Pages

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Tips for Sustainable Living

Tupperware offers Sustainable Solutions!

Living a sustainable lifestyle can be easy. Each simple action makes a positive impact today, tomorrow, and for generations to come. Here are some ideas that don’t require a dramatic lifestyle change. Remember that every little effort helps:

Reduce Water Bottle Consumption – Americans consumed 50 billion single serve water bottles in one year and on average, only two out of ten bottles were recycled. Instead, choose from Tupperware’s wide range of durable drinking containers and pitchers for on the go or at home.

Replace Plastic Wrap with Tupperware® Containers - Two million tons of plastic wrap and over 1.5 tons of plastic bags end up in landfills each year. Tupperware’s durable, versatile storage products last virtually forever and offer a sustainable, reusable option for preserving food and the planet.

Use the Microwave - Microwaving helps conserve 50% more energy during cooking and reheating than a traditional oven. Tupperware’s microwave safe products help save time and energy.

Use Your Own Coffee Container - A Tupperware® commuter mug is a much better choice than a Styrofoam cup. Styrofoam does not degrade and will linger forever in a landfill. Don’t forget to bring your Tupperware® commuter mug to your local coffee shop and avoid the disposable cups.

Buy in Bulk - Buy in large sizes and save money, reduce waste, and help the environment. A family of four in the United States alone can save approximately $2,000 a year by choosing large sizes. Tupperware offers a number of storage solutions for keeping your bulk foods fresh longer.

Preserve your Fruits & Vegetables - Almost 10% of the food purchased at supermarkets ends up in landfills—more than 21 million shopping bags of food! Many of Tupperware’s fridge containers have been specifically developed with technology to preserve your foods, helping you reduce waste and save money.

Tupperware® Product Returns - If you decide to part with your old Tupperware® products, return it rather than throwing it away.

Make one less car trip a week - It will be easier on your wallet and the environment. Walk or ride your bike when possible. Consider shops and restaurants closer to home. And remember that a Tupperware Party can be happening in your own neighborhood.

Give your old cell phone new life - Donation boxes are located in stores in most communities, and the cell phones are distributed to soldiers, women in shelters, and others in need. 125 million cell phones are thrown away every year, creating 65,000 tons of waste.

Use fluorescent bulbs - In the United States alone, if every house used fluorescent bulbs, the energy savings would be equivalent to taking one million cars off the streets.

Use both sides of the paper - Over four million tons of office paper are discarded every year. That’s enough to build a 12 foot-high wall of paper equaling 2500 miles or 3800 km. Use both sides for printing, and then recycle.

Share Your Magazines - Take them to libraries, hospitals, or schools where they are needed and appreciated. Most of the magazines printed, almost 8 million tons, end up in landfills each year.

Turn in your junk mail - Take it to your local recycling location. The Environmental Protection Agency has found that making paper from recycled materials results in 74% less air pollution and 35% less water pollution.

Recycle glass - Contact your local recycling location to make a difference. A recycled glass bottle saves enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for four hours.

Turn off computers at night - Don't just put them in hibernation mode. Computers in the business sector unnecessarily waste $1 billion worth of electricity a year.

Buy recycled and re-manufactured toner and ink cartridges - Each re-manufactured toner cartridge keeps approximately 2.5 pounds of metal and plastic out of landfills and conserves about a half gallon of oil.

Plant a tree - Add trees and shrubs to your landscaping. They help absorb noise and sunlight in addition to creating additional oxygen and improving air quality around your home.

Conserve water- Conservation is the most cost-effective and environmentally sound way to reduce demand for water. Don't let the faucet run while you clean vegetables - Rinse them in a Tupperware® strainer and save 150 to 250 gallons a month. While you’re saving on your water bill, you will also be saving energy.

Don't let the faucet run while you clean vegetables - Rinse them in a Tupperware® strainer and save 150 to 250 gallons a month. While you’re saving on your water bill, you will also be saving energy.

Use the cold setting on your washing machine - If you use warm water and a dryer, you could be producing a staggering 715 kilograms of greenhouse gas. That number is substantially reduced when using cold water.

Dry multiple loads one right after the other - The dryer is already hot, so you’ll end up using less energy and saving money.

Adjust the thermostat - Every degree lower in the winter or higher in the summer translates into a 10% decrease on your energy bill and places less strain on energy resources

Drive smart - Make a list of errands and group them before you leave home. Planning trips allows you to save fuel, which conserves a resource and saves you money and time.

Check tire pressure - Tires at the wrong pressure, especially ones that are low, are a big fuel waster. This is a simple, cost-free way to reduce your gas expenses along with greenhouse emissions.

Replace appliances with energy efficient ones - A new refrigerator uses half the energy of an older one and saves as much as $100 a year. New energy efficient water heaters are 50% more efficient than older models

Give old things a second life - Take things that you are not going to wear or use and give it to a charity or someone who will use it. An unbelievable amount of books, shoes, and clothing in perfect condition end up in landfills.

Switch off the lights any time you leave a room for more the 15 minutes - In a typical home, lighting accounts for 20% of the electricity bill, so if you can cut back here you will save money while preserving a resource.

Go paperless - Get your statements and pay your bills online. If every house in one country did this, 18 million trees would be saved each year.

Use a reusable coffee filter - Coffee filters are white because they are bleached. The process of bleaching paper is responsible for creating dioxin, a deadly toxin that gets dumped into our waterways. Billions of bleached coffee filters are thrown away every year after one use.

Paint your house with lighter colors - The hotter the roof, the hotter the rooms below it. Light colored roofing and/or reflective coatings reflect radiant energy. Darker colors can increase cooling bills in the summer months by 20 percent.

Cover your pots and kettles when boiling water - Covering your Tupperware® cookware brings water to a boil faster, using less energy. You save money and reduce energy consumption.

Hit reverse on your ceiling fan in the winter - The fan will bring hot air down to mix with cooler air at floor level to equalize the temperature at floor and ceiling levels. The heating system will not need to run as often, and your savings could be significant.

Keep the oven door closed while cooking - While it’s tempting to sneak a peek, opening the door releases more energy and lowers the temperature by as much as 25 degrees.

Reduce idling in your vehicle - Except at a traffic signal or in slow traffic, turn your engine off if you're going to be stopped for more than ten seconds. Idling your engine for more than ten seconds uses more gas than turning your engine off and starting it again.

Change your furnace air filters once a month in the winter - The heater uses more energy when it is full of dust; this is an easy way to cut your bill and save energy.

Non-disposable alternative to cleaning - Tupperware’s range of environmentally safe cleaning cloths offers a long term solution rather then using and throwing away paper towels.

Bring your own Tupperware® Products - When dining out, bring your Tupperware® container for leftovers instead of using the restaurant’s plastic or Styrofoam containers.

Add a plant to your home decor - Houseplants add color and they act as filters by removing toxins from the air. For the best results, try chrysanthemums, English ivy, peace lilies, philodendrons or spider plants.

Install low-flow shower heads - Low-flow shower heads reduce water by an average of five gallons per minute, saving over 5,400 gallons a year.

Say no to paper or plastic bags - Switch to reusable high quality cloth grocery bags and offset significant environmental harm and eliminate a portion of our waste stream. Fourteen plastic bags contain enough petroleum to drive a car one mile. Paper bags do not biodegrade in landfills due to lack of oxygen.

Pass the word - Many people just don’t understand the seriousness of environmental issues impacting our world today. However, taking simple steps everyday each of us can make a difference. Tupperware is focused on providing product solutions to reduce waste and provide alternatives that preserve the future.

0 comments: