Green Tips

1. Recycle with Style: Instead of buying new furniture and accessories, look for vintage, restorable pieces or those made from recycled materials.

2. Switch your Bulbs: Replace incandescents with compact flourescents. They may cost more now, but they'll save you money in the long run.

3. Does your water bill seem high? Wasted water hurts the environment and your checkbook. Always fix leaky faucets, a five minute project, can save you gallons of water.

**tip: place a large rock in a toilet tank to save water when flushing.

4. Moving? Get free recycled boxes. There's a way for you to get free rcycled boxes sent straight to your door! Register at www.usedcardboardboxes.com

5. Skip the bottled water! Use a water filter to purify tap water instead of buying bottled water. Not only is bottled water expensive, but it generates large amounts of container waste. Bring reusable water bottles preferably aluminum, when traveling.

6. Make your own cleaning supplies: All you need are a few simple ingredients: Baking Soda, Vinegar, Lemon, Soap. Making your own cleaning supplies saves money, time and your indoor air quality.

7. Donate: Donate instead of trashing usable or fixable items also falls in the reuse category. Someone else might be able to get a few more years of use from them.

8. Turn it off! 75% of electricity is used when appliances are not turned on, meaning appliances suck up the majority of electricity just by being plugged into the wall.

9. Reuse grocery bags: Instead of using plastic bags at the grocery store, bring your own reusable bag, plastic bags are not biodegradable and takes years to be recycled, plus a lot of stores give you a discount off your purchases for bring your own bags.

10. Recycle aluminum cans at Habitat ReStore! Cans will be recycled into reusable aluminum and with your help they will be kept out of the landfill. Your recycled cans will also fund the building of Habitat homes in Montgomery County. For more information, visit Habitat ReStore’s Cans for Habitat.

Recycling Batteries

Batteries can and should be recycled when no longer in use. Many batteries carry toxic properties and must be disposed of correctly.

Local Businesses that accept old batteries to be recycled:

Best Buy, Office Depot, Staples, MOM's Market, Batteries Plus, Home Depot, Sprint PCS, Advanced Autoparts, Radio Shack