Real estate Developer: March 2013

Tuesday, 26 March 2013

Did you know: As Cat http://bit.ly/13sttXK

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Monday, 25 March 2013

Think globally, act http://bit.ly/11BlqmG

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Wednesday, 20 March 2013

Scrap Paper Recycling

Many of us think of newspapers when we think of recycling paper, but most paper products are recyclable. Since paper accounts for about 35 percent of the municipal solid waste in this country and recycling saves 3.3 cubic feet of landfill space per ton of recovered paper, it makes sense to recycle it.

What Paper is Recyclable

There are five types or grades of paper that are commonly recycled: old corrugated cardboard, mixed paper, old newspaper, high-grade de-inked paper and pulp substitutes. Only the first three are likely to concern the average recycler as the others are by-products of industrial processing prior to further recycling. For the most part, old cardboard or paperboard boxes, magazines, newspapers, catalogs, office papers and discarded mail are recyclable.

Where to Recycle

Recycling centers accept only those kinds of papers that they have equipment to handle. Contact your local recycling centers and ask what papers they collect or process and whether you must pre-sort. To find a recycling center, check the EPA’s paper waste recycling information page —- “Where You Live” —- for links to guide you to an appropriate facility in your community.

Organizing and Sorting

For any recycling program to work, organization is key. Clearly mark bins and place them in areas where every member of the family can reach and use them. Unless local ordinances require a specific bin, an appropriately labeled, waterproof container near outdoor garbage bins will work for curbside recycling. If you take paper waste to a recycling center yourself, place a large bin in the garage —- where it will be handy for transport —- and empty smaller household bins into it as they fill. Locate the smaller bins near kitchen waste baskets, the printer in your home office or wherever you regularly use paper.

Waste Reduction

Reducing the amount of paper you buy in the first place is the best way to begin. To save forests from unnecessary logging, buy in bulk when possible or buy items with minimal packaging. Take reusable cloth bags to bring purchases home from the store. When buying paper products such as office supplies, household tissues or magazines, look for products made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper.

Reusing and Up-cycling

Most paper is recyclable, but if facilities are unavailable in your area, find other ways to reuse scrap paper around the house, such as lining a table for painting or in potty training a puppy. Scrap paper is also invaluable for “up-cycling” into craft projects. Use colorful photos from magazines in collages or scrapbooking projects, or shredded paper for paper mâché pinatas. Reuse papers printed on one side only for shopping lists or kids’ sketch pads. Even used paper is a valuable resource.

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Tuesday, 19 March 2013

Did you know: The Gr http://bit.ly/WBIBhr

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Monday, 18 March 2013

Join the race to mak http://bit.ly/16E7w6R

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Friday, 15 March 2013

Words of wisdom! http://bit.ly/15Qrwlx

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Thursday, 14 March 2013

How My Family Can Conserve Energy

Conserving energy in your home is easier than you think. If you make small changes over time, you can trim unnecessary energy usage and lower your family’s carbon footprint. Most electricity is generated in power plants that burn fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas and emit carbon dioxide. By cutting energy use you can reduce the demand on power plants and save money in the process.

Get Together

Get the whole family involved in and excited about the idea. You are working together to develop an environmentally sustainable lifestyle and you need all hands on deck. Have fun. Use teamwork and encouragement. Post handmade signs around the house that give friendly reminders about energy-saving goals like turning out the lights. Keep a chart to document efforts.

Get Into Hot Water

You might not give hot water much thought, but it consumes 14 to 25 percent of your home’s energy, making it a good target for your family’s energy-saving efforts. Set the water temperature to 120 degrees Fahrenheit and wrap the heater in an insulating blanket if it’s an older model. For every 10 degrees that you reduce the temperature, you will save 3 to 5 percent on your water heating bill. Reduce your hot water use by installing low-flow shower heads and aerated kitchen faucets, taking five-minute showers, running the dishwasher only when it’s full and turning off the faucet while soaping up your hands.

Lights Out

Lights consume about 10 percent of your home’s electricity, according to the EPA. One by one, replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent or LED bulbs. They use 75 to 80 percent less electricity and last 10 to 25 times longer. Get everyone in the habit of turning off the lights when leaving a room and using task lighting rather than overhead lighting; focus electrical use only where it is needed. Take advantage of natural lighting and keep lights clean to improve their efficiency.

Turn it Off

When TVs are turned off, they still suck up the amount of electricity generated annually by 21 large power plants. In the average home, the electricity used by DVD players, TVs and other small home appliances when they are turned off totals up to 438 kilowatt hours each year. This type of energy consumption is called “phantom load.” The simplest way to stop it is to plug the appliances into power strips and turn off the strips when the equipment isn’t being used.

Cooking

Every time you make a meal for your family, you have a chance to conserve energy. Use pots and pans that fit the burners; small pots on large burners waste energy. Cook with the lids on; the food will heat faster and less energy will be consumed. Reheat food in the microwave instead of the oven; it uses 70 to 80 percent less electricity. Bake in glass pans and you can set the oven 25 degrees lower. But don’t open the door to peek —- it lowers the oven’s temperature by 25 degrees.

Celebrate

Making meaningful changes is difficult, and it takes time to be successful. Old habits die hard —- but when they do, it’s cause for celebration. Take time every week or two and reflect on the ways your family is saving energy, saving the planet and saving money. Treat yourselves to a candlelit pizza party, a bike ride or a family art night. Then pick the next energy-saving actions to commit to.

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Tuesday, 12 March 2013

Did you know: Horset http://bit.ly/XFoxKL

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Monday, 11 March 2013

Flowers make our amb http://bit.ly/W0r95X

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Friday, 8 March 2013

Water for the future http://bit.ly/XXaBeM

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Thursday, 7 March 2013

Greener Grocery Shopping

Grocery shopping can create a lot of waste. One study has estimated that approximately thirteen percent of municipal solid waste is packaging material from grocery store products. There a number of ways you can buy food and other household supplies without creating such a huge Eco footprint.

Buy in bulk. Many stores feature bulk food bins for items like pasta, rice, nuts, flour, and other dried foods; some also sell liquids like cleaning products and shampoo in bulk. If possible, take your own reusable containers. Food buying clubs and co-ops are especially good for this. (An added bonus is that bulk buying reduces the number of car trips you have to make to the store.)

Avoid individually packaged, single-use items. Buy the larger size packages and then divide up the food at home in reusable containers for convenience.

If bulk buying is not possible, choosing the largest size package available will save both packaging and money. Concentrated products also cut down on packaging.

Avoid unnecessary packaging. Look for reusable, recycled, and recyclable packaging. (Make sure that the material is accepted by your local recycling program.)

Bring your own reusable bags. Up to one trillion plastic bags are used every year, worldwide. A single plastic bag can take up to a thousand years to degrade. They are the second-most common type of ocean refuse, after cigarette butts. Cloth bags are best because they can be easily washed.

In the produce aisle, bypass those clear plastic bags. Feather-weight reusable mesh bags are increasingly available for produce that needs to be protected or that you buy in quantity, such as loose pieces of fruit. Or carefully open those plastic mesh bags that onions are sold in and reuse them. A head of lettuce or bunch of carrots doesn’t need a bag at all, and can be put into a reusable container at home.

Not cooking tonight? Bring your own reusable containers when ordering take-out food. Just let the restaurant know when you order that you’ll be bringing in your own containers and make sure you take enough of them.

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