So as you know I’m just back from Seattle, which is known as the ‘Emerald City’. Not only is it green because it’s surrounded by forest, but it’s also known for being one of the greenest cities in the world; they even have a Green Seattle day every year.
What really amazed me was how pro-active they are about recycling. There are giant recycling bins absolutely everywhere and at one restaurant I even spotted a sign for waste you could ‘compost’. Isn’t that brilliant, making the connection between recycling and what you can do with it? A friend in Seattle told me that you are actually FINED if you’re not recycling enough of your household rubbish. I can’t see that ever catching on here but I love the idea of it.
And now we’re coming to the end of our 30 Green Days challenge for SC Johnson. What this challenge has forced us to do as a family is to really think about how much we throw away, how much energy we waste, and how we can make a difference to the environment by making small, sustainable changes every day. Here are a few more green tips for living a greener life as a family – I hope they’ll inspire you to take your own 30 Green Days Challenge:
*Use your freezer more. This will cut down on the food you’re throwing away because it’s past its sell-by date or it has gone off.
*Worried about e-waste (electronic waste)? Always recycle your old mobile phones, and try to donate old but still working TVs so they don’t end up on a landfill site.
*Make sure your home is properly insulated to help reduce CO2 emissions.
*Use biodegradeable bags when you’re poop scooping.
*If you have a coffee habit (like me), consider getting one of those clever thermal cups to carry your own freshly made java. And don’t forget you can reuse coffee grounds as plant fertiliser (really) or put them on the compost.
Got any green tips of your own to add? Do share them below.