10 Easy, Fun Ideas for Renters to Get Their Green On
6. Kick the Bottled Water Habit.
Americans use 4 million plastic bottles every hour - but only 1 in 4 is recycled. Instead of reaching for bottled water, use a water filter and fill up a non-leaching, lined aluminum SIGG bottle (like the one the Bite team uses – available from Ideal Bite’s website) with filtered tap water. If 10,000 gave up their daily bottled water habit for a year, we’d keep the weight of a small elephant in empties out of the waste stream.
MORE INFO: Kick the Bottled Water Habit
7. Purify the Air.
We’re not talking about plugging in those noisy and energy-sucking air purifiers – get the right plants to do the dirty work naturally. One plant for every 10 square yards ought to do the trick. If 10,000 people unplugged their 24-hour electric air purifiers in favor of air-filtering plants, the resulting 860,000 kWh could power a 29-story office building for a month.
MORE INFO: Purify the Air
8. Ditch the Sleeping Partners You Didn’t Even Know Were There.
Next time you’re in the market for a mattress, spring for an organic one. They’re made from pesticide-free materials, and wool ones are naturally fire and dust mite resistant. They’re pricey, but if 10,000 people opt for an organic mattress instead of a conventional one, we’ll avert the weight of 783 king-sized mattresses in pesticides.
MORE INFO: Ditch the Sleeping Partners
9. Just Say “No” to Junk Mail.
Junk mail is more than just annoying, it’s wasteful. If everyone in the US was able to reduce the junk mail they receive each week (average 10.8 pieces per person), we could save nearly 100 million trees each year. Check out the link below to get to online forms to remove your name from junk mail lists.
MORE INFO: Just Say “No” to Junk Mail.
10. Give the Gift of Experience.
Need a gift for your “has-everything” friend who happens to have a tiny, elfin apartment? Give “experience” gifts, like massages, iTunes gift cards, carbon offsets, or free them of their junk mail for a year (see #9). Beats giving tchotzkes that will end up at Goodwill, and hopefully they’ll return the favor when it’s time for them to get a gift for you.
Sign up to receive free email eco-living tips each weekday at http://www.idealbite.com/.
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