Tip of the Month
Reduce water use in your bathroom
February 19, 2008Repair toilet leaks.
To test your toilet, put a few drops of food coloring in the toilet tank. If it seeps into the toilet bowl you have a leak.
Fix leaky faucets. A tap that drips one drop per second wastes about 10,000 litres per year.
Install water saving aerators on your water faucets and low flow shower heads in the shower.
Avoid running the tap while brushing your teeth, shaving, washing up and cleaning.
Save money and energy with your fridge
January 03, 2008Place a jug/container of water outside and let it freeze. Once frozen, put it in your fridge and let the ice, not your motor, do the cooling.
Set your refrigerator temperature between 1.7 and 3.3°C (35-38°F) and the freezer compartment at -18°C (0°F) for maximum efficiency and food safety.
Refrigerator motors and compressors generate heat, so allow enough space for continuous airflow around your refrigerator. If heat can not escape, the refrigerator's cooling system has to work harder and use more energy.
If you chose to have Christmas lights, make them LED
December 13, 2007
-
In Alberta, the majority of our greenhouse gas emissions come from electricity generation. Any steps taken to reduce electricity use are beneficial especially during the 5pm-10pm peak hours.
-
LED lights use only 0.04 watts per bulb; 1/10th the energy of mini-lights and 1/100th the energy of C-7 bulbs.
-
LEDs last up to 10 times longer than incandescent lights.
-
If you can’t make the switch to LEDs this year, seek exchange programs next year (i.e. Home Depot Holiday Light Exchange).
Purchase green gifts for Christmas
November 14, 2007The season of giving is upon us and though reducing the amount of gifts purchased during the season will have a great impact, so will buying green gifts.
Green gifts are generally more environmentally friendly than their traditional Christmas counterparts. Green gift can be either material items or services.
Some ideas for green gifts include:
products made from recycled materials
gift certificates or tickets to concerts, theater productions or sporting events
an annual pass to our National Parks
a carshare membership or bus passes
green energy credits for you home, computer or laptop
composters or rain barrels
seeds for flowers and trees
clothing made from organic cotton
Help to stop idling and idling myths
October 15, 2007Idling for 10 seconds uses more fuel than restarting your engine.
Frequently turning off and restarting a vehicle has little impact on a vehicle’s battery or starter motor. Component wear caused by restarting an engine adds little to annual repair costs – and can be recovered several times over in fuel savings from reduced idling.
Idling produces more emissions per minute than driving.
Driving is the best way to heat up your engine. A vehicle’s catalytic converter needs to be hot (400 to 800 degrees Celsius) before it can effectively clean pollutants from its exhaust.
Traffic areas around schools – where vehicles are often left idling – often show significantly higher pollution levels outside – and inside – their buildings.
Calgary has the highest transportation-generated carbon dioxide emissions of any city in Canada.
Drop off old, unwanted cell phones at Clean Calgary
September 14, 2007- Cell phone recycling programs, including one set up by the Clean Calgary Association, attempt to prevent cell phones from fouling our soil and water by keeping them out of the landfill.
- According to INFORM Inc., cell phones are replaced every 18 months and less than 5% are recycled. This means that, in Canada alone, roughly 14 million cell phones enter the waste stream every 18 months.
- Call Clean Calgary to set up a cell phone collection week at your workplace or school.
Start Grass Cycling
August 14, 2007Grasscycling is the process of recycling grass clippings by leaving them on your lawn. You don’t need a special mower, just take the bag off your current mower.
Grass clippings are free fertilizer and they are very high in nitrogen. When clippings decompose, they release their nutrients back into your lawn.
Grasscycling has many benefits including saving time, reducing waste and leading to a deeper, healthier root system which will increase your lawn’s resistance to disease, drought and insects.
Unplug all your electronics and appliances, especially before you go on vacation.
July 16, 2007Many appliances continue to draw a small amount of power when they are switched off. Unplugging the appliance or using a power bar to cut all power to the appliance will save you money, especially when you are away from home.
These “vampire or “phantom” electricity draws account for up to 10% of a homes energy costs.
Phantom loads occur in most appliances such as VCRs, televisions, stereos, computers, laptops, and kitchen appliances.
Have a container of water in your fridge for cool summer drinking
June 15, 2007- Letting the faucet run to get cold water is a big water waste. Keep a water jug or water bottle in the fridge will ensure you have cold water when needed.
- Water use doubles in Calgary in the summer putting extra pressure on our water treatment and wastewater treatment plants.
- For other tips on water conservation visit www.cleancalgary.org
Purchase chemical free cleaning products
May 14, 2007· Chemicals from our cleaning products are building up in the environment and proving to be deadly for some creatures. In the Bow River we are experiencing a build up of phosphate (mostly from laundry detergent) which increases algae growth.
· Green cleaning products are cheaper and often work better than the toxic alternative.
· These products are healthier to have in your home both for you and your family.