Green Party

Our family had its first "green" party this weekend, and it was a big hit. It seems slightly ironic to me that this particular party wasn't all that much different than the potlucks I went to as a child, where everyone brought their own tableware. But it was fun to be retro and especially fun that we didn't have any more garbage for this week's trash than we do on a normal week.

We used old curtains for table cloths instead of disposable plastic table cloths, I made some fun cloth napkins, everyone brought their own plates, we used REAL glasses, and had a compost bucket for food scraps. We gave away seed packages and flowers in peat pots as favors.

Following are the Eco-tips I had set out on the tables ...
Eco Tip #1: Walk or bike instead of driving. Some Cincinnati stores and restaurants are even giving free stuff this month (May) if you bike there!
Eco Tip #2: Use handkerchiefs and other reusable cloths instead of paper products like Kleenex, napkins, baby wipes or paper towels.
Eco Tip #3: Compost food scraps instead of using the garbage disposal. It saves water!
Eco Tip #4: Drive the speed limit! (I think our ministers would do well to follow this one) :) Keep your speed constant and don’t hit the brakes too much. Did you know… in a typical car, going 10 mph over 60 mph is like adding 54 cents a gallon?!
Eco Tip #5: Cut down your shower to 1-2 minutes to save water.
Eco Tip #6: Use CFL (compact florescent light bulbs). According to the EPA, they use 75% less energy and last 10 times longer! BUT… they work best in places you don’t switch the light on and off a lot, AND they are toxic if not disposed of properly!
Eco Tip #7: Take reusable bags to the grocery and other stores—or don’t use a bag for small items. Did you know… Target bags are not recyclable!? Ew!
Eco Tip #8: Don’t buy anything disposable, one-use, or individually wrapped!
Eco Tip #9: Eat local foods and buy local products. Cincinnati has MANY farmers markets.
Eco Tip #10: Catch unused tap water in a bowl and use it to water plants.
Eco Tip #11: Using less soap to hand wash dishes means less water is needed for rinsing!
Eco Tip #12: Cancel your newspaper and magazine subscriptions and READ ONLINE!
Eco Tip #13: Compost leaves and food scraps. These things don’t break down in a landfill and can produce methane (ew!)
Eco Tip #14: Make your own cleaning products, furniture polish and glue (I tried the glue for party-related purposes and it worked swimmingly!)
Eco tip #15: Shop at companies with good eco-scores and avoid ones with bad eco scores (this will probably be good for your health/waistline as well)
Eco tip #16: Recycle old batteries and CFLs at Environmental Enterprises, 4650 Spring Grove Ave. It's free during most of the year! Hamilton County Residents only (there are other locations for residents of other counties)!

Useful websites Hamiltoncountyrecycles.org Keepcincinnatibeautiful.org Livegreencincinnati.com Cincinnatilocavore.blogspot.com Eartheasy.com Compostguide.com Localharvest.com noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/