Environmental Tips

• Look for products with little or no packaging: tools, fresh produce, dry goods.^1,2
• Look for recyclable packaging. Packaging made from multiple materials are not recyclable.  Whenever possible, packaging made from a single type of material that is accepted for recycling.²
  
• Avoid individually wrapped portions (cheese slices, juice, etc).¹
• Favor products with a high recycled content, even if they cost a little more.  Purchasing recycled content products helps support the recycling industry by providing a demand for the materials we place in our recycling bins.^1,2
  
• Choose concentrated products in reusable containers, and largest size containers.¹
• Buy in bulk.  Sometimes you can take your own glass or other containers to the store to be filled directly with bulk goods.¹
• Concerning plastic shopping bags...
• Reduce the number of shopping bags. When purchasing just one or two items, tell the clerk, "I don't need a bag, thanks."¹
• Use your own reusable canvas or string bags when shopping. Keep some in your car so you will always be prepared.^1,2
• Recycle your shopping bags. If you do opt for paper or plastic grocery bags, take them back to the store to be recycled. Paper bags are great containers for recycling your paper at the curbside.¹
  
• For more resources on plastic shopping bags, check out: Plasticbagrecycling.org, Sierra Club, or Califorians Against Waste.
  
• Avoid disposable products, such as baby products, cameras, razors, pens, pencils, and lighters.^1,2
• Buy recycled content bathroom tissue, napkins, and kitchen towels.¹
• Take your own mug or thermos to the coffee shop.  Some shops will offer a discounted price when you provide your own container.¹
• Avoid pump toothpaste - it is overpackaged and includes excess plastic.¹
• Buy quality products and keep them for a lifetime. You may spend a little more to purchase good quality products, but you won't need to replace them as often.^1,2
  

• Recycle more!  Find out about all the items you can recycle at 1-800-CLEANUP or Earth 911.  Check out MassRecycle's Resources.
  
• Reduce water usage.
  
• Check out MassDEP's Water Conservation webpage or U.S. EPA's WaterSense webpage.
  
• Install flow-reducing shower heads, faucet aerators and other fixtures which reduce water consumption.  These include automatic shut-off hose nozzles, water conservation devices for toilet tanks and dye tablets which can be used to detect leaky toilets.¹
• If you're in the market for a new washing machine, look for a front loader.  They are more energy efficient than top loaders, and use only 22-25 gallons per load while top loaders use 40-45 gallons per load.¹
• Reuse products.
  
• Use resealable, reusable containers for lunch and leftovers.¹
• Use old toothbrushes and other brushes to clean bathroom tile, shoes, etc.¹
• Use glass jars to store nails, screws, craft supplies and other small items in the garage, workshop or sewing room.¹
• Instead of paper or plastic, use ceramic mugs, cloth napkins & towels, china plates and silverware.¹
• Donate reusable household items.
• Contact your Recycling Coordinator to find out what reuse options are available in your community.Options may include a swap shop at the Recycling Center or an online swap shop.
• Contact your local newspaper; some have reduced prices for advertising free reusable household items.
• Sell or give away items on Craig's List.
• Swap items within your community on FreeCycle.org.
  
• Charity America unites donors with charities from across the nation.³
• Donate your old computers. Visit Computers for Schools, Goodwill Industries, National Cristina Foundation or Share the Technology^.3
  
• When spring cleaning or moving, have a yard sale or donate items to charities instead of throwing them away.¹
• Give usable old clothes to charities; make others into cleaning rags.¹
• Give old magazines and books to nursing homes, charities, schools, hospitals, etc.¹
• Construction and demolition materials such as doors, windows, cabinets, and plumbing fixtures are great candiates for reuse.  Visit the following Material Exchanges for resuse opportunities: Boston ReStore , Boston Building Material Resource Center , Habitat for Humanity , The Institution Recycling Network , Massachusetts Material Exchange , and the ReStore Home Improvement Center.
• Recycle old eyeglasses.  Charities distribute them for use in the third world countries.¹
• Rent or borrow seldom used equipment.¹
• Reduce your junk mail. 
  
• Contact your Recycling Coordinator for a "Junk Mail Reduction Kit."
  
• Get your name removed from unwanted mailing lists in the Consumer Guide to Stopping Junk Mail, JunkBusters, Reduce the Hail of Unwanted Mail or The New American Dream.
• When you apply for a credit card, magazine subscription or membership in an organization, or donate to a charity, write "Please do not rent, sell, trade or give my name to other businesses or organizations" on your application.
  
• Junk mail with first class postage can be returned.  Write "Return to Sender" on the envelope.  This step does not require additional postage.
  
• Keep toxic home products out of the trash.  Learn about non-toxic alternatives through the Toxic Use Reduction Program.
  
• Conserve energy. Visit Environmental Defense Fund's Save Energy & Money at Home webpage or Energy Star's Home Improvement: Improve Your Home's Energy Efficiency with Energy Star webpage.
  

• Recycle!
  
• Recycle paper, including colored paper and envelopes, beverage containers, and aluminum cans.
  
• Make sure there are adequate recycling receptacles throughout the building. 
  
• Place adequate signs above recycling bins describing the materials accepted.
  
• To learn more about recycling at your office, visit MassDEP's Business Assistance webpage.  
  
• Design your office's recycling poster at Paperrecycles.org.
  
• Check out MassRecycle's Recycling at Work webpage.  
  
• Buy recycled content products. 
• Purchase stationery, scratch pads, business cards, paper towels, toilet paper and facial tissue made from recycled paper.¹ 
  
• Buy and use remanufacturered printer and toner cartridges.⁴
  
• To find recycled content products, visit NERC's Green Purchasing Resources for Businesses.
• Reduce your paper usage:
• Make two-sided copies to reduce paper waste by 50%.¹
• Post announcements in central locations.
• Use a centralized filing system.
  
• When circulating memos or documents use routing slips, or better still e-mail.¹
• Use the blank side of used paper for scratch paper, then recycle it.¹
• Use small stick-on fax notes or transmittal stamp on the first sheet of each fax and omit cover sheets.^1,4
• Refold and reuse file folders.¹
• Use reusable envelopes for interoffice mail; reuse envelopes with metal clasps.¹
• Eliminate unnecessary forms and redesign to use less paper.⁴
• Edit documents onscreen before printing.⁴
• Use smaller typeface, margins, single spacing, and rigorous editing to keep documents small.⁴
• Save documents on disk instead of making hard copies.⁴
  
• Share newspapers and magazines.¹
• Reuse cardboard and paperboard boxes.¹
• Buy or lease fax machines that use plain paper.¹
• Use durable products, i.e., china mugs instead of disposable cups, refillables instead of throw-aways.
  
• At meetings or events, use durable/washable tableware instead of disposables.¹
• Purchase a reusable coffee filter for the coffee machine.⁴
• Bring lunch in reusable containers rather than paper or plastic bags.¹
• Reduce your energy usage.
• Turn off your monitor if you won't be using it for 20 minutes or more.⁴
  
• When you leave a meeting room or vacant break room, turn off the lights.⁴
  
• Make sure that copiers, printers, desk-side lights, and other electric appliances are turned off when you leave at night.⁴
  
• Buy in bulk. Buy creamer, sugar, and coffee for break areas in bulk containers.⁴
• Set up a car pool notice in the building.⁴
• When buying new office equipment, consider printers and copiers that make double sided copies.

• The Green Team's website is a great FREE one-stop web-based resource for schools.
• Check out MassRecycle's Recycle at School and  Links for Schools, Kids & Parents.
  
• Visit MassDEP's Kids & Teachers webpage.

• COMPOST! Compost your yard and/or food waste.  Compost enriches the soil. Using compost adds essential nutrients, improves soil structure, which allows better root growth, controls weeds, and increases moisture and nutrient retention in the soil. Plants love compost! Learn to compost at MassDEP's Composting Assistance webpage.
• Keep toxic garden and yard products out of the trash.  Learn about non-toxic alternatives through the Toxic Use Reduction Program.
• Install a rain barrel to capture runoff from your roof. Water captured in barrels is a free source of water for watering gardens and lawns, with the added advantage of helping the environment. Rain water is softer than tap water; it has no chlorine, lime, or calcium. It has less sediment and dissolved salts and is warmer than tap water. It is excellent (some say better) for watering plants and for window or car washing.
  

• Buy Greener Gifts.  Consider buying gifts with less packaging or gifts made locally or by small businesses (e.g. organic food and drink, shade grown coffee and fair-trade cocoa products) rather than large corporations.
• Make Crafty gifts.  What if you made some of the gifts yourself?  Potential projects include making greeting cards for friends and family, “publishing” a collection of favorite recipes or framing a picture you took yourself.  Make a calendar marking special family events.  Consider an ambitious idea of committing to sending a handwritten letter or card to a long-distance friend or relative once a month for a year.
• Take a friend off of junk mail. Generate automatic forms with your recipient’s name and address at The New American Dream to reduce unwanted mail by 50%. Present the forms in stamped, addressed envelopes ready to sign and mail.
• Wrapping alternatives.  Wrap your gifts in your kids’ artwork, maps and travel brochures, colorful magazine and newspaper pages, old Sunday comics sections, pieces of fabric.  Gifts for the kitchen can be folded in cloth napkins or collected in a picnic basket and wrapped in a tablecloth.
  
• Re-gift. Host a “re-gift swap” by gathering like-minded friends and exchanging gift-quality items you own but don't actually use.  Give the latest great book you bought and enjoyed to someone who may share your taste.  Shop for quality second-hand items at Throwplace.com, Freecycle.org, and Craig's List.
• Multimedia gifts. Make a mix CD with music selected for someone special, perhaps even with personalized liner notes.  Record interviews of parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles on audio or video tape.  Ask them to discuss their memories of the person you plan to give the tape to, or your family's history, especially funny or meaningful anecdotes. 
• For small kids. Consider making a book about the child, written and illustrated by you or presenting the child with the makings for an arts or crafts project you can do together.  Give a box of dress-up clothes salvaged from the attic or a thrift store.
• Buy renewable energy for a friend.  Help a friend help the planet. Purchase renewable energy certificates (RECs) to offset travel or household energy use and promote the development of cleaner sources of energy.  In Massachusetts RECs are offered by MassEnergy.
• Make a donation in someone's name. Want to leave it up to the recipient? The nonprofit Charity Checks allows recipients to choose which organization(s) receive the funds.  Give a donation to a local cause such as a soup kitchen, a shelter for battered women, a local environment group, etc. Call local churches, synagogues, and charitable organizations for ideas.
• Give a friend a membership to a non-profit organization. May we suggest MassRecycle? MassRecycle gift acknowledgment card is a great way to observe the holidays or other special occasions.  For more information, contact MassRecycle at 617-338-0244 or info@massrecycle.org.  Alternatively, JustGive.org allows you to donate online to thousands of charities.

• Earth Forum's Efficient Living Tips
  
• Green Seal's Choose Green Report (May 2002) (PDF)
  
• Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance's Reduce Waste, If Not You, Who.
  
• Natural Resources Defense Council's Guide to Greener Living.
  
• City of New York's NYCWasteLe$$'s Tips for Home.
  
• City of New York's NYCWasteLe$$'s Tips for Your Agency.
  

1. City of Clearwater, Florida's Household Waste Reduction Tips.
   
2. Franklin County Solid Waste Management District's Reduce, Reuse and Buy Recycled. 
   
3. Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection's Donation & Reuse.
   
4. Kansas Department of Health and Environment's Get Caught Recycling.