Work
Up with the favorite cup
Bring a ceramic mug to work. Americans throw away some 25 trillion Styrofoam cups a year, most of which end up in our landfills.This one's a toughie, because the savings to be had from using a mug of your own instead of constantly throwing away disposable ones can easily be offset by washing it too often or reheating coffee in it a little too much. The idea, though, may be to pay attention to how we use cups—to save when we can, wash only when we need to and not to treat Styrofoam as a renewable resource. For many of us, a ceramic mug will save a considerable amount of waste. And it says a lot more about you than a Styrofoam cup.
Mugging.
A little less waste. A little better self expression.
How hard is this? Easy
Bring the blue bin to work
Start a recycling program in your office and you can help cut down on the 21 million tons of paper that’s thrown away every year.A paper mill uses 40 percent less energy to make paper from recycled paper than it does to make paper from fresh lumber. A ton of paper made from recycled paper rather than virgin fibers conserves 4,000 kWh of energy. Not to mention 7,000 gallons of water, 17-31 trees, and 60 lbs. of air pollutants. Businesses can use a lot of paper and can often use it in an extremely temporary way.
By separating what we use rather than throwing paper in with other waste, we can make a serious difference in how we impact the environment in a pretty painless way. And starting a program at work can show coworkers that you are a leader and a person of vision. That never hurt anyone either.
Recycling.
A little less paper. A little better office mojo.
How hard is this? Moderate
It's like calling in healthy
If we all worked from home one day a week, we could cut 143 billion pounds of carbon dioxide a year.Americans traveled 614.5 billion miles to and from work in 2001. If all commuters worked from home just one day a week, we could save 5.85 billion gallons of oil and cut over 65 million metric tons (roughly 143 billion pounds) of carbon dioxide each year. Many of us work in offices that may let us work from home more often than you think. And you may be able to score points with coworkers by recommending a one day a week "Work Day" where no meetings are scheduled and everyone has a chance to catch up on actual work. This may be a great day to stay at home and work, generate ideas, finish documents, etc.
And at home, no one looks at you funny when you sing along to the radio.
Telecommuting.
A little less car. A little better karaoke.
How hard is this? Challenging
