The Hamilton County Waste Management department has been working hard to help increase environmental awareness around the area.  Earlier this year they shared 10 Ways to Go Green, which are very much worth re-sharing.

From the Hamilton County Interchange Newsletter:

Top 10 Ways for Your Business to Go Green
Michelle Balz, Program Specialist, Hamilton County Solid Waste Management District

So, your business has decided to reduce its environmental footprint and become a good corporate citizen by going green. Generously, upper management has given you free reign to implement environmental policies…but where do you begin? Here are 10 simple ideas that can increase worker productivity, improve your company’s public image, and save your company money.

1. Start Recycling

Today recycling is a no-brainer. More than 40% of what we throw into the landfill is paper, yet over a dozen local companies crave paper as feedstock for their operation. Not wasting this valuable resource can also reduce your waste bill since the cost to haul recycling is lower than trash. Add in the environmental benefits of reduced pollution and conserved energy and it is easy to understand why recycling is often one of the first environmental policies a company adopts. For help with recycling, call the Hamilton County Solid Waste Management District at (513) 946-7734 or visit www.hamiltoncountyrecycles.org.

Environmental Benefit- Recycling office paper reduces air pollution by 95% and saves 24 trees for every ton of office paper recycled (National Recycling Coalition).

2. Switch Your Bulbs

While the lighting technology choices are endless, CFL, LED, T8, T5… the solution is clear: switching to energy efficient lights saves energy and money. The bulbs may cost more upfront, but energy efficient lights last much longer than traditional bulbs and use significantly less energy to reduce costs in the long run. To help you decide which technology is right for you, visit www.energystar.gov.

Environmental Benefit- Replacing a single standard bulb with a CFL reduces energy use by 75% and prevents 450 lbs. of carbon dioxide emissions over the life of the bulb (Energy Star).

3. Build Green

Whether you start with a vacant lot or renovate your current space, integrating green building ideas can decrease energy and water use and increase worker productivity with a healthier work environment. The idea is simple: use sustainable materials and design to create a space that works with the local environment instead of against it. For ideas on green building and how to earn LEED certification, visit the US Green Building Council at www.usgbc.org or call the local Cincinnati chapter at (513) 388-0020.

Environmental Benefit- Green buildings on average use 30% less energy than conventional buildings, saving $60,000 per year for every 100,000 ft2 space (US Green Building Council).

4. Convert Your Fleet

Increase fuel efficiency, decrease pollution, and receive federal tax credits, need I say more? Integrating hybrid vehicles or biodiesel not only builds a green fleet but it also makes the public aware of your green commitment. To compare the latest alternative fuels and vehicles visit www.CleanFuelsOhio.org.

Environmental Benefit- The production and use of biodiesel, compared to petroleum diesel, results in a 78.5% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions (National Biodiesel Board).

5. Implement Storm Water Management

Everything the rain washes off your buildings and parking lots ends up in a stream nearby, likely with unnatural speed that damages a stream ecosystem. You can take steps to minimize this effect by installing green roofs, buffer zones, rain gardens, and porous pavement. These practices allow rainwater to slowly release into local streams improving the health of the stream for local wildlife. For more information, visit
www.hamilton-co.org/stormwater.

Environmental Benefit- Porous pavement can reduce storm water runoff six times better than traditional pavement during peak rainfall (Environmental Protection Agency).

6. Encourage Employees to Save Fuel

If gas prices continue to climb, employees will welcome ideas to reduce fuel consumption. Offer incentives to employees who take the bus, ride a bike, carpool, or drive fuel efficient vehicles. Or if practical, allow your employees to work from home and eliminate the commute altogether. These actions will reduce your company’s carbon footprint and likely save employees money.

Environmental Benefit- Switching a 20-mile round trip commute to existing public transportation can reduce one person’s annual CO2 emissions by 4,800 lbs per year, equal to a 10% reduction in all greenhouse gases produced by a typical two-adult, two-car household (American Public Transportation Association).

7. Adopt an Environmental Purchasing Policy

Your company purchases many products- why not make those purchases greener? Adopting an environmentally preferable purchasing policy will give your employees the green light to seek out products ranging from post-consumer recycled content paper to non-toxic cleaning products. For sample policies and environmental purchasing tools visit www.epa.gov/epp/.

Environmental Benefit- Purchasing one ton (40 cases) of 30% post consumer copy paper saves the equivalent of: 7.2 trees, 2,100 gallons of water, 1,230 KW hours of electricity, and 18 pounds of air pollution (Conservatree).

8. Reduce and Reuse

Reduce waste in your office by discouraging employees to print unnecessarily (e.g., keep emails electronic) and encourage double-sided printing when possible. A simple change in margin size to 0.75 inches fits more text onto a page and reduces paper usage over time. Reuse in your office by providing a water cooler instead of water bottles and giving employees a reusable mug instead of disposable cups.

Environmental Benefit- Save energy! You would have to use a foam cup 1,006 times to reduce the amount of energy equal to reusing a ceramic mug (Institute for Lifecycle Environmental Assessment).

9. Make Energy Conservation an Office Habit

Want an option for going green that won’t cost you a dime? Encourage employees to conserve energy by turning off lights when they are not in use and shutting down computers before they go home. This small change in behavior can add up to a big conservation of energy. According to the US Department of Energy, to conserve the most energy turn off the monitor if you are not going to use your PC for more than 20 minutes and turn off both the CPU and the monitor if you’re not going to use your PC for more than 2 hours./

Environmental Benefit- Turning your computer off at night or on weekends can reduce energy use by two-thirds and save an average of $90 a year per computer (US Department of Energy).

10. Take the Go Green Challenge

By joining the Hamilton County Go Green Challenge, your business becomes part of a network of local companies implementing green practices. Go Green Challenge members also have access to experts in a variety of environmental fields and receive public recognition for their accomplishments. Visit www.hcdoes.org/gogreen.htm for more information.

And remember, the next Go Green Challenge event is Oct 7. Are you registered?

The Cincinnati Park Board recently commissioned their second solar power system.  Third Sun Solar and Wind Power of Athens, OH, installed the 10 kW solar array on Park’s operations headquarters building at 3215 Reading Road (45229).  The solar array is an investment in the future as it will produce power for the Park building and reduce utility costs.

Quote from the release:

“Renewable energy systems, like solar and wind, are a perfect fit for Cincinnati Parks. Part of our mission is conserving and sustaining our natural resources, and producing clean energy is one way to do that,” said Willie F. Carden Jr., Director of Parks.

Need a jolt of green in your life since the sun’s been setting earlier? Visit a Cincinnati Park!

And speaking of compost, are you ready to try Vermicompost?

This shot is a handful of the good stuff, taken at Emersion Design.  They are turning coffee grounds and other selected food wastes into a valuable, rich, planting soil.  Just add worms and watch them eat away at your discards and leave you the gift of compost.  Enjoy this vermicompost Q&A with Nikki Marksberry at Emersion Design.

Why Vermicompost?
Emersion Design had a recycling program before we had office furniture, phones or computers. It is important to us to keep as much as possible out of Mt. Rumpke (during our recent office expansion, 99.27% of all construction waste/debris was diverted from the landfill). Emersion started a vermicompost for several reasons; 1. It’s portable and can easily be controlled indoors, 2. It’s inexpensive to start especially if you make your own 3. And because worms are cool!

How do you get started?
I heard an interview with The Worm Lady on NPR and was “hooked.” There are a number of websites about vermicomposting and Shawn Hesse – an architect in our office and the local USGBC Chapter President- had a book with step by step instructions how to make a worm bin. We took a big Rubbermaid container, drilled holes, added food scrap, newspaper, and worms. Viola!

Where is your bin?
We keep our bin in our break area under the table.

What do you put in it?
Anything that can biodegrade goes in our vermicompost. Coffee Grounds, apple cores, spoiled leftovers, and then we cover the food with bedding made of white paper or newspaper

Doesn’t it smell?
We have had no problems with odor or other bugs. As long as there is enough bedding on the food only the worms are happy and other critters stay away.

How long does it take to make compost?
The food is eaten by the worms within a couple of weeks (it takes less time if the food is spoiled and already growing mold or fungus). It takes three to five months before there is enough worm castings or soil to harvest.

What do you do with the compost?
For now the compost has gone to office plants and to my neighbor’s organic garden. It’s great fertilizer!

We’ve mentioned these local green houses before, but here are some photos of the Northside LEED green residences taken during the EcoBags Lunch Series organized by ENCORE.  Both homes are under contract, but it’s still worth an inside look at what makes these places unique.

The homes from the front yard on a beautiful summer day.  Notice the drought tolerant and native plants in the landscaping.

Insulation is key to high energy efficiency.

Quality HVAC systems are designed to use minimal power.

My personal favorite: a dual flush toilet to save water where you use the most.  Choose a half flush for #1 and whole flush for #2.

High windows provide natural light for the room and a way out for hot air when opened.

Jami and Libby, the realtors who put together ENCORE in the kitchen of the second house.  Check out the bamboo floors, responsible cabinetry, Energy Star appliances, and the recycled material countertops.

Ever wander around the house and look at things that you know you can fix to save energy or water like that leaky toilet or your drafty windows?  Knowing what you can do to make your living space more environmentally friendly is one skill, being able to install and maintain things around the house is totally different.

This week we meet Chris Wiedeman, the handyman known around town for wearing a utility kilt.  His business, UtiliKris, specializes in offering earth-friendly repair suggestions and using energy-smart and natural materials.  He’s also a great example of how you can convert your current skills into a green job!

Do you make Cincinnati green? Submit your answers to the three questions below with a picture.

1. Who are you?
2. How do you make Cincinnati green?
3. What’s on your wish list for a greener Cincinnati?

Environmental efforts in Cincinnati are far from all technical and lead by large companies and the government.  Meet Alison Glover, with Seek Research, who is making it happen.

When her company grew and started looking to move into a new space, Alison learned about green building and green offices so that she could take ideas and plans to her company leaders.  The good news is that Seek was all ears and is now implementing an environmental plan thanks to Alison’s efforts.

Every job can be a green job.  Use the Live Green Website to find resources and ideas that will work where you work.  Bring ideas to your managers.  Create or join the office green team.  Make a small change.  Improve the world around you.

The easiest way to reduce waste and consumption of materials is to make what you already have last forever.  Give Back Cincinnati is taking that one step further with their latest event: Save the Emery.

The Emery Theater on Central Parkway and Walnut in Over The Rhine was an elegant theater built in 1911 which has not been in a good enough condition to use for over a decade.  Instead of razing the property to create a new building the plan was to convert the adjacent school building into housing and eventually restore the theater.

Your elbow grease can make the difference between a musty, dormant old room and a living classic theater.  Help keep this historic neighborhood in use.  Want to get involved?  Check out the details on the Give Back Cincinnati website.

This week our I Make Cincinnati Green section will introduce you to an individual who is working on preserving greenspace and promoting green building throughout the county.

Meet Dean Neimeyer.

Do you make Cincinnati green? Submit your answers to the three questions below with a picture.

1. Who are you?
2. How do you make Cincinnati green?
3. What’s on your wish list for a greener Cincinnati?

At a rest stop along I-71 South about 40 miles North of Cincinnati, there are a few small examples of greening in Ohio. Instead of all business as usual, the park benches at the rest stop are made of recycled plastic.

Even the sign describing some of the state’s recycling initiatives is made of 95% recycled content.

It’s always seemed that rest stops would be a perfect place to display the benefits of alternative energy. With these facilities being so far from “civilization”, why not save the trouble of conducting electricity along long distances and utilize solar or wind power? A 1-2 kilowatt array ought to be enough to power some vending machines and the LED lights and energy star hand dryers in the restrooms. A rainwater catchment and filtration system could provide a good source of potable water. And what’s wrong with installing waterless urinals or composting toilets? Maybe there is a farmer nearby who could use the products of composted waste to help the crops.

If you’ve been reading along for a few months, you know there there are local dedicated green Realtors, a certified Eco Broker, and development companies working to build green homes in the area. There are national websites dedicated to finding and buying existing green homes, and now you can even find an affordable LEED certified home in the local MLS.

All that, and green building is just getting off the ground in Cincinnati.

This spring and summer when you are working in the garden or taking a weekend to re-paint the garage, remember to think green. Not only is it a healthy choice and an energy conscious one, you may also be increasing the value of your home when it comes time for re-sale. Green building is taking off because demand is rising, even during a financially difficult time for most.

If you’re planning on taking advantage of a HIP loan from Hamilton County, use it for an energy efficiency upgrade to your home!

When you’re looking for a resource to help you green your remodel, check out the Live Green Cincinnati listings. Do you know someone who provides an environmentally friendly home building material or service in the area? Contact us so we can help connect Cincinnati residents to the tools they need to green their homes.