Sustainability Tips

Tip of the Week - Just say ‘no’ to plastic and paper shopping bags. Leave the plastic vs. paper debate behind. Instead, take your own reusable bags to the store. Picture all the plastic bags you've seen as litter and, even worse, those that get into waterways and the oceans. If you forget your reusable bags and have to use a paper or plastic bag instead, be sure to reuse and recycle them. Paper bags can be recycled curbside. Plastic bags can be recycled at some recycling depots. To find a recycling depot near you, check Find a Recycler. 

Clean the driveway with a broom, not a hose. Instead of hosing down your driveway, sweep it off. By using water to clean it, you not only use up good drinking water, you also send contaminants such as oil, fertilizers, pesticides, detergents into the storm drain. These contaminants quickly make their way to streams and rivers, harming fish and aquatic life, and increasing the growth of algae. For a guide to using less hazardous products see Metro’s “Hazardless Home Handbook”.

Give a second life to usable discards. Home furnishings, clothing, construction project leftovers in good condition are still useful once you are done with them. By donating items to nonprofit organizations you save resources. Broken, torn, stained, worn out or damaged items, or items that require repair or cleaning are not usually accepted. Many charitable organizations accept drop-off and some even pick up donations. Be sure to call first. For a list go to http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=1892. Also try the internet exchange site Freecycle - Portland at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecycleportland/.

Home-made cleaners are cheap, safe and effective. The non-toxic recipes your grandmother used for cleaning the house and doing the laundry were good ones. For example, you can attack mold and mildew with plain old vinegar and water, instead of bleach. You can repel moths with a combination of dried herbs. You can unclog drains with baking soda and boiling water. Find out how to make simple cleaners for a safer home. Get a copy of Metro's Green Cleaners booklet by calling 503-557-6363 or go to http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=24199.

Be the change you want to see. Volunteer in your community. Countless opportunities are available. Hungry people need to be fed. Children need tutors. A neighborhood needs a clean-up. Invasive ivy needs to be pulled. By volunteering, you gain experience and leadership skills, make new friends, strengthen the community – and feel the satisfaction of doing something truly sustainable. To learn about some ways to volunteer in Clackamas County, go to http://www.clackamas.us/misc/volunteer.htm 

Improve gas mileage. Eliminate speeding, jackrabbit starts, rapid braking and extra idling. Besides being unsafe, these actions lower your gas mileage considerably. Reducing highway speeds to 55-60 mph decrease fuel consumption -- and increase ride time by only two minutes for every 10 miles. Idling decreases mileage to 0 per gallon and produces air pollution. It’s not usually necessary to warm up your car. When waiting in line at the gas station or drive-through turn the car off until you need to advance. Finally, consider parking your car instead of using the drive-through. For more fuel efficiency tips, visit http://www.fueleconomy.gov

Save fuel and pollute less by keeping your tires properly inflated. Low tire pressure causes your car to work harder. Correctly inflating tires improves gas mileage by about 3 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. You can save gas and pollute less in many other ways -- combining errands into one trip, turning down the air conditioning, getting a tune-up, avoiding idling, and changing air filters – to name just a few. For more info, go to www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/maintain.shtml

Buy Green Power. Green, or renewable, energy comes from the sun, the wind, plants, and moving water, not from inside the earth’s crust. Aside from being non-renewable, coal and oil also are major contributors to pollution and climate change. Natural gas is cleaner, but still non-renewable – and it too produces emissions. When you buy renewable energy (for a few dollars more a month), you change the mix of energy being used. Right now, Oregon gets about 40 percent of its energy from coal, but that is changing, thanks to people who support renewable energy. Locally, PGE offers two renewable power options to its customers - Green Source and Clean Wind - and also offers a Habitat Support option that can be used with either program. For more information, call PGE at 866-765-3342 or go to www.portlandgeneral.com/Renewable.

Planting trees provides a multitude of benefits. To name just a few, trees provide shade in the summer and wind breaks in the winter, reducing energy consumption. A building can stay up to 20 degrees cooler in the summer with the help of tree shade. Trees prevent or reduce soil erosion and help recharge ground water. And, for every ton of new wood that grows, about 1.5 tons of carbon dioxide is removed from the air and 1.07 tons of life-giving oxygen is produced. Trees create 40 percent of the world’s oxygen. They provide food (nuts, fruit and syrup) as well as habitat for wildlife. Trees add beauty and grace to communities, and are a source of public pride. For more reasons to plant trees, go to http://www.treesaregood.com/

Buy the goods, not the garbage. Packaging makes up at least 20 percent of what goes into our landfill. Avoid buying trash by:
• buying the largest size you can use or buy in bulk whenever possible
• buying handmade items -- in addition to less packaging, a lot of handcrafted items are durable
• given a choice between two similar items, choosing the one with minimal packaging or with packaging that is easy to recycle or reuse
• avoiding individually wrapped items
• bringing your own reusable bag
For more ways to reduce your trash, http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=526/level=2

Make a difference. The Clackamas County Volunteer Connection has one-day and ongoing opportunities to do volunteer work. For Volunteer Connection opportunities, visit http://www.clackamas.us/socialservices/vc.htm.

Cut off the energy vampires in your home! When you leave some common devices plugged in, you unwittingly waste power. What uses the most so-called ‘vampire’ energy? Basically, any device that has a standby mode, a remote control or a display such as a digital clock sucks up extra power. Chief culprits include computers, cable boxes and DVD players, cell phone chargers, and microwaves and coffee pots that have a built-in clock.

Each year, consumers spend an extra $6 billion and waste an estimated 65 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity by leaving electronics in the standby mode, sending more heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. One easy way to fix this is by plugging all such devices into a power strip that can be switched off. Find more helpful tips and listings of energy-efficient devices at the U.S. Department of Energy’s web site: www.energysavers.gov

Harvest the rain. People are discovering the benefits of collecting rain to irrigate their landscaping. Only a fraction of the water on the earth is drinkable. Why use drinking water for plants and shrubs? Water conservation translates into healthier rivers, streams and wetlands, and enough clean water for everyone. Rainwater harvesting means directing your down spouts to a storage device such as a barrel, tank or garden swale.

Clackamas River Water Providers has additional water conservation resources at www.clackamasproviders.org. Metro has a wealth of information about rain gardens, which is another way of harvesting water. Go to www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=25102

Have you been greenwashed?
Buying green products is a great idea—but be wary of products sold with green language. “Green” as a product claim is being used broadly as companies scramble to improve sales. These days everything under the sun is being advertised as “green.” The term “natural” is also overused and inappropriate in many cases. The Greenwashing Index helps consumers evaluate environmental marketing claims and hold businesses accountable. To find out how to test green marketing claims, read The Seven Sins of Greenwashing.

Shop locally, shop sustainably.
Buying the most sustainable products requires some consideration about where the products you choose are produced. One of the best and easiest things to do is to buy locally-produced goods. Local products also have the advantage of creating less pollution during transportation to market. Locally-owned businesses generate more for the state’s economy than national chain stores. Local companies do business with local banks, manufacturers, accountants and others, so the profits from a local business go directly back to the community.

A recent study concluded that for every dollar spent in a locally-owned bookstore (this one was in San Francisco), 32 cents was re-circulated throughout the local economy (via bookstore employee wages and bookstore expenditures on local goods and services). The same dollar spent at a national chain bookstore re-circulated only 19 cents locally, with more than 80% of the revenue leaving the city. In the same study, it was estimated that for every $1 million in revenue, the local bookstore created 2.14 jobs, while the chain bookstore created 1.27 jobs. (The San Francisco Retail Diversity Study by Civic Economics, May 2007.)

Simplify your life by being a savvy consumer.
Before you buy goods or services, take a moment to think: Do I need this? Could I borrow or rent it? Is it durable and long-lasting or designed to be obsolete? How will I dispose of it and what will happen to it? Is it going to harm the environment? Is it worth the time I worked to pay for it? Is it a fair trade product? Go to www.cof.orst.edu/cof/extended/sustain/imported/consumerism to find out more about consumerism and its impact on society and the environment. And for gift shopping, give yourself a break. Eliminate wrapping paper altogether – by purchasing gift certificates, concert and event tickets, and family memberships. These thoughtful gifts cut down on waste and shipping costs, and provide many happy experiences. You also can create your own personal gift certificates.

More Tips coming soon!