Stop Junk Mail. Be Eco Friendly. Do Good. The GreenDimes Blog

SHRED IT TO THE EARTH

In the worlds of corporate corruption where suited men hide under cherry wood desks whilst shredding evidence of their thievery and greed, there lies a large gap in the market for selling on said shredded paper.  Mulch and shredded junk mail have similar properties – they are both made up of bits of trees.

Therefore in gazillions of the offices which clutter our business centers, there exist infinite opportunities to not just recycle reams of used paper, but to shred them and turn them into compost for gardens. Most ink is soy based for economic reasons, resting no risk for toxic poisonings when planting edible seeds in the compost - that being said, better to test this new way of creating compost for plants and flowers only.  Glossy magazines are entirely off the option list as they are not only unshreddable but can contain traces of contaminated inks.

More tips on making compost
How to really make compost

Eco Tip: Green Printing

Did you know?

• In 2004 the United States used 8 million tons of office paper. That’s equivalent to 178 million trees!
• In the U.S. we have lost 95% of our old growth forests and 4281 acres of rainforest are lost every hour worldwide
• Global paper products consumption has tripled over the past 3 decades and is expected to grow by half before 2010.

If you’re like me, you know the frustration of printing a document or a Web page only to waste 1-3 pieces of paper. When I have the time, I have resorted to copying and pasting the information I need into a Word document before I print just to avoid this innocent yet harmful act. GreenPrint provides a really cool software solution and they even have a free version.  You can download it onto to your computer to help you eliminate those pesky extra pages that result from printing. It detects wasted pages (for example, a page with only one line of text on it) and deletes it from your print file.  Of course, you are in complete control over the process deciding if you want to print the page in question.  They also have an option to turn the desired page into a PDF, eliminating the need to print altogether.  Their worldwide version is free, but you can upgrade to their Premium or Enterprise versions.

It also tracks your impact from using the service, so you can see the difference you are making to help save the environment just from using this software.  They also say on their web site that if all US households with a computer used GreenPrint, we would save over $6 billion. And if all new computers sold in 2006 used GreenPrint, we would save over 36 million trees.  A Fortune 500 company using GreenPrint would save over $2 million, 4000 trees and prevent 12,623 tons of CO2 emissions every year.

It only took me a few minutes to download it and it is easy to use.  They provide an online demo and other interesting eco-facts about printing on the GreenPrint web site. To see some of their press coverage, check out CNN, CNBC, and TreeHugger.

Here’s a short video from CNN:

So, just by using GreenPrint, you help save paper, ink, money, and millions of trees – a simple way to protect the environment. 

~Melissa

Ten Tips for Hosting a Green Oscar Party

The A-list celebrities of Hollywood will be gracing the red carpet this Sunday night, February 24, for the Oscars. Some of the celebs (especially Leo and George) will be most likely arriving at the red carpet event in new eco-limos (it’s just hard to ride a bike in a tux.) It’s hip and trendy to be green in Hollywood, in fact; the pre-Oscar party was thrown by Global Green (Salma Hayek was there.) With so many celebs going green, I got to thinking, “Why not emulate Hollywood and throw a green Oscar Party this year?”

(A celeb arrives at the ball in her hybrid carriage.)

If you like the idea of eco-friendly entertaining, here are ten tips about how to have an eco-chic party:

1.       Buy Locally-Produced Food—Any time you decide to have lobster in a place like Kansas, then you have to put them on an airplane.  And, any time a plane flies, it increases the ‘carbon footprint’ of your party.   So, decide on a menu that makes the most of what you have access to locally.

2.       Skip the Bottled Water - Filtered water served in ice-filled pitchers is now much more green (and more appealing) than putting out bottled water, because those plastic water containers are clogging landfills at an alarming rate. An interesting tidbit is that if you buy a filter for your sink, it is often better quality than bottled water.

3.       Drink Organic—Organic wines and vodkas are all the rage. Some brands suggested by Zem Joaquin, Eco-Editor of House & Garden, are: Sinskey, Sincerity, and Bonterra (which are brands of wine) and Square One, 350, and Rain (which are types of vodka).

4.       Serve Other Organics—Consider other food and beverages now becoming more widely available in organic food stores as well as supermarkets, including: coffee, tea, and my favorite…chocolate.

5.       Think Reusable Tableware—Use your own china, glassware, and silverware.  (This actually makes for a nicer presentation, anyway.)

6.       Biodegradable dishes and service pieces—An innovative party staple is tableware that you can throw away, but that won't take up space for eons in a landfill. Plates made of sugar cane (now, you have an excuse to lick the plate), or corn-based products will biodegrade in about six months. Bamboo is also hot right now, since it is quickly renewable, strong, and biodegradable. 

7.       Some sources for biodegradable tableware include:

NatureWorks
World Centric
Greenfeet
Branch Home
Re:Modern

8.       Quick Quiz: What type of dishes, cups, and other party-ware should you avoid at all costs? Green wisdom says, “Styrofoam.”

9.       Plants and Flowers -- The key to flower eco-friendliness is to buy locally and organically grown blossoming stems. (The idea is to avoid using airplanes to carry the blooms from faraway places.) Another good earth-friendly choice for floral decorations: buy flowering plants and place them in decorative pots or wrap the pots in natural fabrics tied with raffia or lovely ribbons. One idea that I love is to ask your florist to suggest potted plants that could adorn your garden after the event is over. You could also give the flowers to your guests or have someone take them to a local hospital or nursing home, where they'll brighten up someone’s day.

10.   Gifts for Your Guests – Gift bag (or should I say, “swag bag”) ideas for parties include natural shampoos and lotions, organic cotton hand towels, soothing candles made of soy or bees' wax (and of course, organic TONIC tees.)

As you enjoy your organic chocolate dessert, served on your own beautiful china, and sip your organic wine this Sunday, you can enjoy it even more knowing that you are not only partying like a celebrity, you are being green like a celebrity.  (I wonder how many of the actresses will be donning ‘green’ frocks.)

~Melissa

The Earth's Hour

What will you be doing on March 29, 2008 at 8 pm?  I hope you will be sitting in the dark and participating in Earth Hour 2008.  Last year, the people of Sydney, Australia (2.2 million people) turned off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour.  As a result, there was a reduction of Sydney’s energy consumption by 10.2%.  There were weddings by candlelight (a nice idea, even if it wasn’t Earth Hour) and even the Opera House turned off its famous lights, changing the Sydney’s Harbor beautiful skyline (but well worth it). As this idea catches the attention (and more importantly, participation) of more and more cities around the world, just imagine what Earth would like from space during that hour.

Here’s a summary straight from the web site, “World Wildlife Fund's Earth Hour is catching on across America following the tremendous success of last year's event in Sydney, Australia. This global phenomenon will spread across six continents in 2008, including hundreds of communities like yours in the United States. Chicago will serve as the U.S. flagship city for Earth Hour in 2008, with Atlanta, Phoenix and San Francisco joining as leading partner cities. But everyone throughout the US and around the world is invited and encouraged to turn off their lights for an hour on March 29 at 8 p.m. local time--whether at home or at work, with friends and family or solo, in a big city or a small town.”

Check out this video and for more info about how to get involved and to spread the word about Earth Hour 2008, check out www.earthhour.org.

~Melissa 

Green is the New Red this Valentine's Day

   

Green is the new red this Valentine’s Day. If you are one of those last-minute romantic types who will be sifting through Hallmark's remains of card offerings on February 13th at 9 pm (usually there are two options left and one of them doesn’t have a matching envelope and the other one is bent-not that this has ever happened to me; I’ve just heard), then I have an idea for you! 

This picture and idea is from blogger Ejcrewe on Thing-a-Day.com.  She has made green Valentine hearts (pictured above) out of magazine covers.  So, look around your house, get creative, and make an one-and-only Valentine gift for your one-and-only. (However, I do recommend that although it is very tempting, to please avoid using the empty toilet paper rolls-there is no way to make them beautiful or romantic.)  Thank you Ejcrewe for your green Valentine’s Day tip and for mentioning how GreenDimes has assisted you in your battle against the enemy, junk mail.  And since green is the new red, just think of all the trees we can save if we get a little creative on Valentine’s Day.

For more green inspiration, check out the LA Times’ Blog, Green Valentine's Day for big spenders and cheapskates .  One of my favorite ideas is a card that sprouts wildflowers. (This idea has been popular on the wedding circuit.)  You get a Valentine's Day card printed with soy ink on 100% post-consumer recycled paper which is embedded with seeds.  After you enjoy the message, you can plant the card and later enjoy the wildflowers!  Also, you might enjoy Treehugger’s Valentine’s Day Gift Guide that will take you through the entire day from the morning to night with green ideas.

Have a very green Valentine's Day!

~Melissa

Tips for the Planet

GreenDimes T - Shirt Winner

I only counted 9900
Jess wrote:

Being raised in the land of 10,000 lakes (Minnesota), my parents encouraged us at an early age to be good to the environment.

To this day I:
1) Drive a hybrid car and LOVE it!

2) Use an eco-friendly resusable bag for shopping

3) Do not print Gas or ATM receipts to save paper

4) Recycle as many items at home versus throwing away

5) Decorate an artificial Christmas tree

60) Use CFL lightbulbs all throughout my home

7) Donate old clothes to charity
;
The next thing I'd like to get... is a digital timer for my swimming pool. I've read that by installing a digital timer vs. the manual kind, you can save a considerable amount of electricity and money. :)

8) Oh, and of course.. I joined Greendimes.com about 6 months ago or so... :)

Thanks Jess.   Love to hear your tips & stories.  Just comment on the Free T-Shirt section to win.

-Sanjiv

Green Power When You Flip Your Switch

Weekly T Shirt Winner

Michelle wrote:

I have an ecotip for all of those living in New Jersey.  As the most densely populated state in the Union, New Jersey uses a lot of electricity.  Appliances and computers are the largest culprits, especially refrigerators, which run constantly to maintain temperature.  All that energy has to come from somewhere.  Thankfully, many people in NJ have the option of making sure that somewhere is clean.

PSE&G, which provides electricity and natural gas, has partnered with several clean energy providers to offer it's customers the option of going green.  I found out about it because I just moved into my first place a few months ago and got it as part of their "Welcome to the Neighborhood" package.  It's easy:

1.  Choose how much energy you want coming from renewable sources.  (I went for 100%).  Also, see what sources each option uses (i.e. - solar, wind, hydro, etc.)

2.  Look at the cost of each.  All involve a slight increase in how much you pay, but is an extra penny per kilowatt hour really that bad?

3.  Make your selection and mail off your form.  PSE&G does the paperwork to get you enrolled and you'll be contacted by your green provider to verify that you're electricity is green.

Now, for an extra 1.3 cents per kilowatt hour, I get 50% of my energy from wind, 1% from local solar, and 49% from low-impact hydro.

If anyone else is interested, the PSE&G website has a downloadable form for you.

Thanks Michelle.  Everyone else, check your local provider.  Bunch of similar programs out there.

And please everyone, drop us a tip and win a tee or tote.

-Sanjiv

The greening of... websites?

This is a first for me... but kinda cool, no?

Our web designer extraordinaire sent us this link today to check out. This site, CO2Stats, adds up the time users spend on your site and calculates/ translates that into the amount of carbon dioxide used to power the computers and servers involved. Huh.

The cool part is that the company pays the equivalent used to offset your sites 'footprint' to Sustainable Travel International. Check it out today, get the code onto your site and see the offsets put to good use.

Happy Friday!

Kendra 

Ask Your Friendly Sustainability Engineer

Weekly Eco-Tools Series

Pablo The Engineer

Quick, what's worse for the environment?  Paper cups or using water to rinse out your coffee mug? (paper cups are worse)  Charging my cell in my car vs my home? Paper napkins or washing a load of cloth napkins (man I go through a lot of napkins)?  These are deep philosophical questions I ask myself on a minutely basis.

Want the answer?  Go to askpablo.org.  Some of it's pretty technical, he is a sustainability engineer after all and the our resident techie Ted referred me to the site, but if you skip down to recommendations, you'll get your answer.

-Sanjiv

Drink from Sippy Cups and Save the Planet!

Weekly T Shirt/Tote Winner

And he has time to sweep! Thanks AP/MSNBC.

Jamilla wrote:

here's an easy green tip...at the gym i go to i notice how everyone throws away their water bottles. what a waste!! so i asked them if i could bring in bins to put in the looby and other places so people could put them in there. they were so excited about the idea! but it's even better if you buy a water bottle to use over and over again. so if your gym, work, or anywhere else is in need of recycle bins dont be afraid to speak up and ask if ones could be put in! every little bit helps!

Thanks Jamilla. I’ll add to that. Your gym should be providing you water coolers no? Then you'll have a place to refill your sippy cups. (c’mon, those sport water bottles are nothing more than what kids drink out of minus the dinosaur decal)

Remember, just 1 of every 5 water bottles is recycled, and only 2 out of 5 are used by jugglers (no), the rest end up landfills… 4 out 5 dentists say.

“If you were on deserted island, what if a message in a bottle that floated in was junk mail?”

-Sanjiv