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It is important that we become better stewards of our planet. Here are some easy tips that everyone can implement.

1. Recycle more – Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours or a 100 watt light bulb for 20 hours. Each ton of mixed paper that is recycled can save the energy equivalent to 185 gallons of gasoline. If everyone recycled their newspapers, we would save 250,000,000 trees each year. We throw away over 25 billion Styrofoam cups each year. Each month we throw away enough glass bottles to fill a skyscraper. A glass bottle takes over 4,000 years to decompose. Disposing a single quart of motor oil improperly can contaminate over 2,000,000 gallons of water. This year make a commitment to recycle more than you did last year.

2. Use Recyclable bags when shopping – Plastic bags kill 1,000,000 sea creatures each year. If your plastic ends up in the landfills it will take over 1,000 years to decompose. Plus as they decompose they release chemicals in to our land that contaminates our water supplies.

3. Use fewer plastic bottles – Use recyclable bottles for your water but when you do use plastic be sure to recycle. Right now 8 out of every 10 plastic bottles are not recycled. You can recycle most plastic bottles with the PET #1 and HDPE #2 --- 96% of all plastic bottles produced.

4. Don’t use chemicals in your yard – There are other ways to take care of your yard without poisonous chemicals. A mixture of water and salt will kill weeds; use composted material for fertilizer; kill mites with 1 quart of water, 2 tbs of tobasco sauce and 1 tsp of dishwashing detergent; take care of aphids, white flies and spider mites with 2 liters of water and 2 tbs of dishwashing detergent.

5. Replace poisonous cleaning products with natural products – There are several products on the market now that you can choose from. However, some simple solutions that you can do yourself are: use baking soda to clean and deodorize; use lemon juice for bacteria; use white vinegar to cut grease, remove mildew and some stains; use cornstarch to clean carpets and windows.

6. Use environmentally friendly light bulbs - They may be more expensive to begin with but you will save money in the long run with lower electric bills, plus they will last longer. If we change to efficient LED’s we can cut 6% off our national electric consumption. It is estimated that you will save $30 over the lifespan of each compact fluorescent light bulb that you install in your home or office.

7. Composting – 26% of our waste disposal each year is from food and yard waste. Using compost materials in your yard can reduce pests and plant diseases; eliminate the need for chemical fertilizers; and provide healthier, higher yields for gardens.