Here are a few helpful tips to help protect our environment. As a resident, you can... - Become informed about water conservation
- Support water conservation projects in your community
- Properly dispose of hazardous material (paint, motor oil, pesticides)
- Become informed about your City's water management practices
- Educate others
In your kitchen, you can... - Select one glass to use for drinking each day. By doing this, your dishwasher will take longer to fill up and will not be run as frequently
- Let your pots and pans soak instead of letting the water run while you clean them.
- Place a pitcher of water in the refrigerator instead of letting the tap run to get a cool drink
- Experiment with your dishwasher to determine which cycle best meets your needs
- Make sure your refrigerator and freezer door seals are airtight
- Don't keep that old, inefficient fridge running 24/7 in the garage for those few occasions when it is needed
In your bathroom, you can... - Switch to an ultra-low flow showerhead. This will save almost 2.5 gallons a minute during a shower ($91 a year in savings)
- Install ultra-low flow toilets. This will save nearly 1.3 gallons per flush ($40 a year in savings)
- Turn the faucet off while you shave, brush your teeth or lather your hands
In your laundry room, you can... - Wash clothes in warm or cold water, rinse in cold. Use hot water only if necessary
- Fill washers but do not overload them
- Don't use too much detergent, as it makes your machine work harder and uses more energy
- Use the cool down cycle to allow the clothes to finish drying with the leftover heat in the dryer
In your home, you can... - Perform semi-annual household water maintenance checks. Look for leaky faucets, toilets and pipes
- Turn off faucets completely after use
- Turn lights out when leaving a room
- Turn off your computer when it is not in use
- Use light coloured curtains or blinds to reflect sun and heat outward
- Install an automatic programmable thermostat
- Compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) use four times less energy than incandescent ones
In your yard, you can... - Avoid watering your lawn during the hottest hours of the day (10 am to 6 pm) to minimize evaporation
- Check sprinkler system for leaks
- Try to add more days between watering. Allowing your lawn to dry out between watering creates deeper roots and allows you to water deeper and less often
- A vehicle needs to be plugged in for only 4 hours in order to warm the engine block to its maximum temperature. Consider using an outdoor timer
- A 'Power Saver' cord only allows electricity use when the engine block heater drops below -7 C (19 F)
- Motion detectors (for outdoor lights) turn on only when needed
At work, you can... - Bring your own mug and cut down on Stryrofoam waste
- Pack a lunch in reusable containers/bags
- Use hand dryers rather than paper towels
- Don't print your e-mails - save paper and keep them filed on your computer
- Photocopy double sided
- Put a recycle box beside the photocopier
- Instead of printing a web page, bookmark or save it
- Shut down your computer every time you are away from your desk for more than a couple of hours
Good for Humboldt, good for our environment! |
