compost using state-of-the-art practices and technology.