What’s your New Year’s Resolution? To eat more broccoli, exercise everyday, have more patience with the kids?
While there are many options when making New Year’s Resolutions, most are of a more personal nature. Things such as loose 25 pounds, eat healthier, spend more time with the children, learn how to speak Chinese. The majority of New Year’s Resolutions I hear from year to year are more personal in nature and have nothing to do with improving the world we live in.
Don’t get me wrong, I really respect those people who utilize the fresh new year as a way to revitalize their effort to improve themselves. I gave up New Year’s Resolutions quite a while ago.
However, this year I’m jumping back into the resolution spirit of renewal by making it a point to up my Green Initiatives. Ever since I took a trip over to Europe in January of last year, the waste that goes on in this beautiful country of ours has been weighing heavy on my mind. When you witness a society that is continually aware of the limited resources our earth has to provide and the consistent effort to reduce, reuse and recycle, you start to realize how spoiled and uncaring us Americans can seem.
Now, I don’t mean to cloak all Americans under this blanket of excess and waste. There are many who have been preaching Green initiatives and leading by example, hoping that it will permeate throughout the scattered communities throughout the United States.
While the United State’s recycling efforts have improved over that last five decades, we are well behind our European counterparts. With countries like Sweden who boast a 99% recycling rate, and Switzerland, whose rate is at 52%, nearly double that of the US, it is clear to see that there is plenty of room for improvement.
Why not make a resolution that will have an impact on your community, our country and our world? Practice and preach Green Initiatives and help Going Green to go viral in the US.
Some people might be intimidated by the phrase “Going Green” because most people assume that in order to go green you have spend a lot of time and money in order to make a change. However, it doesn’t have to be as complicated as it seems, sometimes it is the simplest things that make all the difference. So what can do you in order to start your green lifestyle? Follow these easy and cost effective tips to get started!
10 Ways to Go Green America:
1. Change your light bulbs. Replace just one regular light bulb with a fluorescent bulb. If you don’t like the color, use these bulbs in closets where it won’t bother you as much. Fluorescent bulbs use 75% less energy and last 10 times longer!
2. Turn your computer off. Although your computer may be in sleep mode, it is still using up energy. By turning your computer off at night you can save 40 watts each day.
3. Keep your freezer full. It takes a lot more energy to keep an empty space cool than it does to keep a crowded space cool.
4. Skip the sink. If you have a dishwasher try to avoid rinsing your dishes before loading them and always make sure the dishwasher is full before running.
5. Wash laundry in cold water. According to Energy Star, 90% of energy consumed by a washing machine is used by heating the water. By washing your laundry in cold water you are saving energy while getting clean clothes!
6. Utilize your cruise control. When driving to work start using your cruise control. You could get 15% better mileage and as gas prices continue to change almost daily this could save you money and help the environment at the same time!
7. Pay bills online. Not only is this becoming relatively easier, you will also contribute to saving millions of trees each year!
8. Clean out your trunk. Extra added weight within your vehicle could also add to more money on gas.
9. Recycle old cell phones. If old cell phones are not recycled they end up in landfills, but the phones and their batteries are still producing toxic chemicals into the environment.
10. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Make every effort possible to have zero waste by rethinking everything that you throw away. If there is a way to use less, reuse or recycle, than just DO IT!
Recycle America
If you need more help on “Going Green” contact the experts of Delaware at Waste Masters Solutions. Share on our Facebook page some of the ways your family has planned to Go Green in 2016. Waste Masters Solutions is a commercial waste solution and recycling company serving all of Delaware and making it its mission to make our community aware of the importance of reducing, recycling, reusing as much as possible.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
An Air Force veteran from Texas, Steve Masterson co-founded Waste Masters Solutions. Waste Masters services the tri-state area with commercial and industrial waste minimization, recycling and waste removal services. Steve is proud of his dedicated team, capable of handling large companies from PBF Refineries and 3M to the local businesses and small entrepreneurs, which he believes are the lifeline of our country. Waste Masters is large enough to get the job done, small enough to care.
