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Recycle for a Cause: Give Back and Save the Environment

You’ve gone green at home by recycling and cutting back your energy use. You’ve gone green at work by only printing when necessary and using your own coffee cup instead of disposable ones. Now it’s time to go green with your charitable donations as well.

Give a Car for a Cause

Kars 4 Kids is one non-profit organization that helps you go green by recycling your old car for a good cause. In this case, recycling your car means that you donate it to charity rather than sending it to a junkyard. This keeps the car and all of its parts out of the landfill and reduces leakage into the soil of oil and other chemicals and fluids. In turn, this keeps seepage from getting into local bodies of water and even drinking water in the community.

It’s Green and Tax Deductible

When you donate your old car to a charity and recycle your old car, you are helping to provide the charity with the funds it needs for its cause. The benefits go beyond your goodwill, however, in that they also make the world a better place to live, work and play. When you take old cars out of commission, it also means that you are using up less energy (gas). This too can add some green to your wallet with the rising cost of gas.

Finally, donating your car greens your pocket because it is a tax deductible donation that allows you to get rid of your old gas guzzler, make a difference and save money in the process.

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Using the Suburban Sprawl Wisely

When it comes to using land and managing property, there isn’t a lot that’s done right. The land between rural and urban communities (the suburbs) is particularly bad at using resources correctly, because there’s so much space and not a lot being done with it. Now, some suburban homeowners are starting to use their land to grow food, compost, and produce things from the land, instead of just having a yard that they spend a lot of money each year taking care of. The suburbs in a lot of cities were designed right after the Second World War, and they haven’t really seen any kind of improvement since then. That’s unfortunate, because that property could be better managed and help out a lot more people.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re in Tampa, Seattle, or Arlington property management is a big deal and no one’s using it efficiently. The largest amount of land is being used for the least production, and that’s hurting everyone involved. There are only so many resources on the planet, and when people don’t use them efficiently they can’t help those who are struggling and those who need food and/or need to try to keep food prices lower. If you live in the suburbs, you can do your part by composting, growing some crops for your own consumption, and using your land wisely and efficiently.

It’s great that more urban residents are using their land to grow crops and do similar things, but it’s upsetting that there are so few suburban homeowners who are interested in doing those kinds of things. The ones that are doing it are helping the planet, but there just aren’t that many of them, and more are needed. You can get involved on your parcel of land, and help the planet continue to thrive.

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Conserving Water Starts at Home

Water treatment is expensive. Conserving water at home can mean lower water bills and a better environment. Using common sense in water conservation means you don’t have to make huge sacrifices later.

First, fix the leaky faucets. Drip, drip, drip means waste, waste, waste. If a toilet has a habit of getting stuck, have it repaired. It will be less expensive in the long run than paying the water bill if it’s left to run all day every day.

When hand washing dishes, use sink stoppers in both sides – one for washing and one for rinsing. Then you won’t have to keep the water running the whole time you wash dishes. Wait to run the dishwasher when it is entirely full. Running partial loads is a waste of money and power.

Monitor children when they are bathing, washing their hands or brushing teeth. It’s never too soon to teach children good conservations habits. Explain to them how we are trying to help the environment. That will mean more to them than another lecture on how you have to pay the bills.

Wait to run the clothes washer when it’s full or remember to adjust the load setting. You can waste many gallons of water running a small load on a high-level setting.

Be sure sprinkler systems are programmed and are running properly. Overwatering can harm plants in addition to wasting water. Observe any local watering bans that are in effect during droughts or high fire risk times. Gray water from bathtubs and runoff water can be used in these situations.

If you’re washing your car, shut the hose off while soaping. Also, make sure you’re using biodegradable soaps that won’t harm plant life or animals in the area.

When trying to conserve around the home, saving money is usually the same as saving water or other resources. Reducing waste leads to benefits all around.

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