When we think green, we think savings—for the environment and your wallet.
Here are a few ways you can be green and save green.
BYOB (Bag and Bottle)
Get in the habit of carrying two things with you: a small reusable shopping bag and a water bottle. You’ll be surprised how much you’ll save.
The bag will be handy for small purchases at the drugstore, bookstore and all the other places that leave you with plastic bags you don’t need.
Tap water from Lake Michigan is actually safer and better tasting than most bottled water. And when you carry your own water bottle, you can get that great water for free.
Get Organized
Here’s how being organized is green: If you keep track of what you have, you can use things while they are still useful and avoid unnecessary purchases. From sewing/mending supplies and note cards to tools and batteries, knowing where to find things will save you time, money and a lot of waste.
Say No to Junk
No one likes getting junkmail, least of all the 100 million trees that are used in the junk mail Americans get every year. Sites like dmachoice.org can help you control what arrives in your mailbox.
Don’t Kill Your Television—Recycle It
Did you know that electronic products are the fastest growing type of trash in our landfills? Americans throw out hundreds of millions of computers, televisions, printers and cellphones every year. Many of those devices can be refurbished and all of them can be recycled. Once electronics are in a landfill, they can leech toxic chemicals like mercury, lead and arsenic into soil and groundwater.
ELPC helped to pass Illinois’ Electronic Products Recycling and Reuse Act, which creates free e-waste recycling options around the state. To learn more, visit elpc.org/e-waste.
The Environmental Law & Policy Center is the Midwest’s leading environmental legal advocacy and eco-business innovation organization.
