©2011 Gail’s Scoop

Simple Steps for Going Green in JoCo KS

©2011 Gail’s Scoop

Simple Steps for Going Green in JoCo KS• Reduce

• Reuse

• Recycle

It’s not that hard, it’s just a new habit

Little things can make a big difference

©2011 Gail’s Scoop

Reduce• The easiest way to start going

green is to reduce the amount of stuff we purchase, use and waste – Americans consume the most

resources per person in the world– Recycling is great but it does cost

money

©2011 Gail’s Scoop

Reduce• Packaging

– Reduce the amount of individually packaged snacks and drinks you purchase.

– Reduce the amount of plastic bottles you purchase.

• Plastic Bags– Do you bring your own reusable bags to the

market?– When at the store do you put your bananas

in a plastic produce bag? What do you do with those bags when you get home?

©2011 Gail’s Scoop

Reduce• The Clean Air Council estimates

that 2.5 million plastic bottles are thrown away in America EVERY HOUR.

• Earth911 reports that 60 million plastic bottles end up in landfills every day, worldwide.

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Reduce• Paper consumption

– Paper towels and napkins– Paper cups– Office and craft paper– Gift wrap

• Opt out of junk mail– http://www.dmachoice.org– http://www.optoutprescreen.com to opt out

of credit card offers

©2011 Gail’s Scoop

Reduce• CHALLENGE: Reduce the amount

of garbage your family produces each week. – Plastic– Paper– Food

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Reuse• Buy reusable

not disposable• Buy juice in bulk

and eliminate juice boxes.

• Buy a high-quality water filter for your tap water and eliminate bottled water.

Sigg™ StainlessSteel Bottles

Klean Kanteen®

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Reuse• Reduce the

amount of plastic wrap for leftovers with reusable glass containers.

Snapware® Glasslock

Pyrex® Storage

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Reuse• Reduce the amount of zipper

plastic baggies with reusable snack packs.How many of these does your family go through in a week?

LunchSkins

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Reuse• Reduce the

amount of paper waste in your kitchen by using reusable items. – Use cloth towels

and napkins. – Use glass for

drinking.

How many of these does your family use?

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Reuse• Reuse the backs of school papers

instead of throwing them away.– Cut papers into quarters and use for

notes. Then you can recycle them when they are all used up.

– Let younger kids use the backs for coloring.

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Reuse• Replace paper gift wrap and bags

with reusable cloth bags especially for holidays.– We found great ones on Etsy.com

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Reuse• When possible do not buy new. When

you are done with something donate it or sell it.– Furniture, clothing, sporting goods– Garage sales, consignment sales, thrift

stores, classifieds, Craigslist, Ebay• Try to reuse or re-purpose items.

– Before tossing something into the trash, think of how it can be reused.

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Recycle• Paper• Plastic• Aluminum and

Steel/Tin• Glass• Other

(electronics, ink cartridges, batteries, hazardous waste)

©2011 Gail’s Scoop

Recycle• Curbside Recycling in JoCo

– Paper• Office paper• Newspaper• Phone books• Junk mail• Magazines

– Cardboard• Corrugated• Chip board• Paper board (cereal boxes)

– No food soiled cardboard, tissues, wax coated paper

©2011 Gail’s Scoop

Recycle• Curbside Recycling in JoCo

– Plastic• No. 1 – No. 7

– Aluminum and Steel/Tin Cans– No glass, Styrofoam, plastic bags

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Recycle• Drop Off Recycling in JoCo

– Ripple Glass – Glass only in the purple bins all over town. Locations list at http://rippleglasskc.com/where-to-recycle.php

– City Recycling Centers• 11921 Hardy, Overland Park• Kansas Ave & Poplar St, Downtown Olathe• 13600 S. Alden St, East Olathe• Parker & Sante Fe, West Olathe

• Plastic Bags– Some stores have bins to collect used bags (ex. Wal-

Mart)

©2011 Gail’s Scoop

Recycle• Household Hazardous Waste

– Call for appointment 913-715-6900– Monthly drop off dates 2nd Saturday for Olathe residents

at 1420 S. Robinson Dr or call 913-971-9311 for appointment. Olathe also has a product reuse program.

• Electronics– Donate (ex. Goodwill)– Drop off at certain retail locations (ex. Best Buy)– Drop off at certain small businesses– Olathe residents 913-971-9311– Community recycling days

©2011 Gail’s Scoop

Recycling City Resources• Gardner http://www.gardnerkansas.gov/recycling/

• Lenexa http://www.ci.lenexa.ks.us/Planning/TrashRecycling.html

• Olathe http://www.olatheks.org/OMS/Recycling/Curbside

• Overland Park http://www.opkansas.org/Resident-Resources/Drop-Off-Recycling-Center

• Prairie Village http://www.pvkansas.com/index.aspx?page=106

• Roeland Park http://www.roelandpark.net/CityServices/Trash/RemindertoResidents.html

©2011 Gail’s Scoop

Recycling Resources• Johnson County Environmental Department

http://jced.jocogov.org• Ripple Glass http://rippleglasskc.com/• Recycle Spot http://www.recyclespot.org• Recycling Centers

http://www.recyclingcenters.org • Terracycle http://terracycle.net/ (great for

juice pouches and other food packaging)

©2011 Gail’s Scoop

Going Green Resources• Blue Planet Green Living http://www.blueplanetgreenliving.com/• Bridging the Gap http://www.bridgingthegap.org• Earth 911 http://earth911.com• Healthy Child Healthy World

http://www.healthychildhealthyworld.org/ • Living Green with the King http://livinggreenwiththeking.com/ • Mambo Sprouts http://www.mambosprouts.com/• Mindful Mama Blog

http://mindfulmomma.typepad.com/mindful_momma/• Mother Earth News http://www.motherearthnews.com/• Non-Toxic Kids Blog http://www.non-toxickids.net/ • The Daily Green http://www.thedailygreen.com/• The Smart Mama Blog http://www.thesmartmama.com/• The Surplus Exchange http://www.surplusexchange.org