Tip # 1: Get on your bike!
For every kilometer you ride your bike instead of driving a car, you avoid the production of about one kilo of carbon dioxide.
Tip # 2: Save water with powder detergents
Switch from liquid detergents to powders. Laundry liquids are mostly water (approx. 80%). It costs energy and packaging to bring this water to the consumer.
Tip # 3: Save a tree, or two, or three
Get tough on tissues. If every household in the Canada replaced one box of 85 sheet virgin fiber facial tissues with 100% recycled ones, we could save: 87,700 trees, 226,500 cubic feet of landfill space ( equal to 330 full garbage trucks), 31 million gallons of water (Annual supply for 240 families of four), and avoid 5,300 pounds of pollution! Buy only recycled paper products for your office, bathroom and kitchen.
Tip # 4: Check your water heater
Keep your water heater thermostat no higher than 55°C. Save 300 kg of carbon dioxide and $30 per year. Talk to your building or condo manager to upgrade the efficiency of the boiler in your building to magnify the savings.
Tip # 5: Change your light bulbs
Replace 3 frequently used light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. This will save approximately 150kg of carbon dioxide and $60 per year.
Tip #6: Muscle mow your Lawn
Mowing for an hour with a gasoline- powered lawn mower can produce as much air pollution as a 700-km drive in a car. Consider this alternative which emits nothing other than clippings and burns calories too: push a lightweight reel mower.
Tip #7: Change your thermostat
Conserve fuel by turning down the heat at night and while you are away from your home - or install a programmable thermostat. Setting the airconditioning thermostat in your building to 25 degrees in the summer will dramatically reduce your electricity bill and you'll do your bit to save energy and the environment.
Tip # 8: Reduce garbage
Buy products with less packaging and recycle paper, plastic and glass. You can save around 2,000 kg. of carbon dioxide per year by reducing, reusing and recycling.
Tip # 9: Use recycled paper
According to the EPA, from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day, household waste increases by more than 25 percent due to holiday gift-giving. When wrapping gifts, remember to recycle and reuse. Also whenever possible use 100% post-consumer recycled paper when printing and save approximately 5 kg of carbon dioxide per ream of paper.
Tip # 10: Fill Your Dishwasher
Run your dishwasher only with a full load. Save approximately 100 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $40 per year. Why not set it to eco-mode to save even more energy and water?
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