Transcript Document

Earth Flag
for businesses
Becoming a more environmentally-friendly business will include simple
changes as well as creative thinking. Consider your options by
searching our collection of sustainable practices:
Zero Waste
Energy Efficiency
Water & Air Quality
Sustainable Office
Remember that what’s good for the earth is also good for the health of
your employees and even your bottom line!
Zero Waste
Recycling
E-waste
Does your office have a recycling
service?
What do you do with old or broken
electronics?
Yes - Great! Now you can work on increasing
Even though an electronic device may not work
anymore it still contains valuable materials that can
be used again. Make an e-waste collection area for
computer/phone equipment, discs, tapes, etc.
how much you recycle by placing more and larger
recycling bins around the office, and reducing the
amount of garbage bins. Recycling rates
drastically increase when it’s easier to find a bin.
We also recommend that every recycling bin be
labeled with a list of what can/cannot be recycled
in order to raise awareness.
No - Don’t panic, you’re not alone.
We have
found other businesses without recycling - usually
due to cost issues.
Remember that recycling save you money by
reducing the amount of garbage you produce.
You will be able to cut back on garbage pickups
and lower the charges from your garbage
company.
Until you have an official service you can put out
bins for recycling with a sign asking the
maintenance crew, “do not collect!” Then
For proper E-waste recycling, we recommend:
SIMS Recycling Solutions
1600 Harvester Rd.
West Chicago, IL 60185
(800) 323-1574 • www.unitedrecycling.com
Do you have unneeded electronics that
are in good condition?
Donate them! Search for other schools or
businesses in the area that may be in need of your
unneeded supplies.
SCARCE will take calculators, tape players, TV’s,
VCRs, and projectors that are still in good condition.
These go to schools in need.
Finally, you can take appliances to your local
Zero Waste
Composting
Hazardous Waste
What do you do with your food scraps
in the break room?
Did you know that medicines,
fluorescent bulbs and batteries are
considered hazardous waste?
They don’t have to go in the garbage! Let nature
recycle your food scraps by implementing a
composting program.
Indoor composting is usually done with a worm
bin. Don’t worry, they don’t smell bad and
SCARCE can help you set up a system that is
fun, educational, and makes a great soil
supplement for gardens.
Outdoor composting is done in a bin or pile.
There may be an employee who already does this
at home and can help set up a system or
SCARCE can recommend a system.
Finally, you can send food scraps home with
employees who are already composting!
Many everyday items contain chemicals that could
contaminate our soil, air, and water if they go to a
landfill. Make a Hazardous Waste collection bin at
the office and contact the following about proper
disposal:
Hazchem Environmental Corporation
1115 W. National Drive
Addison, IL 60101
(630) 458-1910 • www.hazchem.com
Regional Household Hazardous Waste Facility
1979 Brookdale Rd
Naperville, IL 60563
(630) 420-4190
Common Hazardous Waste items include:
Household cleaners, drain openers, Paints (oil
based only), Mineral spirits, strippers, solvents,
Insecticides, herbicides, Flammables, automotive
fluids, Fluorescent fixtures, Household batteries,
Lights
Energy
Efficiency
Here are some tips to start saving
energy:
Replace incandescent bulbs. Fluorescent
bulbs use a quarter of the energy to generate the
same amount of light, and LED’s use a tenth!
Fluorescents do contain mercury that escapes
only when they break. If this happens, let the
room air out for 10 minutes then clean up the
bulb using duct tape. No need to worry if the
bulbs never break. Send them to a hazardous
waste facility when done.
Switch from T8 to T5 fluorescent tubes. T5’s
are a newer, more efficient tube.
Delamping. Reduce the amount of lights used in
areas that are well sunlit during the day. You can
also reduce the amount of lights that stay on
during the night. Talk to your maintenance crew
about your light settings.
Apply for a grant to support a lighting energy
efficiency project. Offered by the Illinois Clean
Energy Community Foundation:
www.illinoiscleanenergy.org
Electronics
Did you know that your computer
monitor alone draws up to 80 watts of
power?
Encourage employees to save energy by turning off
their monitors when not at their desk, and turning of
ALL appliances at the end of the day.
Turning off all electronic equipment on the weekends
alone would give you 104 days of energy savings
over
course
of appliances,
a year!
Whenthe
buying
new
look for
the Energy Star symbol indicating that it
was designed with energy-efficiency in
mind.
Heating & Air Conditioning
Keeping ducts and vents clean can save you energy
costs and ensure that you maintain a consistent
temperature for workers.
If you have a Johnson Control system, contact them
about performing an energy audit.
Water
Water & Air
Quality
Did you know that 1 in 5 American
toilets is leaking?
Test your toilets for leaks and get them repaired.
When you do this you are thinking globally about
the importance of preserving water resources.
You are also acting locally and saving money in
the process. Way to go!
Dual-Flush toilets save water by allowing you to
flush with less water if a full flush isn’t necessary.
Consider these if you are purchasing new toilets.
What do you do with old medications
at the office?
Don’t rush to flush! Medications should NOT be
flushed down the toilet as they are not filtered out
at our water treatment plants. Prozac has been
detected in Texas fish because people are
flushing heir meds. Advise employees to put their
medication with Hazardous Waste (details in the
Zero Waste section).
Air
Cleaning supplies, paints, and floor
treatments all affect your office air
quality.
To improve indoor air quality, get rid of cleaners that
come in aerosol cans or contain phosphates. There
is a wide variety of green cleaning alternatives
available today!
Pothos plants are great at absorbing airborne
toxins. Put some around the office along with other
plants.
Sustainable Office
Collection Bins
Employee Outreach
We recommend having the following
collection bins available to employees
so that you send as little as possible to
the landfill!
Form a Green Team. A team of employees
dedicated to greening the office can generate
creative ideas and work together on implementing
projects. Some Green Teams leave earth candies
on the desks of people who turn off their monitors
during lunch as an outreach effort. SCARCE can fill
you in on other successful Green Team initiatives.
Recycling • see Zero Waste
Scrap paper • printed on only 1 side
Hazardous Waste • see Zero Waste
Eye Glasses & Old Keys • contact your local
Lions Club
Old American Flags • contact your local
American Legion about proper disposal
Your Building
Green roofs keep buildings cooler, help manage
stormwater, and improve air quality. Consider
greening your roof. Funding may be available
through a DuPage County grant. Contact
Veronica at the Stormwater Management office at
(630) 407-6719.
Bike racks invite employees to bike to work and
Sustainable Supplies
Luckily environmentally-friendly supplies are
becoming more widely available every day. The
Green Office is a great website for exploring
hundreds of options for sustainable office supplies.
Requirements:
Earning an Earth
Flag
Contact us to get started:
1.
Kickoff the Program at a staff
meeting.
2.
Implement an ongoing recycling
program at your office.
Volunteer at a community event
that benefits the environment.
Sponsor a waste or energy
reduction activity (e.g. a collection
event, composting).
3.
4.
SCARCE
799 Roosevelt Rd. Building 2, Suite 108
Glen Ellyn, IL 60137
(630) 545-9710 • www.bookrescue.org
[email protected]
The following businesses have already earned their Earth Flag:
Conservation Foundation of Dupage County • Cantigny Park • Morton Arboretum
• NOW Foods • SIMS • Subaru Corporate Offices • WDSRA • Whole Foods Wheaton • Whole Foods - Willowbrook • Wyndemere Retirement Home
Picture credits:
http://www.answers.com/topic/earth-day •
http://www.denvergov.org/recoth/LearntoCompostClasses/tabid/425855/Default.aspx •
http://www.larose.com/send_plants/pothos_plant_on_a_pole/ • http://www.thegreenoffice.com