June 2019: Green Clean Up

Thursday, June 13, 2019, 7–8 p.m.
Green Clean Up

The warm weather is finally here so let’s get outside! Green Coffee Talks is leading a park clean up. Come bond with other environmentalists while helping clean up a park. The supplies will be provided so just bring your friends and a smile!

Location: Powderhorn Park

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Green Tips

Go Green with Cloth Diapers

An average child will go through 8-10 diapers a day until the age of 30 months. That’s about 8,000 diapers, and a cost of about $2,500! A good set of 20 cloth diapers will cost an average of $350 and can be used for future children or even resold. Cloth diapers save you money and keep a significant amount of trash out of the landfill or incinerator.

Make Your Own Non-Toxic Cleaners

Many of the chemicals found in the average store bought household cleaner are associated with health and environmental concerns. You can reduce your exposure to toxins at home by using fewer chemicals and making your own Non-Toxic Cleaners.

Non-Toxic Cleaner Recipes

Start Backyard Composting

Did you know that the average Minnesota household throws 15 pounds of compostable materials into the trash every single week? Composting is an easy and simple way to have an immediate personal impact by diverting trash from the landfill or incinerator. Backyard composting takes leaves, grass clippings, veggie scraps, coffee grounds, eggshells, and tissue and turns them into valuable compost that reduces the amount of water and fertilizer required for your yard and garden, improves soil quality and supplies essential nutrients for plant growth.

Learn more!

Unplug to Avoid Phantom Load

Did you know that you have electronics in your home leaking electricity—electricity that you pay for—24 hours a day, 7 days a week? The power drain is called “phantom load,” and it is a big problem with a simple solution.

The easiest strategy is to use power strips to cut the power to your electronics. When you turn off a power strip, it stops phantom load leaks. Start with your entertainment center and home office where you can find the biggest leaks: televisions, game consoles and computers. Make sure your power strip is located in an easy-to-reach place so you can easily turn it on or off. Set up a power strip as a charger station where your family can plug in all their cell phones, PDAs and music players. Most importantly…turn it off when you’re not using it!

Reduce Waste When You Travel

Travelers can generate a lot of waste and pollution, even with the best intentions. But it isn’t hard to make a few changes that can help us avoid a lot of trash and otherwise green up our time away from home. It is our responsibility to take care of the places we inhabit, and to show that we respect the place we are traveling to, that others inhabit.

Check out more tips on reducing waste while traveling!

Learn from St. Paul

Wondering what our state’s capitol city is doing about climate change? The city is committed to making St. Paul “The Most Livable City in America” and a leader in sustainable urban living. To accomplish this, the city concentrates on energy efficiency and conservation, clean energy supply, alternative fuels, transportation options, recycling and waste reduction, and other areas. Find out more here.

Make an Action Plan

Wait. Scratch that. Don’t make your own list of simple things you can do today to make a positive difference for the climate—use ours! This list offers 20 easy things you can do that will help you and your family lighten your load on the environment, keep more money in your pocket, and inspire you to find even more ways to tread lightly on this earth.

Learn from Shoreview

Shoreview Green Community is a group of citizens from the north metro community of Shoreview who are working with the Sierra Club North Star Chapter to make Shoreview a model community for its environmental practices. The group focuses on clean water, efficient resource use, and transportation issues. Learn more about how your community can model Shoreview’s environmental efforts here.

Green Your Child’s Lunch

Home-packed lunches can be fun, healthy, and green, with very little time or money required. A child’s lunch, including organic fruit, requires less than five minutes on average to prepare and could cost as little as $1.00 per day-compared to over $2.25 for school lunch.

Try these suggestions to green your packed lunches, whether for children, adults, or picnics!

Start an Organics Recycling Program

Establishing an organics recycling program is a great way to reduce the amount of trash an organization or household disposes. Organics include all food waste and non-recyclable or food-soiled paper products and can make up approximately 25 percent of what we throw away. This article offers tips on how to start your own program.

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Thursday, June 13, 2019, 7–8 p.m.
Green Clean Up

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Thursday, June 13, 2019, 7–8 p.m.
Green Clean Up