Taking
Care of Our Resources
We can all
use some tips on reducing our impact on our environment.
From big cities to small towns and even rural residents,
see what you can do. The following tips focus on
our water, land and energy impact.
Reduce
- Reduce your use by turning of the water while
brushing your teeth. Install water efficient
appliances when replacing old ones. Learn more at Low
Impact Living and Water:
Use it Wisely.
- Buy in bulk to avoid the excess packaging found
in single serve items. Buy items in containers you
know you can recycle to reduce the amount of waste
you're throwing out (and resist buying disposable
products).
Reuse
- Collect
rainwater or gray water (clean water from washing fruits
and veggies) and use for watering indoor and outdoor
plants. Water
Reuse Association
- Reuse items such as coffee mugs instead of
disposable styrofoam cups.
- Bring/purchase
items to/from the thrift stores in your area rather than
purchasing new items.
Recycle
-
Water recycling is reusing treated wastewater for
beneficial purposes such as agricultural and landscape
irrigation, industrial processes, toilet flushing, and
replenishing a ground water basin (referred to as ground
water recharge). When old items (recyclables) are
made into new items, some take water, but not nearly the
volume of water used when making items out of new
(virgin) materials.
- When you recycle, you help reduce the amount of
waste heading to the landfills. This helps slow
the need for finding more space to bury our waste.
Stay tuned for a list of ND recycling sites.
- Some energy is used in the recycling process,
but again, many of the items require more energy when
new items are made. Check out how much energy
recycling saves on the Earth
911 Web site.
Compost
- When compost is used on your lawn and plants, it
will help retain moisture and reduce the need for excess
water.
- By composting grass, leaves and other organic
materials, you will help save space in local landfills.
Yard waste typically makes up one third of our waste
stream.
- When you have the right combination of organics,
the microorganisms put forth the effort to reduce the
pile rather than you expending your energy.
See the benefits of using compost here.
Buy Recycled
- When you purchase items, check the label to see if
it has recycled content materials in it (for example,
office/white computer paper).
Have a tip? E-mail us at the address below. |
