You can go green and save yourself some money by making a few simple changes. Anyone who wants to help can do at least one of these.
Swap Your Used Cooking Oil for Travel Tokens
Bus company Stagecoach, in UK have started a scheme when travelers can exchange their used cooking oil for travel tokens. This recycles cooking oil, saves on diesel and gas and emits less pollutants in the air. The whole scheme is being tried out in major UK cities, with a view to making it more permanent. Some US Universities have already started a similar scheme.
Walk or Cycle and Save Money
Walking, or cycling to work, or school cuts down your carbon footprint. You save money on gas and parking charges, and improve your own cardiovascular health. If your streets aren't suitable for walking, or cycling, lobby your municipal government to improve them.
Buy Quality Used Goods Where Possible
Sometimes we just change our furniture because we move house, or decorate our homes and the old ones don't match. There are lots of real bargains in "as new" furniture available in all areas. There is a big saving for the environment here and a big saving for your own pocket.
Buy Local Produce
Whenever you can buy locally produced goods that haven't been transported by freight carriers across the country, or worse still, across the globe. Local produce will be cheaper because carriage doesn't need to be added and you will be supporting your own community.
Compost To Make Free Fertilizer
If you have a garden, or a communal garden, compost food scraps and paper, cardboard, etc. This means that less waste is being sent to landfill sites and you are getting free fertilizer to improve your garden.
Save Money by Changing Your Light Bulbs
Replace your old light bulbs with energy saving ones as they wear out. Low energy, fluorescent bulbs give as much light for less electricity, so they save you money and help the environment.
Adjust Your Heating
Turn your central heating thermostat down by a couple of degree in winter and up a couple in summer and you will save a lot of money over a year, as well as reducing your own carbon footprint.
Stop Buying Bottled Water
Filter your own tap water and bottle it yourself. This will save you lots of money but it will also cut down on the number of plastic bottles going into landfill sites. Some plastic bottles take more than 20 years before they start to degrade.
Buy Fewer Cleaning Products
Where ever you can use simple cleaning methods like soda, lemon juice, soap and vinegar. This will save lots of money but it will also cut down on pollution from factories processing chemicals into cleaning products. Your indoor air quality will be much more healthy too.
Recycle Your Old Cell Phone
There are a lot of charities all over the world that will recycle/reuse your old mobile phone. You can donate it to the Red Cross, Earthworks, Care and many other organizations. The choice is yours. You will be keeping the electronics out of a landfill site and helping others too.
All great ideas, Lizzie. Thank you for reminding us to do our part for the planet.
#2 by Nick Kenney, Nov 11, 2007
All great ideas, Lizzie. I'd like to add that replacing your furnace with one that burns wood, cherry pits, pellets and corn will also reduce your heating bill. Replace your hot water heater with a tankless water heater also helps.
We all need to do our part before it's too late...
#3 by lanne, Nov 11, 2007
I like #4. Local ANYTHING is best. Remember that FARMS FEED CITIES!!! Great article Lizzy!!
#4 by deepbluesea, Apr 30, 2008
Great ideas.
#5 by Lucy Lockett, May 1, 2008
I like the way they are 'recycling' our articles too!
