provided by: Gatehouse News Service
Whether you love gardening, camping or boating, you are enjoying the environment — a precious commodity. And you can make a difference.
Down on plastic
Paper or plastic? Environmentally speaking, plastic is the greater evil, although consumers like those bags, says Clint Woodman, vice president of Woodman’s.
Lori Willis of Logli Supermarket agrees. The store participates in the EnviroBag project, which allows consumers to return clean plastic bags for recycling into EnviroBag brand trash bags, sold at Logli’s as well. Many schools participate in this program as a fundraiser, too.
To go above and beyond, say no to plastic and paper, which require energy to make and recycle. Instead, keep reusable grocery bags in your car.
Practical looks, complete with store logos, are available at Logli’s for $3.49 and Woodman’s for $3.99.
You can make a statement by buying a bag for $9.99 that declares “paper nor plastic” at papernorplastic.com.
Or if you want to be fashionable, check Reusablebags.com for colorful bags from $3.95 to $35.95.
Keep your cool
Instead of working your A/C overtime (it’s still warm in September!), consider these tips paid for by your tax dollars (keepcool.illinois.gov/energysavingtips.cfm):
1. If you don’t have one yet, install a programmable thermostat, available at hardware and home-improvement stores. They cost $40 to $100, but you can program temps for day, night, weekends and sometimes for the entire week in advance. Did you know that adjusting by 2 degrees can save 600 pounds of CO2 emissions a year?
2. Take advantage of fans. Either a whole-house fan (in the attic) or ceiling fans (in living rooms or bedrooms) can make summer a breeze.
3. Make sure air filters are clean so your system runs efficiently.
Avoid the burn
There are only so many art projects you can do with leaves, but for the bulk, release them back to the earth by composting. Make a nice pile of grass clippings, leaves, orange peel, corncobs and other organic materials. This is a great way to recycle organic materials and makes the best fertilizer for your garden. Check out the community education offerings at www.rockvalleycollege.edu, which often include gardening classes, which teach you how to improve soil.
Or, if you’re eager to start composting immediately, check out the detailed instructions (and lots of other gardening techniques) at the Extension’s Yard and Garden solutions Web site.
author: Deborah Elovic