IN YOUR HOME

• Snip six-pack rings - they can harm birds and fish.
• Use compact fluorescent light bulbs - fluorescent light bulbs can last for 10 years and use 80% less energy.
• Turn off lights if you're the last one to leave a room.
• Dust off your light bulbs - dirty bulbs use more energy than clean ones.
• Make sure your doors and windows are properly sealed - half the energy used at home is wasted due to leaks.
• Keep the refrigerator closed unless it actually needs to be opened.
• Repair faulty taps - a fast dripping tap can fill a bath tub every day.
• Take showers not baths - showers use 68L every 5 minutes where baths hold 136L of water.
• Don't let the water run- you can save 80 000 L of water every year by not letting the water run when you're brushing your teeth, waiting for water to get cold, and washing dishes.
• Cut up your vegetables when you're cooking them - it takes less time to cook and saves energy.
• Eat your food in dishes that can be washed and reused - Use refillable coffee mugs.
• Turn down the thermostat from 22° to 20° in the daytime and to 17° at night - this saves up to 15% of your energy bill.
• Turn off fans when you leave the room - fans cool you, not the room. Use shade curtains to prevent the sun from entering the windows.
• Bring your own reusable shopping bags - a 15 year old tree can produce about 700 bags, a large grocery store can use that many in one hour.
• Re-use those plastic bags that you do receive - for garbage bags, etc.
• Buy rechargeable batteries - you could reuse a rechargeable battery up to 500 times.
• Buy products in bulk - there's less packaging material.
• Recycle cans, bottles, and newspapers, and tetra-paks - if all Canadians recycled their paper, we could save 80 million trees every year.
• Tea contains iron and other nutrients that are good for plants. So instead of throwing your used tea bags in the garbage, put them in your garden!
• Place your cigarette butts in the garbage; don't drop them on the street - Butts dropped in our streets get washed into stormwater drains and end up in our creeks and on our beaches. They account for about half of all litter found on our beaches.
• Put your litter in a bin or take it home - All litter dropped on the street follows the same path: through the stormwater system, to our beaches and creeks.
• Don't allow paint or cleaners to enter drains - Dispose of unwanted chemicals, solvents and oils responsibly. Never pour chemicals into the gutter or drain. Use regular chemical collections in your area to dispose of chemicals.
• Wash your car on grass or at the car wash. Don't allow detergents to enter the gutter - If you wash your car on your driveway or the street, soapy water, mud, oil and grease can flow into drains. If you choose to use a commercial car wash, use one that recycles the wash water.
• Have building supplies delivered to your site - If left on the footpath, road or nature strip, the wind and rain will sweep pollutants into storm water drains.
• Clean your windows with vinegar and water instead of chemical products.

Eco-friendly alternatives:

• Window cleaner - mix 125mL of vinegar with 1L of water.
• All-purpose cleaner - mix 50mL of household ammonia, 50mL of vinegar, 125mL of baking soda, and 4L of warm water.
• Oven cleaner - mix equal parts of baking soda and salt, and add enough water to form a paste.
• Drain cleaner - pour 125mL of baking soda down the drain, then pour 125mL of vinegar down the drain and let stand for 15 minutes before flushing with boiling hot water.
• Laundry detergent - use pure soap flakes and 1 tbsp of vinegar.
• Carpet cleaner - baking soda.
• Furniture polish - dissolve 15mL of lemon oil in 1L of mineral oil.
• Pesticide - blend garlic and green onion tops and strain out the pulp; mix with warm soapy water and spray it on your plants.

IN YOUR YARD

• While watering your lawn keep in mind that most lawns only need one inch of water every week.
• Start a compost - over half of the garbage your family throws out is organic and can be composted, when sealed in garbage bags, this organic material doesn't break down.
• Use organic fertilizers - organic fertilizers replace important nutrients removed from the soil by plants and rain while chemicals are leached into the soil and groundwater Storm drains near where you wash your car carry chemicals and soaps directly into streams without treatment.
• Don't buy food or other household products in plastic or styrofoam containers when there's an alternative.
• Don't keep exotic pets.
• Compost or mulch leaves and grass clippings; don't leave them in the gutter - Leaves and other garden refuse washed into storm water drains end up polluting our creeks and beaches.
• Keep your paths, driveways and gutters clear by using a broom rather than a hose.
• Compost or mulch leaves and grass clippings.
• Plant trees and shrubs in your backyard that feed birds and other critters.
• Use alternatives to chemical herbicides, pesticides. Go organic: mulch and compost.

IN YOUR COMMUNITY

• Plant a native garden at your school using plants that attract birds and butterflies to create habitat.
• Plant a tree each year for the class that is arriving at your school- the class that's leaving could plant the tree for the class that's coming in.
• Carpool - it reduces emissions and is cost-efficient.
• Use public transit.
• Learn what the endangered species are for your area and what you can do to protect them.
• Recycle your old tires.

Litter facts:

• It takes a month for a piece of paper to become part of the earth again; It takes a woolen sock a year and a soda can 200 years.
• Schools buy more books than anyone else in the country yet hardly any textbooks are printed on recycled paper.

Some cool sites:

• emilycompost.com
• Earthfriends Conservation Tips
• Pacific Salmon in Troubled Waters