Earth Saving Tips from

Spring 2004

MAKING SURE THE GRASS IS ‘GREENER’

Springtime is here — time to begin dreaming about the grass growing beneath your feet. But a lot of lawns aren’t very “green” — at least, not for the environment.  What’s the problem? Residential lawns can use a lot of toxic chemicals -- up to 10 pounds of pesticides per acre.  In comparison, farmers use about 2 pounds for an acre of soybeans. Many of these products are not good for you or your family.

The poisons don’t end at your front door. When it rains, pesticides may be flushed into local streams, rivers, and lakes, harming fish and plants along the way.  Here are some tips to make sure your grass looks great — and is safe for pets, children, and other living things.

B Use natural fertilizers, which release nutrients slowly through the year, won’t leach away, and support the variety of soil organisms that improve fertility and combat diseases.

B Water deeply but infrequently. Grasses do best when the whole root zone is wetted, and then dries out between waterings. Avoid frequent shallow watering that causes poor root development. Overwatering also promotes lawn disease.

B Aerate in the spring and fall. Use a rented power-aerator, or insert a garden fork six inches deep every four inches and lever back and forth to loosen the soil.

B Remove weeds using pincer-type weed pullers, which work great in moist soil and can be used standing up. Or, if you must, spot-spray problem weeds.

B Crowd out weeds by growing a dense lawn. Mow higher, leave the clippings, fertilize properly, and improve thin areas with aeration, overseeding, and top dressing.

B Create healthy soil. Earthworms and other soil organisms keep the soil healthy. By moving through the soil, they allow water and air to penetrate, and they recycle thatch back into nutrients that the grass can use.

Spring Cleaning? Play It Safe!

What’s under your kitchen sink, in your garage, in your bathroom, and on the shelves in your laundry room?  Do these household products pose a potential health risk to you and your family?  A new government database links more than 4,000 consumer brands to health effects provided by the manufacturers and allows you to research products based on their chemical ingredients. For more information, visit http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov.

Earth Day

Is April 22

visit www.earthday.net to

learn about activities in

your community!

DON’T THROW IT OUT — CHOOSE TO REUSE!

If your springtime activities involve clearing out attics, basements, closets, or garages, you’re likely to create a hefty pile of perfectly good “stuff” that doesn’t deserve to be sent to a landfill. Instead of throwing it out, join the growing number of “reusers.”

Reuse is different from recycling. Recyclers collect and reprocess old materials into new materials. Reusers keep products out of the waste stream by finding them new homes.

There are more than 6,000 reuse centers around the country, ranging from specialized programs for building materials or unneeded materials in schools to programs such as Goodwill and the Salvation Army.

What can be reused? You may be surprised:

Ý Building Materials – Lumber, tools, windows, doors, light fixtures, paint, plumbing supplies, and more.

Ý Office Furniture and Supplies – Desks, tables, chairs, filing cabinets, shelves, tape dispensers, binders, etc.

Ý Computers and Electronics – Computers, printers, fax machines, TVs, radios, videorecorders.

Ý Art Supplies – Fabric, paint, lumber, costume material, and a wide variety of other items.

Ý Kitchen Equipment – Stoves, refrigerators, freezers, dishes, utensils, and pots and pans.

Ý Household Items – Appliances, clothing, furniture, dishes, books, rugs, and practically anything else.

You can also practice reuse by participating in local tool lending “libraries,” buying or selling goods using online services (such as eBay), or having things repaired instead of replaced. Each helps keep goods and materials in use — and out of the waste stream.  To learn more about the benefits of reuse, visit www.iReuse.org. To find a reuse facility in your community, visit www.Redo.org.

Earth Share, a nationwide network of America’s leading nonprofit environmental and conservation charities, pro motes environmental education and charitable giving in employee workplace giving campaigns.

7735 Old Georgetown Road, Suite 900, Bethesda, MD 20814

For more tips or to find out how your workplace can help the earth, visit Earth Share's Web site at www.earthshare.org, call 800.875.3863, or send an e-mail to info@earthshare.org.