HY-brid/

Hoffman York and HY-brid would like to wish everyone a very happy holiday. We believe the most precious gift we can give one another is a brighter future. And we can all do that, simply by living and working a little greener. Here are 10 simple ways we can all be more environmentally friendly, during the holidays, and all year round.

1. Decorate with ENERGY STAR^® qualified LED light strings. They use up to 90% percent less energy than standard mini-lights and up to 99% less than the larger C-7 holiday lights.

2. Make your own wrapping paper. Most mainstream wrapping paper isn’t recyclable. If each home wrapped just three gifts with an old map, the newspaper or children’s artwork, we’d save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.

3. Gifting electronics this season? Donate or recycle old electronics responsibly. They contain mercury and other toxins we shouldn’t put into landfills. Some sites will even pay you to recycle old electronics. For example, www.gazelle.com.

4. Replace the five most used light bulbs in your home with ENERGY STAR^® qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs and save about $150 in energy costs.

5. Use a programmable thermostat. It automatically turns down the heat when you’re asleep or away, saving up to $100 a year in heating and cooling costs.

6. Computer shopping? Choose a laptop over a desktop computer—it uses up to 90% less energy.

7. Take the stairs, not the elevator. This exercise is good for you—and it saves energy.

8. Drink tap water. You’ll save the materials and energy resources it takes to bottle and transport water. Plus, you’ll keep another plastic bottle from ending up in a landfill.

9. Fight “phantom load.” Electronics like computers, DVD players, stereos and TVs draw power, even when turned off.  Plug them into a power strip and switch it off when they aren’t in use. This combats phantom load and cuts annual energy costs.

10. Fix just one leaky faucet. You’ll save one gallon of water each day, and nearly 350 gallons of water each year.

Categories: Diana Bagley, green at work, recycling