Recycle City residents realize that it's up to them to help protect the environment. In this house, the Savemor family tries to reduce, reuse, and recycle as much as possible. Sue and Seymour Savemor and their kids, Sidney and Sheila, buy as few hazardous substances as possible.
Visit them and see if you can pick up any ideas to use in your home.
The Savemor home
Guidelines
The Savemors use some simple guidelines to reduce waste:
- To reduce waste, make less garbage.
- Buy only what you need. Rent, borrow, or share items that aren't used much.
- Sell or donate goods instead of throwing them out.
- Buy non-toxic or the least toxic products available.
- Buy products that use little or no packaging. Buy individually wrapped packages only when there is no alternative
- Buy reusable products, such as re-chargeable batteries that don't have to be recycled after one use
- Buy products made from recycled materials.
- Buy one general housecleaner rather than a variety of products for different purposes.
- Use all of the product containing toxic ingredients so there is no hazardous waste left.
- When you can't use something, find someone who can. Give extra paints to theatre or civic groups, and offer extra house cleaning or gardening supplies to neighbors.
- Take used motor oil, brake and transmission fluids, and antifreeze to the local gas station for recycling. Take old tires to the gas station or to the local auto wrecker.
Solar
panels
The Savemor home has solar panels to generate electricity. The panels help heat water and power the home appliances. Solar energy is a great source of clean, non-polluting energy.
Clothesline
When the weather is clear, the Savemors hang clothes on the line to dry. It saves energy and makes the clothes smell great.
Tire
swing
Sue and Seymour rigged a tire swing from the tree for the kids, keeping one more tire from becoming waste and providing a great time for anybody who uses it.
Attic
insulation
Every house in Recycle City has an insulated attic to reduce the need for energy and to conserve heat in the winter. The Recycle City Power Co. gives home owners a rebate for insulating their houses.
Appliances
The Savemors keep all home appliances, like the refrigerator, in good working order. They follow the manufacturer's suggestions for proper operation and maintenance.
When old appliances need to be replaced, Sue and Seymour always check the energy efficiency on the new appliance. They also buy appliances that offer a longer life span and a good warranty or repair policy. The longer the appliances last, the more the Savemors save.
When an old appliance has to go, they call local recyclers who pick it up and use it for scrap.
Source
reduction
The Savemor family knows that the best way to manage waste is to reduce it at the source. If you don't buy it, you won't have to throw it away. Here are some things the Savemors do to reduce waste:
- They contact companies to let them know they don't want to receive unwanted advertising mail. They ask companies they want to hear from not to share their names with other mailers. They also can request to be removed for many national mailing lists by writing:
Direct Marketing Association
Mail Preference Service
P.O. Box 9008
Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008
- They rent, borrow, or share items that they use infrequently, such as rug shampooers, ladders, chain saws, floor buffers, or garden tillers
- They contact manufacturers to encourage them to reduce unnecessary packaging
- They find safer alternatives to potentially hazardous household materials, such as oven cleaners and polishes
- They buy the products they use a lot in bulk instead of in smaller quantities, such as coffee.
Reusable
items
The Savemors hold a garage sale twice a year to sell things that they no longer want or need, but that can still be used. That way, they not only help the environment, they make money, too!
In addition, they know that many everyday items—such as bags, plastic containers, and coffee cans—can be used more than once. As part of a project for Miss Redux at school, Sheila and Sidney came up with ideas for how some things can be reused at home:
- Paper and plastic bags and twist ties can be saved. Bags can be used to clean up around the house or taken to the store on the next shopping trip. Brown paper bags are great for wrapping packages to be shipped. Twist ties can be used to secure wires on appliances or a computer.
- Paper and envelopes can be reused to write notes or make lists before being recycled. Gift boxes can be used again as well as larger pieces of wrapping paper, tissue paper, ribbons and bows.
- Packaging, colored paper, egg cartons, and other items can be used for arts and crafts projects for school, at day care, or senior citizen centers.
- Newspaper, packaging "peanuts," and bubble wrap can be reused to ship packages.
- Glass and plastic jars, milk jugs, coffee cans, dairy and other kinds of containers can be washed and used to store leftovers, buttons, nails, or thumbtacks. Empty coffee cans can be turned into flower pots.
- Used wood can be made into birdhouses, mailboxes, compost bins, or other woodworking projects.
BUT motor oil cans or pesticide containers CANNOT be reused because they contain harmful residues. They must be discarded following the manufacturers' instructions on the label.
Recycling
bins
The Savemors keep recycling bins in the kitchen so no one accidentally forgets and throws something into the trash that could be recycled. They recycle glass, paper, and aluminum and other metal cans.
Compost
bin
Sidney and Sheila built a compost bin in the yard after hearing about how to do it in school. They use the bin to recycle grass and yard trimmings, and also add coffee grounds, egg shells, and vegetable trimmings from the kitchen. As the waste degrades and turns into compost, they use it to help their garden grow.
Grasscycling
Whenever the Savemors cut the grass, they leave the grass clippings on the lawn instead of raking them up and putting them in bags. It's called grasscycling. It's good for the lawn because the grass breaks down and all the nutrients from the clippings go right back into the soil.
Because the lawn is receiving these nutrients, it doesn't need chemical fertilizers or even as much water. So, the Savemors save money, time, and energy—and keep all those bags of grass clippings out of the Recycle City landfill!
Homemade
cleansers
Although sometimes they can't find a safe substitute for a toxic cleanser, the Savemors have found a number of ways to use safer alternatives. (When they can't find a safe substitute, they use as little of the toxic substance as possible to do the job.) Some alternatives they use are:
- Natural biodegradable cleaners from health stores, or 4 tsp. of baking soda in warm water instead of general-purpose cleaners
- Vinegar and salt instead of heavy-duty cleaners for surfaces
- One-half cup of white vinegar followed by one handful of baking soda instead of drain cleaners
- Biodegradable cleaners instead of harsh oven cleaners (For fresh spills, wet and sprinkle baking soda and scrub with soft nylon scrubber)
- Vinegar and water to clean walls, floors, and glass instead of special cleaners
- One teaspoon of olive oil mixed with juice of one lemon and one teaspoon of water instead of furniture polish
- Opening the windows or setting out an open box of baking soda instead of using air fresheners. Or, simmering cloves and cinnamon in boiling water.
Bicycles
While they sometimes need to use their car, the Savemor family tries as much as possible to use bicycles to get from place to place. Bikes don't pollute or use non-renewable fuel sources—and they're good exercise.
Fireplace
This fireplace was made from old bricks that the family recovered from a building that was torn down.
The Savemors burn logs made from pressed wood. Pressed wood, made from recycled wood scraps and sawdust, burns cleaner that most other wood-based fuels. (Open fireplaces can add pollution to the air indoors. An enclosed wood stove that burns sawdust pellets can heat a home and cut down on the amount of pollution in the air.)
The Savemors listen to Recycle City air pollution control reports on the radio and stop using the fireplace when air quality warnings are issued, such as on cold nights when the temperature keeps smoke from rising and holds it close to the ground.
Entertainment
room
Of course, when the Savemors are done recycling at the end of the day, there are always reruns to watch on TV.
Home Kitchen and Bathroom Supplies
There are some items found in kitchens and bathrooms that are dangerous if they are just thrown away with the regular garbage. These items can damage the environment and injure plant and animal life.
- Ammonia cleaners
- Hair straightener solutions
- Chlorine bleach
- Liquid medicine
- Cuticle remover
- Lye
- Hair remover
- Needles and syringes
- Disinfectants
- Oven cleaners
- Drain openers
- Prescription medicine
- Hair permanent solutions
- Rubbing alcohol
- Tub, tile, shower cleaners
Your local waste management agency has information on how to properly dispose of these items. Learn more about safer alternatives to some household products by visiting the Savemors' house next to the school!
Home cleaning & household supplies
There are some items around the house that are dangerous if they are just thrown away with the regular garbage. These items can damage the environment and injure plant and animal life.
Cleaning supplies
- Dry cleaning fluid
- Moth balls and flakes
- Furniture or floor polish
- Rug cleaners
- Household cleansers
- Spot removers
- Metal polish
Household supplies
- Aerosol cans
- Lighter fluid
- Batteries
- Mercury from a broken thermometer
- Butane lighters
- Pet shampoo
- Chemotherapy drugs
- Shampoo for lice
- Flea powder
- Shoe dye and polish
- Fluorescent lamp tubes
Your local waste management agency has information on how to properly dispose of these items. Learn more about safer alternatives to some household products by visiting the Savemors' house next to the school!
Home garage & garden supplies
There are some items around the house that are dangerous if they are just thrown away with the regular garbage. These items found in garages and gardens can damage the environment and injure plant and animal life.
Garage supplies
- Antifreeze
- Chrome polish
- Automotive cleaner
- Diesel fuel
- Auto body filler
- Engine degreaser
- Automatic transmission fluid
- Gasoline
- Brake fluid
- Kerosene or lamp oil
- Carburetor cleaner
- Lubricating oil
- Car batteries
- Motor oil
- Car wax
Garden Supplies
- Fungicides
- Soil fumigants
- Herbicides
- Snail and slug poison
- Insecticides
- Vegetation killer
- Rat, mouse, gopher poison
- Weed killer
Your local waste management agency has information on how to properly dispose of these items. Learn more about safer alternatives to some household products by visiting the Savemors' house next to the school!
Paint & hobby supplies
There are some items around the house that are dangerous if they are just thrown away with the regular garbage. These items can damage the environment and injure plant and animal life.
Painting supplies
- Acrylic paint
- Oil-based paint
- Latex paint
- Paint stripper
- Model airplane paint
- Paint thinner
- Turpentine
- Mineral spirits
- Artists thinners, mediums
Hobby supplies
- Chemistry sets
- Resins, fiberglass, epoxy
- Glues and cements
- Rubber cement thinner
- Photographic chemicals
- Wood preservatives and solutions
Your local waste management agency has information on how to properly dispose of these items.
