GOING GREEEN!!
Recycle / Reduce / Reuse
Recycle
When the problem of pollution seems so colossal it’s easy to assume that little old you won’t make a blind bit of difference. But you’d be wrong! It’s all about taking simple steps to secure a brighter, greener future for us all.
Each ton of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4,000 kilowatts of energy and 7,000 gallons of water!
ISH is pleased that recycling facilities are available for all staff and students in GPS. Recycling bins (green and/or clearly marked with the green recycling logo) and recycling bags (blue & yellow) are provided throughout GPS communal and student areas. You can put any recyclable material in any of these bins.
Q. What can you recycle?
A. Pretty much everything that comes into our home or office can be recycled. Here’s a list of everything that can be recycled right here at ISH:
ISH can collect the following for recycling:
• newspapers
• magazines
• junk mail (including window envelopes)
• white telephone directories
• flattened cardboard
• computer paper
• all types and colours of glass bottle (like wine and beer bottles) - please remove the tops
• all types and colours of glass jars but please remove the lids
• drink cans
• food tins (spaghetti, tuna, fruit etc)
• aerosol cans (if completely empty)
• all plastic bottles (such as soft drink bottles or fabric conditioner bottles) - please remove the lids
ISH can't collect the following for recycling:
• milk and juice Tetrapak cartons
• broken glass such as broken drinking glasses or broken window panes
• pyrex glassware, light bulbs, window glass or cookware glass
• crisp and snack packets
• coffee packaging
• yoghurt pots
• microwave trays
• vegetable plastic containers and trays
• clingfilm
• plastic bags
• polystyrene
You can either use the bright green recycling bins in the main areas of ISH, or come to the Events Office to collect your very own recycling bag. Don’t forget - you can make a difference! Please remember that you cannot put general rubbish in a green recycling bin, or in a blue recycling bag. General rubbish should be put in the unmarked silver bins.
We are very sorry that recycling facilities are not available at MTH – this is because Crown Estates will not allow ISH to introduce such facilities. You can recycle at MTH by taking your waste to the nearest recycling bank on Marylebone High Street.
ISH is committed to reducing its impact on the environment, and the recycling scheme is a vital part of that commitment. We hope that everyone will get involved.
But helping the environment is not just about recycling. In fact the vital first step of waste prevention has been overshadowed by a focus on end-of-line waste management (i.e., recycling). Here are more tips for a greener future…
Reduce
Everyone can easily conserve energy (and reduce their bills!) by turning electrical goods off when not in use, buying energy efficient equipment and devices (ask at reception for free energy-efficient lightbulbs), only boiling the water you need in the kettle, replace your newspapers and magazines with online news – it’s easy!
How about reducing your use of plastic bags – take an old plastic bag with you and reuse it. Better still why not use a cotton shopping bag? The shops are starting to charge money to use plastic bags so it saves your pennies as well!
If you have a mobile phone, have you ever noticed that your charger stays warm even when you are not charging your phone with it? That's because it is still draining electricity. According to Future Forests, only 5% of the power drawn by cell phone chargers are actually used to charge phones. The other 95% is wasted when you leave it plugged into the wall, but not into your phone. The lesson? Unplug your charger when you are not using it (or plug everything into a multi-way extension lead and use the switch to turn it off instead of manually plugging and unplugging things). If you don’t, it’s just wasting your money and adding to the pollution created by burning fossil fuels.
It’s fairly certain that there are no major engineering challenges that keep charger-makers from building in a feature that keeps the charger from using electricity when not in use; it's probably just cost-cutting. Of course, this advice about mobile phones applies to everything that uses a vampire-like wall socket charger that doesn't turn off and keeps sucking juice for no reason.
Did you know? Every year TV’s in the UK waste the equivalent of two power stations’ worth of electricity whilst on standby. In fact, 85% of the electricity used by your TV/DVD is consumed while it is not actually on! Just press the button & turn it OFF! You can save ISH’s valuable funds for fun, not energy bills…
Reuse
The media has done a wonderful job of selling us on the attractiveness and benefits of buying "new", "improved", "special", etc. products. However, we already collectively own so much that we could all survive for quite a while on the existing products - if we just reused them a few times!
Why not donate your old mobile phone to charity? The average phone has an eight year life span, and can be turned into cash for those who need it.
How about going old-school and repairing things whenever possible? You’ll be amazed how many of your clothes can be simply repaired with a quick stitch or two. And while you’re there, why not customise it into a unique, vintage item?!
Check out websites such as www.freecycle.org - an excellent example of how we can reuse as a community. With over 10,000 members in London alone you can give and get goods such as TV’s, sofas, books, plus thousands of other items absolutely FREE! Great for those end-of-year clearouts!
Want to find out more?
www.globalstewards.org a comprehensive guide to living a more sustainable lifestyle plus loads of links to other great sites.
www.ecofoot.org a brilliant website which allows you to calculate your eco-footprint, scary stuff!
www.traidcraft.co.uk an online green shopping centre, for all sorts of environmentally friendly products
