Greenversations

As the end of summer approaches, I find myself not basking out in the sun, but preparing for the school year. While most of the nation’s children head back to school in September, in our neck of the woods school starts in August. With four school age kids in our household, the list of needed school items is quite extensive. This year I decided to get ahead of the game. With some careful planning, we are greening our way back to school.

As with previous years, the girls will be wearing hand-me-down uniforms. I usually buy one new uniform a year for one of my daughters and the rest are traded with a colleague whose daughter goes to the same school. A pair of shoes will be refurbished for one of the girls.

This year I decided to look first for the required school supplies at home instead of hitting the mall. So far, my eldest daughter’s backpack will be reused and our youngest daughter will use her older sister’s rolling backpack from the year before last. One quick cleaning was all it took to make it look brand new. Pens, pencils, rulers, staplers and binders, among others are being reused from last year. I was surprised to learn that six billion pens are thrown away every year!

Since books are another big ticket item in the “back to school” budget, I buy them from online retailers that specialize in used books. Only updated editions of specific books and workbooks are being bought new.

Furthermore, I have decided that all new items we purchase this season will be made from recycled or sustainable sources.

Here are some brief pointers to make your back to school a green one:

• Take inventory before going to the stores–this will save you time and money and it will be good to our Earth.
• Buy quality materials when available, (i.e. backpacks, shoes, etc.) to ensure durability.
• Refillable pens and pencils are a small change with a large impact. Fourteen billion pencils are manufactured every year, some from ancient trees.
• Reuse everything that remains in good condition. Limit disposable supplies.
• Make your kids a greener, waste-free lunch.
• Use recycled paper to protect our trees and cut down on waste.

About the author: Brenda Reyes Tomassini joined EPA in 2002. She is a public affairs specialist in the San Juan, Puerto Rico office and also handles community relations for the Caribbean Environmental Protection Division.

Ya se acerca el fin del verano y en vez de estar disfrutando el tiempo que me queda, me estoy preparando para el regreso a clases. Aunque en Estados Unidos muchos niños regresan a la escuela en septiembre, acá en Puerto Rico nuestros chicos comienzan clases en agosto. Con cuatro niños en edad escolar asistiendo a una escuela privada, no es difícil imaginar que nuestra lista de materiales escolares es extensa. Sin embargo este año decidí organizarme para hacer de este un regreso a la escuela más verde.

Como en años anteriores las niñas utilizarán uniformes usados. Generalmente les compro un uniforme nuevo y el resto los intercambio con una colega cuya hija asiste a la misma escuela. Un par de zapatos recibirá suelas nuevas, evitando así la compra de un par nuevo para mi hija mayor.

En vez de salir a comprar los útiles escolares comencé revisando las cosas que tenía en casa. Mi hija menor reutilizará el bulto que su hermana mayor no utiliza desde el año antepasado y la mayor el que le compré el año pasado. Con una lavada ambos lucen nuevos. Algunos lápices, bolígrafos, grapadoras y carpetas del año anterior se volverán a usar. Me sorprende saber que en el mundo 6 mil millones de bolígrafos terminan en la basura cada año!

Los libros son los artículos de mayor valor en nuestro presupuesto de vuelta a clases por tal razón los decidí adquirir, en su gran mayoría, de varios sitios electrónicos que se especializan en libros usados. Sólo adquirí nuevos aquellos de nueva edición y los cuadernos de trabajo.

Los artículos nuevos que me faltan por adquirir para este año escolar serán reciclados o de fuentes sustentables.

Adjunto una breve lista para hacer de su vuelta a clases una más verde:

• Tome inventario antes de salir a compara–esto le ahorrará no solo tiempo y dinero, sino que ayudará al Planeta
• Compre la mejor calidad que pueda para asegurarse que los artículos le duren (zapatos, bultos, uniformes)
• Los lápices y bolígrafos con reemplazo son un cambio pequeño de gran impacto. En el mundo se manufacturan 14 mil millones de lápices, algunos de árboles centenarios
• Reutilice todo lo que este en buen estado. Limite los útiles desechables.
• Prepare a sus niños una merienda verde, libre de envases desechables.
• Utilice papel reciclado para evitar desperdicios y proteger árboles

Sobre la autor: Brenda Reyes Tomassini se unió a la EPA en el 2002. Labora como especialista de relaciones públicas en la oficina de EPA en San Juan, Puerto Rico donde también maneja asuntos comunitarios para la División de Protección Ambiental del Caribe.

About the author: Kelly Chick has worked for EPA for many years. She currently works in the Office of Public Affairs at EPA Headquarters, and manages the EPA blog, Greenversations.

I’ve certainly learned a lot managing the Greenversations blog. I’ve worked here at EPA for longer than I’d care to admit, but it seems I learn something new everyday reading the blog posts and moderating each and every comment submitted. We have had several posts about green building in all of its forms, but not too long ago we posted a blog post from someone who had recently purchased a home, and was in the process of renovating it in the greenest way possible. About this time, I heard about Habitat for Humanity ReStores, and lo and behold there was a sign for one put up in my community in Southern Maryland.

I decided to stop in one Saturday morning and WOW were my eyes opened. It is just getting going and is currently operated out of a barn, but what a treasure trove of goodies. As I walked through, I saw lots of appliances, cabinets, fixtures, windows, shelving, sinks and toilets, tile, carpet remnants, 3,000 gallons of paint and so much more. Most were new, although some were gently used. I decided I needed to know more. I found the store manager and asked him about the ReStore. I found out that all of the items for sale are donated by either local home improvement stores, builders, or regular people like you and me, and are sold at 50-70% off of the retail value (the paint was just $3.00 per gallon). Some of the items (for example, five matching 3’ x 5’ windows) were ordered the wrong size and couldn’t be returned. Donating the items to a charity is a great way to recoup some of the lost expense (as a tax donation), helps others keep their renovating expenses down, and a worthy charity reaps the benefits (in the form of sales). This is a win-win situation if I ever saw one. Not to mention the fact that all of these materials are being spared from going into landfills.

There are many stores that use this model of accepting donations and keeping stuff from being thrown away. Do a search on the web for “recycled building materials” and check out what’s available in your area. By the way, during my conversation I also found out that a store in Virginia helped someone build his house entirely from ReStore purchases. Can you just imagine how much he was able to save. Have you used a source like this for renovations or repairs on your home? Share with us your experience and thoughts about this way of saving “green” while renovating “green”.

About the author: Lina Younes has been working for EPA since 2002 and chairs EPA’s Multilingual Communications Task Force. Prior to joining EPA, she was the Washington bureau chief for two Puerto Rican newspapers and she has worked for several government agencies.

The other day I was running some errands with my 7 year old daughter. As we approached the car, she noticed some litter scattered around and said spontaneously “Littering is bad because it’s mean to the Earth. We should protect it.” I was speechless. I was impressed with her insight, but at the same time sad that we are being “mean” to Planet Earth with the senseless things we often do-like generating so much trash in the first place.

While in my family, we try our best to live by the three R’s —reduce, reuse and recycle—I must confess that the hardest R seems to be reducing waste from the outset of any activity. In our daily lives, there are so many things that generate waste like excessive packaging, fast food wrappings, disposable products, to name a few. With some planning, we can reduce the trash even before it’s created.

Here are some suggestions:

• Buy in bulk to reduce packaging
• Choose reusable products like utensils, tableware, cloth napkins instead of disposable ones
• Prepare a waste free lunch at home and take it to work— It saves money, too!

There are numerous possibilities if we put our mind to it. These are just some consumer tips that can be easily used at home for waste prevention. I also highly recommend my colleague’s blog with an extensive list of habit-changing tips.

If our children can take care of Mother Earth at an early age, why can’t we?

Sobre la autor: Lina M. F. Younes ha trabajado en la EPA desde el 2002 y está a cargo del Grupo de Trabajo sobre Comunicaciones Multilingües. Como periodista, dirigió la oficina en Washington de dos periódicos puertorriqueños y ha laborado en varias agencias gubernamentales.

El otro día estaba haciendo varias diligencias con mi hija de siete años. Cuando nos acercamos al auto, ella notó que había basura regada en el suelo y dijo espontáneamente <<el echar basura es malo para el Planeta Tierra. Debemos protegerlo>>. Me dejó atónita. Me impresionó su sensibilidad, pero a la misma vez me entristeció por lo “malos” que estamos siendo con nuestro Planeta Tierra debido a las cosas que hacemos frecuentemente sin pensar—como la generación desmedida de tanta basura.

Aunque yo y mi familia tratamos de vivir bajo los principios de las tres R’s —reducción, reutilización y reciclaje—confieso que la “R” más difícil de implementar es el de reducir la basura antes de emprender una actividad. En nuestras vidas cotidianas, hay tantas cosas que generan desechos como el embalaje excesivo, las envolturas de comida rápida, los productos desechables, por ejemplo. Si planificamos con antelación, podríamos reducir la basura aún antes de crearla.

He aquí algunas sugerencias:

• Compre en envases de gran tamaño para reducir la envoltura
• Escoja productos que pueda volver a utilizar como utensilios, mantelería, servilletas de tela en lugar de las desechables
• Prepare su almuerzo y lléveselo al trabajo en envases reutilizables para reducir los desechos. ¡Esto le ahorra dinero también!

Hay numerosas posibilidades si se lo propone. Incluyo también algunos consejos para el consumidor que son fáciles de seguir en el hogar para la prevención de basura. También les invito que consulten el blog de mi amiga Brenda que delinea una extensa lista de consejos para cambiar los hábitos a favor de la protección ambiental.

Si los niños se preocupan por nuestro planeta a temprana edad, ¿Por qué no lo hacemos nosotros también?

About the author: Jeffrey Levy joined EPA in 1993 to help protect the ozone layer. He is now the National Web Content Manager.

A few months ago, my wife and I bought a house slightly bigger than our current home, but organized inside in pretty strange ways. Since we plan to spend the next 30-40 years there, we decided to renovate it. We want to do it in the greenest way possible. That means reduce, reuse, and recycle through the renovation.

“Reduce” starts with choosing where to live. Both our current house and the new one are about ½ mile from Metro, the DC-area subway; I walk and ride in. We also accepted smaller houses than what was available much further out.

The environment gains from these choices in a few ways: less fuel to commute and less energy used to heat and cool our house. But our quality of life is also better, because my short commute leaves me more time at home, and I’m relaxed on the train instead of driving in rush hour. Not everyone can choose where to live, but I think not enough people put living close to work on their “wants” list when house hunting.

Reducing also means:

• choosing sustainable, low-emitting cabinets and flooring (THAT decision is a whole blog post by itself
• insulating well
• replacing drafty windows with efficient ones, and
• finding efficient plumbing (2-mode flushing toilets, anyone?)

It also meant asking the contractor to seal the basement so the heater isn’t running nonstop to keep the pipes from freezing.

“Reuse” comes in several forms. First, we’re keeping the existing appliances. I haven’t done the math, but it’s hard for me to believe that on a life cycle basis, even more efficient appliances are better than getting the full life out of existing ones. It just takes so many resources to create a new item. We also had the contractors keep trim work so they can reinstall it. Old kitchen cabinets will go in the basement. And what we’re not reusing ourselves, we’ll donate.

“Recycle” in this context includes scrap wood, metal, and bricks. We’ve been searching the web for help with that. It also includes recycling stuff we no longer want and won’t move with us (need an old computer power supply?).

Since it’s Radon Action Month, I should also mention we tested the house before we bought it, and it’s fine.

What are your favorite tips and tricks for renovating in a green way? Remember we don’t allow advertising in our comments, so please stick to generic product descriptions instead of specific companies.