If you think like I do, when you need to replace appliances and other household items you go for the most environmentally-friendly choices out there, like Energy Star® certified models and water-saving appliances such as tankless water heaters and front-loading washing machines. I’m fortunate to live in Austin where the city offers rebates on appliances like these, so not only can you save money in energy and water consumption costs, but you can get a hefty rebate. I got $100 back from the City of Austin when I bought my front-loader washing machine a few years ago, which is no small change!

But alas, my relationship with my beloved 6-year-old front-loader came to an abrupt halt last month when it started making a REALLY LOUD banging noise during the spin cycle. The repair man asked me questions like: “You used ‘HE’ soap, right?” and “How much soap did you use?” I quickly realized that I had not done enough research. I swear I read the manual but, as it turns out, it was going to cost more to repair my washing machine than to buy a new one. Ouch!

Hence, the reason for this post. If I didn’t know that you should only use “HE” (high efficiency) soap, maybe there are others out there who don’t know! And also, even though I always use eco-friendly soap like Seventh Gen or Ecover which are “HE” soaps (it says so on the label), I apparently used too much and created excessive suds that washed away the grease in the bearings and completely ruined my washing machine.

Since this happened I have talked to many others who did not know this, so let me offer some advice to help you save your washing machine! Only use HE soaps, and follow the manufacturer’s recommendations to figure out how much soap to use. The Soap and Detergent Association (who knew?) has created a very informative PDF that I now highly recommend everyone check out.

Have you discovered some little known hazard while greening your life? Please share your knowledge to help others avoid the same issues by posting a comment below. Thanks!

At WFM, we just happen to celebrate Team Member Appreciation Week during the same week as Earth Day, so at the Global office, it always turns into a great party. This year we enjoyed perfect Texas weather on the Plaza, complete with live music from Colin Gilmore, seed planting, face painting, cake and gelato eating….we held a trash art contest, played “Pin the Continent on Mother Earth” (in which Team Members donned a bandana, were twirled around a few times, and tried to pin all the continents to the correct geographical location on the map, ha!) and “Wheel of Waste” (in which Team Members spun the wheel and determined whether the selected item should be recycled, reused, composted, or thrown away). It was super FUN!

But I saved the best for last…for the second year in a row we held a voluntary pledge in honor of Earth Day. Last year, we had over 100 Team Members pledge to take the stairs, conserve energy, carpool, bring their own water bottles, etc.-in general, they pledged to become more conscious of the simple, daily things they could do to help the earth.

This year, we asked Team Members to take it one step further and give up their trash cans! “Think Trash Last” was the theme. We asked them to take the following things into consideration:

• Can I reuse? …use a SIGG bottle, drink from a reusable coffee mug, bring your own silverware and containers – skip the plastic silverware, re-use bulk bin/produce bags and containers!
• Can I recycle? …recycle glass, aluminum, #1,2 (& soon #5) plastics, paper, cardboard, batteries, electronics, etc.
• Can I compost? …compost uneaten food, soiled napkins, soup & salad bar containers…even gum.
• Can I buy better? …make some changes in my purchases that will eliminate the trash that I am producing…less packaging!

And guess what?! 77 brave souls gave up their trash cans. They are now having to pile their trash on their desk, which will force them to want to reduce the amount they generate, which will force them to re-think what they are buying, which will eventually eliminate more and more waste going to the landfill. We are making Earth Day every day, that’s for sure.

Are you in the same boat as I am? I have a really old television because I just don’t really watch TV, and I don’t have cable, so it looks like I’ll be one of those folks who will benefit from a digital converter box to keep my perfectly good television working. The other choice is to invest in a new digital-ready television. If you aren’t up to speed on this whole thing, the digital switch is coming June 12th so find the details here.

The environmentally-friendly choice is obvious: opt for the converter box. Your television will still work! But if you DO choose to buy a new television, what are you going to do with your old one? Please don’t throw it away! Televisions are toxic. They contain lead, mercury and other stuff that we should not be putting in the landfill. There are PLENTY of alternatives:

• Post it on Freecycle.org
• Give it to Goodwill
• If it’s a Panasonic, Sharp or Toshiba, MRM will take it off your hands
• Check the EPA website for other recycling options
• Use the ecological side of your brain and get creative! Donate it to a local school or shelter, or encourage your favorite green volunteer organization to hold an e-waste recycling drive to be sure that this potential eco-disaster is minimized as much as possible. You can do this!

Then, when you go shopping for your new television:

• Pick one made by a company that has a take-back program, like Sony
• Make sure you get one with an Energy Star rating
• Get a power strip that you turn off when you are not using your entertainment system.

Any other suggestions? I know you greenies have lots of ideas to share!

My friends are always asking me for tips on how to green up their workplaces – but they need stuff that won’t freak out their coworkers (I guess I shouldn’t tell them to get rid of all the trash cans just yet). I thought I’d share some ideas that are really simple and have worked for us here in our Austin office.  And, conveniently enough, some of these will even save your company some money.

Last year we realized how much waste we were producing by stocking all the meeting rooms with bottled water, so we invested in a water service instead.  We now have large five-gallon water dispensers available. We saved a lot of plastic, and money!  It was also a good way to get our team members used to bringing their own glasses or reusable water bottles to work.  Of course, we offer compostable waxed paper cups if they forget…along with a convenient green compost bin in each conference room.

The copy machine room can be a scary place with lots of wasted paper….we encourage folks to reuse paper (print on both sides) instead of just recycling it after one use. We also make scrap paper books out of the wasted paper as much as we can.  We have a tray/drawer in some of the copiers that is dedicated to paper that is already printed on one side.  I actually can’t remember the last time I was in that room, I just bring my laptop everywhere so paper consumption is pretty much a thing of the past for me.  Of course this is not the case for a lot of you who have to print reports…try the two-sided setting for any future print jobs.  Pretty soon you will be gasping at those who print on only one side of the paper AND bring copies for everyone at the meeting (plus two extra just in case!).

My two favorite projects right now are the newest ones. My friend Christine discovered that Aveda is accepting plastic bottle caps at some of their locations — they are starting to use them to make new caps and containers for their products.  We put buckets in each break room, where team members are recycling their plastic bottles, to collect these caps. Aveda will release products using this environmentally-friendly new material later this year.  Find out more; it’s really cool.

Another green team friend, Caroline, did some research to see what she could do with wine corks besides collect them or throw them away.  She found out that we could send corks to a company in Missouri who makes them into floors. What a great alternative to letting them end up in a landfill, no?  So we put another set of buckets out for corks, and to give folks an incentive to bring them in we had a contest over the holidays.  They wrote their names on the corks and we had a raffle of some fabulous green prizes!  (Warning:  If you do this, you will be surprised at how many people collect corks.)

Any other good ideas out there?  Just between you and me, my plan is to get everyone having so much fun that they won’t notice that their trash cans will soon be missing. Bring on the comments!

A few months ago a group of my friends and I were talking about global climate change and environmental issues. I was shocked to hear one of them say that until someone told her that she had to change her lifestyle that she was going to just keep living the way she was accustomed—i.e. not making any effort to conserve energy, recycle, reduce her carbon footprint, etc. It made me realize that the problem with this may be a lack of awareness of how to make some changes…some of us may be happy to change some simple things, if we were given some good advice on how to go about doing just that.

So, in the spirit of the season, here’s a list to start with. I have done all these things and although some may involve a little bit of planning ahead (like sometimes I still forget to put that reusable to-go container back in my car after I wash it), it would be simple to start with one and make your way through the list throughout 2009.

1. Carpool, ride the bus, walk or bike to work at least once per month (start slow, work up to once per week).
2. Become conscious of/reduce the amount of packaging in what you choose to purchase.
3. Vote with your dollars choosing to support local, environmentally-friendly, socially-conscious businesses (and for electronics, choose companies with take-back programs for recycling).
4. Bring a reusable bag everywhere, not just the grocery store.
5. Get a programmable thermostat that keeps the heat/air monitored while you are not at home.
6. Recycle everything possible even if that means having to go above and beyond curbside convenience.
7. Invest in a power strip so you can turn off your computer, monitor, etc. with one easy switch, at home and at work.
8. Stop using plastic utensils/paper plates/napkins at parties and go reusable!
9. Start a simple composting adventure in your back yard for food waste.
10. Invest in reusable containers and water bottles for when you are not at home—no more plastic bottles! Put a reusable container in your car for restaurant leftovers and take-out – demand that your favorite places stop using Styrofoam!

Got more to add to this list? Share your ideas and plans for greening the new year.

If you are like me, you probably have at least two or three strands of holiday lights that were handed down from your mom when you were in college.  Some of the light bulbs are broken so the whole strand doesn’t work…but some day, in the spirit of reusing and doing your share for the environment, you were going to try to find those replacement bulbs and keep using those lights, right?

Your idea may have been a good one a few years ago, but things have changed in the holiday light world.  Not only are these old-school incandescent lights energy-suckers, but they could also be unsafe whether or not they are missing bulbs.  I am sure you know that the LED lights that have replaced the incandescent lights are a lot easier to deal with, but did you know that LED lights can be up to 90% more energy-efficient?  While they are more expensive, they have a much longer life and they don’t feel hot when you touch them…that sounds much safer to me, and a lot easier than trying to find those replacement bulbs for your old strands.

That said, please don’t get rid of your old strands if they are still working.  You may want to add a strand of LED lights to your collection little by little since they do cost more than the old style.

What should you do with the old lights when they are no longer working?  Please don’t throw them away!  There are companies out there who will recycle them for you.  The lights are shredded and separated by components (glass, PVC, and copper).  These components will be reused as much as possible, and this effort far outweighs letting the strands end up in your local landfill.  If you remove the light bulbs from the strand, the strand itself can be recycled as scrap metal, as can power cords.

Companies like HolidayLEDs.com will not only recycle your lights for you, they will also give you 15% off your order of anything on their website when you send them lights to recycle.  I like their suggestion of coordinating with your friends and neighbors to collect old lights to send to them for recycling.

You could also try Earth911.com to see if there is a holiday lights recycling facility near you.

Happy Holidays!