10 Easy Ways to Be More Green

Here are 10 easy ways to reduce your environmental impact:

1. Bring a Towel.
Instead of using paper towels in the restroom at work, use a hand towel from home. It’s much more absorbent and does a better job at drying hands than thin paper towels and by the end of an average day, you’ve saved about 4 ft of paper.

2. Keep a Set of Dishes at Work.
Keep a cup, plate, and bowl at your desk to use during lunch time or an office potluck.

3. Use an Insulated Mug.
Drink from an insulated mug instead of a standard mug and reduce the need to reheat your coffee.

4. Pack a Lunch…Without the Brown Bag.
Not only does packing a lunch save calories and cost, it also saves resources. Use a lunchbox instead of a bag; bonus points if you bring a cold lunch that you don’t have to heat.

5. Turn Off Your Monitor(s).
If you need to leave your computer for a half-hour or more, turn off your monitor(s). If you’re leaving overnight, turn your computer off.

6. Bring Your Own Mug.
Bringing a reusable mug to your favorite coffee house not only saves resources but can also save you money. Many java joints will take a small amount off the cost of your beverage if you provide your own cup. Get a reusable coffee cozy to save even more resources.

7. Hypermile.
Driving like a hypermiler (i.e., gradual acceleration/deceleration and coasting as much as possible) greatly cuts down on gas usage.

8. Recycle Plastic Wraps and Bags.
Grocery stores commonly have a plastic bag recycle bin where you can drop off those plastic bags that you seem to accumulate, in spite of your resolution to use only canvas bags. But, did you know that you can also deposit other types of “bag-type” plastics in those bins? Items like the plastic wrap on frozen pizzas, Ziploc bags (with the zippers cut off and food cleaned out), and candy bags can all be recycled.

9. Use Eco Friendly Soaps
Using environmentally friendly soaps cuts down the amount of harsh chemicals that are dumped into the environment.

10. Use Sand Instead of Salt
If you live in the North-land, try using sand instead of harmful salts to keep from slipping on your front steps.

Check out the benefits of recycling

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