Tips on How to be Green at Home

1. Get rid of unwanted junk mail. Rid your mailbox of junk mail by creating a free account at kkcb.catalogchoice.org and help reduce the amount of paper wasted.

2. Visit Habitat Restore to donate or purchase used building materials and supplies. Help keep valuable building materials out of the landfills and affordable for reuse. Find a Habitat Restore location near you by visiting restorekc.org.

3. Obtain a RideKC bus pass. Riding the bus equals less vehicles on the road which helps reduce pollution. For more information, visit RideKC.

4. Buy produce from local farmers markets. For a comprehensive list of markets in the metro area, visit kcfoodcircle.org/farmers-markets/. The City Market has over 140 vendors. Other farmers markets are located in Brookside, Zona Rosa and Minor Park. Buying local food helps reduce your carbon footprint.

5. Dispose of household hazardous waste at the Kansas City Regional HHW Center. Household hazardous waste (HHW) products include:
   • household cleaners
   • lawn and garden products
   • automotive fluids
   • paint-related products.

   If not disposed of properly, these products can do serious harm to the environment.

6. Use clothes lines to dry wet clothes instead of a dryer. Save money on your electric bill and help the environment. A clothes dryer is typically the second biggest electricity using appliance, costing approximately $85 a year to operate.

7. Recycle glass at drop off sites. Visit Ripple Glass and enter your zip code to find a glass recycling bin near you.

8. Avoid parking and idling vehicle engines for more than two minutes in any 60 minute period. Limiting idling helps the environment and protects public health. It will also reduce your fuel usage and costs!

9. Use a commercial car wash instead of soaping up at home. The dirty water that flows from your driveway into storm drains does not undergo treatment before entering streams, creeks and lakes. Most commercial car washes recycle water, and the dirty water they do produce goes into the sewer system where it will be treated.

Visit Recyclespot.org, your online spot for recycling tips and information.

Tips on How to be Green at Work

1. Purchase recycled and green office supplies. Use cleaning supplies and restroom paper products that meet EPA’s Environmentally Preferred Purchasing guidelines or are certified by organizations such as Green Seal.

2. Teleconference/video conference/WebEx when possible to reduce travel. If you must travel to a meeting, encourage carpooling.

3. Turn off unused office lights.
• Turn off lights in unused areas—especially on weekends.
• When working late, use task lighting.
• Post a reminder by the light switches until people get in the habit.


4. Limit the use of disposable products at company-supplied lunches and events.
• Ask vendors who supply company lunches not to deliver lunches in boxes.
• Stock cabinets with reusable dishware instead of disposable cups, plates and utensils.
• Send extra food from company events home with the employees or deliver the food to a local charity rather than throwing it away.



5. Shut down computers at the end of every day and turn off the monitors. During the day, put computers and printers on energy saving settings like “hibernate” or lower the energy settings.

6. Set up an internal recycling program. Recycle cans, bottles, newspapers, magazines and office paper. Be sure to put collection containers in central areas and at desks. Contact local vendors to determine what recycling services they provide.

7. Limit the use of space heaters. Ask employees to dress more warmly or provide “green” sweatshirts for employees to keep at their desks to wear when they are cold.

8. Remove office water coolers. Use tap water with faucet filters or water purifying pitchers. Kansas City has the best drinking water quality in the United States and is as good or better than bottled water.

9. Advise employees on how to use less paper.
• Print on both sides.
• Reuse paper that has been printed on one side and create scrap notepads for staff use.



10. Place plants in your office space. Plants replenish oxygen and absorb airborne pollutants. Plants also provide a more pleasant place to live and work.