Yes, You Can Recycle Styrofoam

Polystyrene (or Styrofoam) is a plastic which is convenient and inexpensive, but it comes at a cost. It is a major component of plastic debris in the ocean that chokes animals, clogs their digestive systems, and becomes part of the food chain.

Styrene is classified as a human carcinogen by the EPA, so don't microwave food in Styrofoam containers. Consider that those in manufacturing are exposed and are affected with irritation of the skin, eyes and upper respiratory tract.

So what to do? Choose not to buy it or use it. But if that can't be avoided, you CAN recycle it, just not in your curbside collection. Take your polystyrene to the Nunda and Algonquin Twp. Road Districts, to the Environmental Defender's Recycling Drives or Lakewood Village Hall. On April 18th you can take it to the Earth Day Celebration at Praireview Education Center, and then enjoy the festivities and learn more about how to help build a healthy planet.

Enviro Tip - The Benefits of Sunlight

It isn't hard to understand the positive effects of sunshine on our mood. When the temperature warms and the spring sun starts to shine, we simply get happier, and that means healthier. Besides the sun helping with depression, here are a few other facts about the power of the sun that might be new to you:

-Sunlight lowers cholesterol. The sun converts high cholesterol in the blood into steroid hormones and the sex hormones we need for reproduction.

-The sun's rays lower blood pressure. Even a single exposure significantly lowers blood pressure in individuals with high blood pressure.

-Sunlight builds the immune system. The white blood cells, which increase with sun exposure, are called lymphocytes, and these play a major role in defending the body against infections.

Just keep in mind that exposure to the sun should be done SLOWLY! Build up your tolerance by taking in small bits of the sun each day.

Enviro Tip

4 Foods That Are Okay Past Expiration

Eggs can last for weeks after expiration, so use less-than fresh eggs for baking and as an ingredient in your cooking. When eating eggs alone, just remember to cook thoroughly to avoid any potential risk.

Stale bread is still edible; just don't eat any mold. The EPA recommends turning stale bread into croutons and French toast. You might even try bread crumbs.

Even wilty lettuce deserves a second chance. As long as greens aren't slimy or rotting, revitalize by chilling in ice water.

Milk and yogurt can last up to a week after expiration. It's not hard to detect spoiled milk. Just use your nose.

To check the shelf life of thousands of good, go to StillTasty.com,

Go ahead! Apply the three Rs to your food - reduce, reuse and recycle, and when food is truly unappetizing, feed the compost pile. It's not picky.

Saving the Battery LIfe:

Regardless of whether it is a desktop, laptop, or palmtop computer, one of the biggest energy expenditures is the screen. It is a very costly proposition to keep that screen brightly lit for an extended period of time. You will quickly burn through your battery charge by turning the brightness up even a stop or two. Turning it all the way up will have you seeking an outlet ever couple of hours.

Desktops are even bigger culprits. We just don't consider them a problem because there is no battery to discharge. There are two things that will greatly improve your energy profile as it relates to monitors:

1. Reduce the brightness to the lowest level you can comfortably read the screen. Your eyes will quickly adjust.

2. Set the energy saving preferences to turn off the display when dormant for the shortest possible time.

Do the same for your mobile devices as well. You might just find your battery life doubled.

Read more at http://livinggreenmag.com

Enviro Tip Think About School Lunches

School lunches contribute significantly to the waste stream. An average elementary school student eating homemade lunches is estimated to generate between 45 and 90 pounds of Ziploc™ bags, foil pouches, and other packaging waste each year, roughly equivalent to the body weight of a third- to sixth-grader.

The 29 million meals provided daily by the National School Lunch Program often arrive preprocessed and packaged. They are shipped over long distances, accompanied by individually sealed disposable plastic fork, spoon, and paper napkin sets, industrially lathed carrot nubs in handy pouches (aka "baby carrots"), or syrupy medleys of fruit in plastic cups with foil caps. Studies suggest that the food and packaging that kids throw away can be as much as 60 percent by weight and volume of what they are served.

So to be part of the solution instead of the problem, pack a lunch of fresh ingredients that have less sugars and sodium that makes for a healthier meal, and use reusable containers for drinks, snacks and sandwiches. With those decisions you've decreased waste, saved energy and contributed in a positive way to the earth's health.

Food Waste Basics

More food reaches landfills and incinerators than any other single material in municipal solid waste. In 2012 alone, more than 36 million tons of food waste was generated, with only five percent diverted from landfills and incinerators for composting.

Reducing the amount of food wasted has significant economic, social & environmental benefits, so here's a few reasons why we should make and effort to divert food waste from landfills.

• When food is disposed in a landfill it rots and becomes a significant source of methane - a potent greenhouse gas with 21 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide.

• There are many resources needed to grow food, including water, fertilizers, pesticides, and energy. By wasting food, you are also wasting the resources that went into growing it.

• Recycling food waste and turning it into compost improves soil health and structure; increasing drought resistance; and reducing the need for supplemental water, fertilizers, and pesticides.

Tips for Going Zero Waste

1. Refuse what you don't need. Whether it is junk mail or a free pen, when we take these items, we create the demand to make more. When we take them home, they clutter our space. When they break, we throw them away.

2. Reduce what you already have. A zero waste lifestyle is not just about consuming less; it's also about letting go of all those items that are not serving you. Instead of letting them clutter your space, donate or resell them so they can serve someone who really needs them.

3. Reuse by replacing all your disposables with reusable alternatives. Use the money earned from step #2 to cover the upfront costs of transitioning to reusables. Buy second hand whenever possible.

4. Recycle only what you cannot refuse, reduce, or reuse. Find programs that accept hard-to-recycle items like shoes and electronics.

5. Rot. There is a composting system for any lifestyle, even urban households have options.

And lastly, feel good about using less energy, saving money, and helping others, not to mention you might gain some time to spend with family and friends.

Water Is Life

What makes scientists think that water is better at sustaining life than every other substance?

Every organism we know of needs water to survive.

From those simple starter organisms to the most complex plants and animals, water has played a critical role in survival ever since. In humans, it acts as both a solvent and a delivery mechanism, dissolving essential vitamins and nutrients from food and delivering them to cells. Our bodies also use water to flush out toxins, regulate body temperature and aid our metabolism. No wonder, then, that water makes up nearly 60 percent of our bodies or that we can't go for more than a few days without it.

Besides being essential for our bodies to function, water also promotes life in numerous other ways. Without it, we couldn't grow crops, keep livestock or wash our food (or our bodies, for that matter). Water has also advanced civilization, providing a means for travel for entire parts of the world and a source of power for factories. Because water can also exist as a vapor, it can be stored in the atmosphere and be delivered as rain across the planet. Earth's oceans also help regulate the planet's climate, absorbing heat in the summer and releasing it during the winter. And of course, those same oceans serve as a home for countless plants and animals.

EnviroTip – Save Water by Showering Efficiently

It's not an easy habit to develop because we all love a good long shower, but think of the numbers. Showering accounts for as much as 17% of indoor water use -- 40 gallons per family per day, according to the EPA. A high-efficiency shower head carrying the WaterSense label can cut a family's water use by 2,900 gallons of water a year. That family will also save the equivalent of 13 days' worth of electricity use. Easy to install, the shower head can cost as little as $13 at your local home improvement store. Go a little further and cut a minute or more off your shower. It's an easy way to save a drop or two, and isn't it worth it for all of us?

Recycling Drive - Woodstock

****New location!**** The Defenders’ Woodstock Recycling drives will now be held at the Soil & Water Conservation District property at 2222 S. Dean St. (south of Rte 14 on Dean.) The new location has a circular drive which will allow folks bringing materials to line up off the road.

Our next collection of fluorescent tubes, batteries (household, rechargeable, car, and button), and clean polystyrene foam (AKA Styrofoam) will be on Saturday, August 9th, from 9 am until noon. Click HERE for the address and more information. Because it costs us to get these items properly disposed of, a donation will be requested, especially if you bring in fluorescent bulbs, batteries, monitors or televisions.

We still take electronics at our monthly drives, but there are now three FREE drop off sites for electronics: Algonquin Township Road District 3702 US Hwy 14, Crystal Lake, open 9am-3pm Monday through Friday, 847-639-2700 X6; Computer Recycling Center in Crystal Lake, 815-455-6300 (call for information); and Lakewood's electronics drop-off site on Haligus Road south of Ballard Road (at the Fire Station) which is open 7am-7pm.

USAgain Clothes Collection System (one of our business members) will be providing a truck at each of our drives to accept any kind of cloth items—clothing, linens, or just plain rags, clean and preferably put into a bag. You can also bring shoes, tied together by their laces and placed in the bag.

We also collect packing peanuts, re-useable bubble wrap, and electronics such as computers, phones, printers, electronic toys, etc. A donation is requested to recycle TVs and computer monitors (suggested donation is $10 - $35 depending on size). We take VHS tapes, CDs, DVDs, etc.

New - you can donate aluminum cans at both the McHenry and Woodstock drives, but we will no longer be paying for them. These donations will help fund our educational and advocacy programs, and we appreciate your help.

Visit the Leopold Center

Mid-April through the end of October hours:

Monday - Saturday, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Discover the place where A Sand County Almanac was inspired.

Learn how Aldo Leopold’s ideas continue to inform and inspire us today.

Explore Aldo Leopold’s living legacy and your own connections to the natural world.

http://aldoleopold.net/Visit/index.shtml

Which Backyard Wildlife Species Are You?

from Wildlife Promise

6 4/4/2014 // By Dani Tinker// butterflies, Garden for Wildlife Month, hummingbirds, quiz, rabbits

We all have a favorite backyard species, beautiful birds, butterflies, mammals or other wonderful creatures. What if they’re your favorite because they remind you of yourself? Find out which species you are and get ready for Garden for Wildlife Month in May. Share your results, along with which wildlife species you like to see in your garden

http://blog.nwf.org/2014/04/which-backyard-wildlife-species-are-you/?s_email_id=20140406_MEM_BGV_CWH_Quiz_1_Basic%7CSLLAct