Here are some astounding facts on the affects our actions have on the environment from the stars of some FOX TV shows. Help create a "greener" planet by following some of the suggestions below and then, share the changes you have made to the "Go Green" tree in the library to gauge how much our community has done.
REDUCE
Trade in your plastic water bottle for an eco-friendly reusable one. Each hour, over 2.5 million bottles are thrown. (Yearly, that is enough to circle the earth four times!)
Only print what you really need. Americans use 67 million tons of paper per year (1 ton of paper=17 trees!), or 580 lbs. per person!
Shut off your computer when you’re not using it; that will save you $90 in electricity per year.
Turn off “vampire energy”: devices with lights or displays which remain lit and continue to suck electricity when the device is off, saving $75/year. American households spend $5 billion on standby power alone. 5% of all electricity used across the country
Replace incandescent lights with compact fluorescent lights (CFL). Though CFLs cost more initially, use 65-70% less electricity and last 10 times longer. One bulb will save $80 over 5 years. Incandescent bulbs use only 10% of their energy producing light; the rest is wasted as heat.
To save 3 gallons of water/minute, turn the water off when you brush your teeth.
Reduce your shower time by 4 minutes to save 6,600 gallons of water per year. For other tips on how to save on water consumption, visit this link.
Visit a farmer’s market or grow your own produce. Buying locally-grown produce not only just tastes better, it used only 10% of the energy needed to provide frozen produce.
Volunteer at the Community Harvest Project in Grafton on Saturdays, May 22, June 29 or July 24. The harvested produce goes to the Worcester County Food Bank.
Walk or ride a bike short distances. Every gallon of gas that you can save, keeps 20 lbs. of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere, or share a ride if possible for longer distances.
Use rechargeable batteries instead of disposables.
Use low flow faucets and shower heads.
Compost your food scraps and yard waste. Each person in MA creates about 530 lbs. of food and yard waste each year. (Picture a football field higher than Mt. Wachusett.) You can recycle yard waste with the DPW in West Boylston on certain days.
Reuse paper or plastic bags as a trash can liner. When 1 ton of plastic bags are reused, the energy equivalent of 11 barrels of oil is saved.
RECYCLE
Recycle used paper. Every 2,000 pounds of paper that is recycled saves 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, 4,000 kilowatts of electricity and more than 7,000 gallons of water. Visit the WB Recycling website for more information.
Recycle aluminum cans. Americans throw out enough aluminum every 3 months to rebuild our entire commercial air fleet!
Recycle glass bottles. 1 recycled bottle saves enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for 4 hours.
Find out what can be recycled in your town. Each person in America sends an average of 259 pounds of trash to the landfill each year.
Recycle plastic bags at CVS or your local grocery store for recycling.
Recycle used electronics. Consumers will throw out over 400 million electronic items this year.
Best Buy and Staples recycle inkjet cartridges. Best Buy also recycles rechargeable batteries, CDs/DVDs, and gift cards.
Home Depot has recycling bins for compact fluorescent bulbs and batteries.
