Ways to recycle plastic bags:

• Use them as wastebasket liners.
• Place them in the bottom of plant pots and hanging baskets – they act as great drainage systems.
• Children can use them for carrying gear to school for sports or recreation.
• Use them to surround items when you’re packaging as an alternative to bubble wrap.
• Use them when packing for a vacation to keep dirty/wet clothes and shoes away from dry clothing.
• Use them as a means to pick up waste when out walking your dog.
• Some supermarkets recycle plastic bags, so you can return plastic bags to them.
• Re-use washed resealable bags for sandwiches and snacks rather than using plastic wrap.

Ways to recycle paper:

• After children's drawings and paintings have been displayed for a while they can be used to wrap presents. This also makes the present special.
• Discarded paper can be cut and stapled together to make notepads.
• Use the envelopes you receive in the mail a second time by placing a new address label over the last address. Old envelopes can also be used for scribbling down shopping lists, to-do lists and notes.

Ideas for recycling other items:

• Old or broken household goods such as toasters or transistor radios can be used by others for parts. Sell them cheaply at a garage sale.
• Carry a supermarket bag with you when you go walking so that you can pick up glass, litter or other plastic bags.
• Schools and daycare centers often need boxes, plastic bags, old buttons, used wrapping paper, greeting cards, ribbons, tiles, crockery and other materials for art resources. They may also want old phones, keyboards, etc. as learning toys.
• Wrapping paper, bows, ribbons, and boxes can be used to wrap someone else's presents.
• Recycle jars by using them for storage or home preserves.
• Ice cream containers can be reused around the home in a number of ways: Storing food in the freezer, container for toys, crayons, clothes pins, etc. or a cookie jar. They are also good for nuts and bolts or for camping trips for storage of food or necessary items.
• Meat trays, yogurt containers, egg cartons, and film canisters can be kept and used by the kids to create stuff. This is a great way to keep the kids amused and even make gifts for family and friends.
• An upside down bottle with small holes in the top can be used to provide water for your pets while you are on holiday.
• Materials left over from home sewing can be used by schools for collages. Larger pieces can also be used for patchwork and crafts by people in rest homes.
• After you have finished a family-size yogurt pot, rinse it out and use it as a lunch box or cookie jar.
• Stronger plastic bottles can be used to hold tools and nails, etc. in the shed. Simply cut three sides and leave one side longer and nail to the wall in the shed.
• Old furniture, clothes, kitchen gear, and bedding are always wanted by organizations like the Salvation Army.

General tips to avoid making waste in the first place:

• Buy a smaller trash container for the kitchen. This makes you remember to recycle.
• Bring your own mug to get coffee. Paper cups waste money and landfill space. Plus, bringing your own cup to local coffee houses can save you money.
• Make sure bottles and tin cans are clean before putting them in the recycling bin. This prevents flies both at home and the recycling station.
• Reorganize the kitchen so it has an efficient recycling area with good-sized bins to help with sorting and holding. This will encourage other members of the household to contribute and help share the work instead of it being reliant on one person.
• Cutting both the tops and the bottoms off tin cans (and placing them inside) and squashing them makes them smaller to fit into the recycling bin.
• Spread the word. By telling other people and helping them to get started, we increase the savings that can be made. Also, get your family involved.

Tips on ways to use renewable energy:
• Fuel your vehicle with ethanol or biodiesel.
• Buy clean electricity generated from biomass. At least 50 percent of consumers in the nation have the option to purchase renewable electricity directly from their power supplier.
• Buy products, like plastics, made from biomass. Whatever products we can make from fossil fuels (non-renewable resources), we can make using biomass. These bio-products, or bio-based products, are not only made from renewable sources, they also often require less energy to produce than petroleum-based products.
• Heat your home using wood or bio-based pellets. Heating and cooling account for about 56% of the energy use in a typical U.S. home, making it the largest energy expense for most homes. Before the 20th century, 90 percent of Americans burned wood to heat their homes. As fossil fuel use rose, the percentage of Americans using wood for fuel dropped, falling as low as one percent by 1970. Then during the energy crises of the 1970s, interest in wood heating resurfaced as a renewable energy alternative.

Source: Energy Efficiency and renewable Energy – U.S. Department of Energy

General Conservation Tips
• Turn out the lights when you walk out of a room.
• Turn off electric household items when done.
• Check household faucets for leaks. A faucet with even a slow drip takes 10 to 25 gallons of water. Just think, 15 drips per minute add up to almost 3 gallons of water wasted per day, 65 gallons wasted per month, and 788 gallons wasted per year!
• Keep showers to 5 minutes or less in length. A five-minute shower takes 10 to 25 gallons of water.
• Keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator. Then you won’t have to run tap water to cool it.
• Use a broom to sweep your driveway, garage or sidewalk instead of using water.
• Use a bucket of water to wash your bike or the family car and rinse quickly with a hose.
• Water your lawn in the evening or in the early morning to avoid evaporation. Be careful to water only the lawn and not the sidewalk or street.
• Use water only when you need it. Don’t leave water running; be sure to turn it off when you are finished.

• Human comfort range is between 72 and 78 degrees F. To extend the comfort range to 82 F, you need a breeze of about 2.5 ft/sec or 1.7 mph. A slow-turning ceiling-mounted paddle fan can easily provide this air flow.
o As an alternative to air conditioners, consider using ceiling, table or whole-house fans, which use much less power – about the same amount of energy as a 100-watt light bulb.
o Use fans to increase comfort levels at higher air conditioning thermostat settings (78 degrees minimum). Ceiling fans permit raising the thermostat setting on an air conditioning system 4 to 6 degrees.
• Shut off your air conditioner and leave the windows closed when you’re not going to be home for an extended period of time.
• Try not to use a dehumidifier at the same time your air conditioner is operating. The dehumidifier will increase the cooling load and force the air conditioner to work harder.
• Buy a high-efficiency air conditioner: for room air conditioners, the energy efficiency ratio (EER) rating should be above 10; for central air conditioners, look for a seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) rating above 12.
• Close your blinds, shades or draperies during the hottest part of the day. Install white window shades or mini-blinds. Mini-blinds can reduce solar heat gain by 40-50 percent. o Install awnings on south-facing windows, where there’s insufficient roof overhang or vegetation to provide shade. o Hang tightly woven screens or bamboo shades outside the window during the summer to stop 60 to 80 percent of the sun’s heat from getting to the windows. o Especially in well-insulated buildings, keeping windows closed during daylight hours and open at night can significantly reduce cooling costs.

• You can help get rid of unwanted heat through ventilation if the temperature of the incoming air is 77 F or lower. Check the outside temperature and open your windows and use window fans when the temperature allows this.
• Turn off lights when you leave a room or when they aren’t needed.
• Cook outdoors, use a microwave oven or prepare cold meals to avoid heating up the kitchen and adding moisture to the air. Microwaves use less than half the power of a conventional oven and cook food in about one-fourth the time.
• Avoid cooking during the hottest part of the day. Try to use the range top more, the oven less. Cook in large quantities and freeze in meal-size portions.
• Use the short cycle on your dishwasher. Wash only full loads.
• Set your refrigerator at 40 degrees, your freezer at zero. If you refrigerator has an "efficiency" setting, make sure it is on.
• Most of the energy in clothes washing is used to heat the water. Use warm or cold water when possible, and always rinse with cold water.
• Take showers instead of baths.
• Use warm or cold settings to dry clothes. When possible, use an outdoor clothesline rather than a dryer.
• Pumping water uses electricity. Don’t run the water when brushing your teeth or shaving, and limit washing cars and watering lawns during power shortages.
• Pool pumps should only be operated during evening hours. This eases electric demand during peak usage hours. Check water quality frequently.
• Lower the temperature of your water heater to 120 degrees Fahrenheit, which is adequate for normal use. Also, consider turning off electric water heaters during periods of high electrical use or public appeals for electric curtailment.

How to conserve while on vacation
• Before you leave
1. Not only should you turn off all appliances for safety reasons, but unplugging them as well will help reduce energy consumption. Some household items, such as televisions, microwaves or computers, still draw power even if they are turned off.
2. Turn your water softener off before leaving.
3. If you have a gas water heater, set the temperature dial to the VAC or “vacation” setting.
4. Refrigerators are one of the biggest energy-wasters while away. If you will be gone for an extended time, empty out the contents and unplug it. If that’s not practical, get rid of easily spoiled foods such as milk and yogurt, and turn up the thermostat a notch or two. You can raise the internal temperature up to 38 degrees and still keep your food safe.
5. The same advice applies to the freezer. Remove fast-melting foods like ice cream, and raise the temperature a few degrees. Meats and vegetables will remain solidly frozen in the freezer temperature is five or below.
6. Instead of keeping lights on for security purposes, look into installing timed outdoor energy-efficient lights that will only use power during the night.
7. Buy rechargeable batteries for all the kids’ travel toys and handheld gaming devices.
8. Turn off your air conditioning. Check the thermostat and make sure your house isn’t being cooled while you are away. Pulling down shades or closing blinds will help keep your house cool while you are gone.
9. Stop your newspaper. You may be able to donate it to a school or local organization while away.

• Transportation
1. If you’re driving to your destination, reduce your driving speed on the road. Driving the car 75 mph instead of 65 mph increases your fuel consumption by 20 percent. Slowing down is also safer.
2. Research ahead of time if you need transportation after arriving. Learn the bus schedules or subway schedules to see if they will get you where you need to go before renting a vehicle.
3. If you have to rent a vehicle, be sure to ask for a hybrid. If that is not an option, ask for the most fuel-efficient car available.
4. Purchase electronic tickets for airline travel whenever possible.

• Staying in a hotel
1. Before you book your stay, be sure to check and see if your hotel is environmentally friendly. Ask what they are doing to help sustain our environment such as low-flow shower heads, reusable coffee mugs in the rooms and energy-efficient appliances. Support hotels and resorts that support the Earth. 2. Book your stay over the Internet to eliminate paper waste.
3. Many hotels have a program that allows you to save energy by not washing your linens and towels every day. Be sure to reuse towels after showers and pool visits. Doing so reduces the amount of energy, water and detergents used daily. Hang towels up on racks to dry, just like at home. In most hotels and resorts, hanging towels on the racks means, “I’m going to use them again.” Placing towels on the floor or in the tub means, “Please replace.” Be sure to ask the hotel management their specific policy on how you can help conserve. To keep track of which towel belongs to which family member, pack a handful of safety pins and small colored beads. Attach a pin and bead to each towel, using a designated color for each family member. Remove the pins before checkout.
4. Participate in hotel recycling programs by placing recyclables in appropriate bins. If there isn’t a recycling bin in your room, ask the management how you can recycle products such as the small shampoo and conditioner bottles, water bottles, snack bags, etc.
5. When you leave your hotel room, turn off the AC/heat, lights, TV and radio. Close the drapes.
6. Leave little bottles of amenities in the guestroom if unopened.
7. Pack a permanent marker and write each person's name on the cups in the hotel bathroom. It's also handy for writing names on water bottles and lots of other things.
8. Keep bar soap wrappers and take used bars of soap home.
9. Let hotel management know, by speaking directly to management or writing them a note, that you want them to conserve and that you want to participate.
10. Instead of leaving bathroom lights (and fans) on all night, it's wise to pack night lights for hotel stays.
11. If the hotel provides complimentary newspapers, pass yours on to someone else, or leave it in the lobby for another reader. Ask the hotel to see that it’s recycled.
12. Be sure to turn off exercise equipment, sauna, whirlpool, Jacuzzi or tennis court lights when you’re through.
13. Check out of the hotel via the hotel’s electronic program available on the TV in some hotels. You can view your bill, approve it, and help reduce paperwork.
14. Environmental programs or events may be listed on “things to do in the area” portion of the in-house TV programming.

• Feeding the family
1. Snacks are essential when traveling, but packing foods with little, or no packaging, is the smartest decision. Take a cooler and pack healthy, unpackaged snacks, such as fresh fruit. If you have to pack pre-packaged snacks, be sure to recycle the waste when you’re done.
2. Do some research before leaving and plan to dine at restaurants that support local farmers. This cuts down on fuel usage and also supports the local economy.
3. If you have to stop for a fast-food feast, be sure to recycle your waste. In fact, asking for less packaging will help conserve even more.
4. Water is essential in keeping hydrated by the pool or while on the road. Be sure to use reusable water containers instead of bottled water. If bottled water is the only option, be sure to recycle your waste.

• Camping
1. Camp 200 feet or more away from water sources to avoid water contamination.
2. Use environmentally friendly products or chemicals that don’t harm the natural world, such as baking soda, which can clean surfaces and deodorize.
3. Use toilets that create the least impact, such as a vacuum toilet with a cassette tank that needs no chemicals or deodorizers. Avoid using products in RV holding tanks that include synthetic chemicals, selecting instead, ingredients proven to be environmentally friendly.
4. Recycle and compost wherever possible.
5. Reduce the amount of garbage you create by minimizing packaging when buying products.
6. Actively look for opportunities to conserve energy and other resources by having your vacation in Indiana. Think about installing solar power units to the top of your RV and using biodiesel fuel.