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Top 5 Tips for Green Company Picnics
It’s that time of the year again; businesses are getting ready for their annual company get-togethers. Here are some must-have tips for keeping them green.
- Buy Bulk. Reduce waste and expenses by eliminating individual cans, bottles, condiments and individually wrapped cutlery. Large coolers and bulk dispensing is the way to go.
- Stay local. Don’t make people drive long distances to get to the picnic spot. You’ll save gas, time and minimize pollution. If you have to drive far, then carpool. Give incentives to those that ride their bike.
- Recycle. Seems simple enough but most people don’t want to walk the extra 10 feet to put something in the recycling bin. If you are going to have a lot of aluminum cans and plastic bottles at your picnic make sure you have multiple, noticeable, recycling bins. Even better, set your goal to have a zero-waste event with everything reusable. Frisbees make a great plate and wonderful gift.
- Use natural and organic food. Bring foods that are locally grown and feed money into your community. It is usually cheaper and better for the environment because no pesticides or additives were used.
- Clean up. Clean up and make sure that nothing was left behind. Leave your picnic ground the way you found it.
Environmental Calculators
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Green Tips for College Students
Swap and Sell
Embrace Tap
- When you're out at the bar, buy beer on tap (that's served in a washable beer mug) rather than bottled beer. Not only are you decreasing waste and your carbon footprint, your having fun at the same time.
Reuse Paper
- Don't throw away that halfway printed page or rough draft paper, use the other side for scrap paper. Create your own post-it notes or notebook for classes.
Download an energy-saving application
- To reduce the energy consumption of your computer, download a free energy-saving application such as Local Cooling or CO2 Saver.
Spend Less Time in the Shower
- Just by reducing your shower time by about 2 minutes, you can save up to 1,000 ibs of CO2 from being emitted into the air. You will use less electricity to heat the water, as well as conserve water.
Click Here to Read More about Green Tips for College Students
Back to School Green Tips (K-12)
Purchase Recycled
- Look for recycled backpacks and other school products. Check out products like TerraCycle, also check retailers such as Target and Office Max for brands such as Pilot and Post-It have all embraced the green trend.
Learn the School Bus Schedule, Start a Carpool, Get on Your Feet
- If your child stays late for music lessons or soccer club, check the schools extended bus schedule to accommodate for after school activities.
- Assemble a “walkpool:” chaperoning a group on foot to and from school.
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Green Events Going Around the Country
- September 17-19: Cleanup the World Campaign
- Clean Up the World encourages participants to organize an activity and celebrate environmental achievements.
- October 2: Largest Solar Energy Tour in the World (IL).
- The Illinois Solar Energy Association is proud to participate in the American Solar Energy Society’s National Solar Tour. This event offers IL residents the opportunity to tour innovative green homes & building to see how easy it is to use solar, wind, & geothermal energy's to reduce monthly utility bills and be part of the energy solution.
Click Here to Read More Green Events, Sustainable Conferences, Tradeshows, & More
Eco-Friendly Tips
Home Living Tips
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Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible. About 90% of the energy used for washing clothes is for heating the water. Also, reduce the number of times you run the machine by always waiting until you have a full load.
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For every degree you lower the thermostat, you'll save between 1 and 3% of your heating bill. Do the same thing in reverse with air conditioning.
- During the summer your A/C works hard to cool hot air from sunny windows. Install ENERGY STAR rated windows and use curtains and shades to give your air conditioner and energy bill a break.
- Ceiling fans can reduce air conditioning costs by as much as 40% in the summer.
- In the Winter, ceiling fans can reduce heating bills by 10% by stirring up the air and stopping cool air from pooling at ground level.
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Hang a line: Rather than turning on your clothes dryer, hang a clothesline outside. You'll save on energy, your clothes will last longer and your house won't be pumped with the extra heat from the machine.
Environmental Tips
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Buy locally. Find farmers’ markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food near you at LocalHarvest.com
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Avoid buying gas during the heat of the day, since heat increases evaporation, it cuts down gas emissions.
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To help fight Global Warming fil up either early in the morning or late in the evening when the temperature is cooler.
- Save natural resources by enrolling in online bill-paying options. Paperless Billing eliminates the fossil fuel needed to get all those billing envelops from them you and back again
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
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Take your batteries to a recycling center, check out Earth911.com
- If you use plastic grocery bags, recycle them for doggie poop bags or for small trashcan liners.
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Consider organic cleaning products like vinegar, borax, and baking soda.
- When going to the grocery store without reusable bags, opt for paper.
- Styrofoam takes thousands of years to degrade. Find a substitute or avoid using Styrofoam peanut packaging, but if some comes your way, save it and reuse it.
- Refill your travel mug at the nearby coffee shop instead. Many coffee shops offer a discount if you bring in your own mug.
- Reduce the number of paper and plastic bags you use by carrying reusable tote bags to grocery and department stores.
- Return your plastic bags to the grocery store. Most stores have a container to take these bags back and recycle them for you.
Check back for new eco friendly living tips on ways you can go "green" and reduce your carbon footprint. Source: Bay West Environmental and Industrial Services
Preplanning
Preplanning is a big part of the order process. It is “business as usual” for Eco Promotional Products, Inc. (EPP) to process rush orders. Some customers need products in months while others need products by the end of the week. We are able to process orders on tight deadlines, however, the time, resources and extra costs are unnecessary burdens on the customer and the environment.
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Resource for Kids
Eco Promotional Products, Inc. understands our children are the future. We have provided a set of fun questions you can use to help teach children how our behavior may impact our environment. Please feel free to use these questions and suggestions to guide you to valuable discussions with your youth. For further information on our references or how to get more information like this, please email: info@ecopromotionsonline.com.
Suggestions on How Kids Can Make a Big Difference
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