Seeing Green

In honor of Earth Day and Flottman's 90th Anniversary campaign, 90 Years, Plant 900 Trees, we have declared April Green Month.

Here are my top 6 ways to stay green at home and at work.

Home:
1. Reusable shopping bags - I have completely fallen in love with reusable shopping bags. Not only do they cut down on waste, but they also make it easier for me to carry my groceries up to my third floor apartment. Here are the ones I use and love - RuMe

2. No bottled water - All those plastic bottles spell big trouble for the environment and seem rather unnecessary. I have a Brita pitcher, which gives me tasty filtered water that is always nice and cold.

3. Farmer's Markets - There is nothing not to love about a Farmer's Market. You get delicious fruits and veggies, support local agriculture and usually at great prices. Luckily for me there is one in walking distance of my apartment every Sunday and I am sure there is one near you.

Work:
1. Recycle - Simple enough right? We have huge bins for paper recycling, so sometimes I have to remind myself to take waste paper out to the plant. But a little walk around the building won't hurt me!

2. Clean Waste Computer-to-Plate System - Huh? That's the machine that takes the stuff you design on your computer, makes plates of it, so our press can print it. They don't let me make plates (for good reason!) but I love walking by knowing the water waste coming from the machine is drinkable!

Home & Work:
6. Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs) - You know the spirally ones. Look at all they can do: they can save more than $40 in electricity costs over their lifetime, they use about 75% less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer and they produces about 75% less heat, so it's safer to operate and can cut energy costs associated with home cooling.(energystar.gov) Duke Energy shipped me a whole box for free! (duke-energy.com)