Green Your Life

Five Everyday Tips: Save Money, Reduce Your Carbon Footprint, and Go Green!

This video was prepared and produced by Igor Kharitonenkov, a 2010 summer intern with the Emerald Necklace Conservancy. Click here for more information on Igor.

At the Conservancy, Igor is Project Developer for the Stories Project, a video project highlighting visitors' special memories and experiences that have been made at the Emerald Necklace System of Parks. Click here for more information on the Stories Project. Toward the end of summer, the videos will be displayed online on our website as well as the upcoming visitor center scheduled to open in Fall 2010.

Check out more of Igor's work on his blog at IGORoamandreport.wordpress.com

Start an Indoor Compost Bin - With Worms!

We have an exclusive offer for Conservancy friends: Get a 10% discount when ordering worms online at Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm.

Use Coupon Code: ujw10 at check-out

According to the EPA, 25% of the trash we throw away consists of food waste and yard clippings – and yet both are easily composted. In an effort to lower the Conservancy’s carbon footprint, members of our Green Team Leadership Program have created an indoor compost bin – with worms – right here at the office. Worm bins use the same natural process that helps decompose organic matter outdoors, only on a much smaller scale. The bins produce compost, a nutrient-rich substance that increases moisture retention, improves structure and provides a good environment for beneficial soil organisms. Creating and maintaining a worm bin is a fun, simple family activity (kids love worms!), and helps keep kitchen and yard waste out of landfills.

Simple steps to create your own worm bin.

What you’ll need:

• The bin: an 18-gallon tub (slightly larger or smaller will do) with a solid lid.
• The bedding: shredded paper, newspaper and cardboard, shredded fall leaves, chopped up straw and other dead plants, seaweed, sawdust, compost or aged manure.
• The worms: Red wigglers are best.

What to do:

• Purchase or reuse an 18 gallon tub to create your indoor compost bin. The bin needs a solid cover to conserve moisture, control odors and provide darkness for the worms.
• Drill 8 to 12 holes (1/4 - l/2 inches) in the lid and sides of the bin for aeration and drainage. (NOTE: Plastic bins may need more holes - if puddles begin to form in your bin, drill more holes).
• Bins require damp bedding (moisture level should be like a wrung-out sponge) for the worms to live in, and to bury food waste in. Suitable bedding materials include: shredded paper, newspaper and cardboard, shredded fall leaves, chopped up straw and other dead plants, seaweed, sawdust, compost and aged manure. (NOTE: Vary the bedding in the bin as much as possible to provide more nutrients for the worms and to create richer compost).
• Add a couple of handfuls of soil to provide necessary grit for the worm's digestion of food.
• Once you have added the bedding and soil to the bin ADD YOUR WORMS!!!

Worms:

The type of earthworm best suited to indoor composting is the red worm: Eisenia foetida (commonly known as red wiggler, brandling, or manure worm). (NOTE: Please do not use dew-worms (large worms found in soil and compost as they are not likely to survive).

We bought our worms from Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm in Spring Grove, PA. Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm has provided us with a 10% discount code for Conservancy friends who order Red Wigglers from their website. Use this code when you checkout.

Coupon Code: ujw10

We recommend purchasing 1,000 Red Wigglers for an 18 gallon bin; a good rule is about 1 pound of worms for every two adults in your home.

You can also Google “Red Wigglers” to find other locations to buy your worms!

What to compost:

You can compost any natural, unprocessed, food scraps such as fruit and vegetable peels, pulverized egg shells, tea bags and coffee grounds. It is not advisable to compost meats, dairy products, oily foods, and grains because of problems with smells, flies, and rodents. Burry your food scraps in the bedding.

You can also compost shredded paper. Keep in mind that paper will dry out your bin and may require you to add additional water to keep the bin moist.

How to maintain your bin:

The correct climate inside your bin is essential to the worms’ ability to convert food waste into compost. Again, the moisture level inside your bin should resemble a wrung-out sponge.

• If you bin becomes too dry, sprinkle a cup of water on top of the bedding each day until the bin becomes moist. Your worms will die if the contents of your bin are too dry.
• If your bin becomes too moist, leave the lid off for a few hours a day or add shredded paper. This allows some of the moisture to evaporate or be soaked up by the paper, which the worms will eat.
• Turn the bedding occasionally to create air spaces which help control odors and allow the worms to move about freely.

There is typically no odor with these bins unless you are trying to compost too much waste for the worms to consume at once. Simple solutions are to spread out the food put into the bin over several days or add more worms to your bin.

Once your worms have converted most of the bedding into compost, it is important to separate the worms from the compost or they will begin to die. There are several ways to do this:

• The quickest is to simply move the finished compost over to one side of the bin, place new bedding in the space created, and put your food waste in the new bedding. The worms will gradually move over to the new bedding and the finished compost can be skimmed off as needed.
• If you have the time or want to use all the compost, you can dump the entire contents of the bin onto a large plastic sheet and separate the worms manually. Most children love to help with this process and you can turn it into a fun lesson about worms for them. (NOTE: Watch for the tiny lemon-shaped worm cocoons which contain between two and twenty baby worms!)
• By separating the worms from the compost, you save more worms for your next bin. Mix a little of the finished compost in with the new bedding of the next bin, and store the rest in plastic bags for use as required. (Urban Agriculture Notes, City Farmer, Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture)

Worm bins are a great way to compost in urban areas where yard space is limited and during the winter months. Indoor composting is an easy way to create healthy and hearty soil for your indoor seedlings or for your spring garden. A worm bin will also cut down on the amount of waste that you and your family throw away and reduce the odor from your trash cans.

And as we all know, kids love worms. We think you will too!

From a Wormer's Eye View: Reflections on My Year of Worms
Editor's note: After we ran a story about creating indoor compost bins in our March 2010 Enews, a reader shared some insights about her own experience.
Here's her story.

10 Easy Ways to Lower your Carbon Footprint

Scientific studies have concluded that our atmosphere can hold about 350 parts per million of CO2 before we experience runaway climate change. Our atmosphere now contains roughly 389 parts per million and rises an average of 2 points per year. The following is a list of ways that we can all lower our “carbon footprint” and improve our health without making substantial changes to our everyday life.

1. Weatherize your house.
   We lose about 80% of our heat through windows with inadequate insulation. The use of window quilts, thick curtains or $5 winterizing kits from your local hardware store will not only lower your heating bill, but will also improve the energy efficiency of your house.

2. Unplug electronics when they are not in use.
   Some electronics have large plugs called “vampire plugs.” They are so named because they draw power from your outlets even when the device is turned off. Examples of vampire plugs include cell phone chargers, computer cords, electric pencil sharpeners, etc. These plugs account for 15% of your electric bill, all from electronics that are not in use.

3. Invest in “Smart Strip” power strips.
   Most computer-related devices have vampire plugs because they require internal surge protectors or converters. Smart Strips were created to remove these vampire plugs from use without having to unplug them after use. These power strips take the thought and effort out of unplugging your electronics.

4. Use energy efficient light bulbs.
   Energy efficient light bulbs typically use 16 – 22 watts as opposed to 60 – 120 watts in a normal incandescent light bulb. Energy efficient bulbs last longer than the average incandescent light bulb and use far less electricity. Be aware that these bulbs contain mercury and need to be disposed of appropriately.
   

5. Use a metal/plastic reusable water bottle.
   If you were to buy 1 water bottle every day for a year, by the end of the year you would have thrown out 365 water bottles. Unfortunately, most people do not recycle these water bottles and the majority of them end up in landfills. Much of the water we buy in bottles is of no better quality than tap water; purchasing a reusable water bottle not only saves you money on disposable water bottles, but also minimizes the amount of waste that you create.
   

6. Do not buy disposable products (i.e. cups, plates, utensils).
   Purchasing reusable products as opposed to disposable products creates less waste. Though it may not be enjoyable to wash plates and cutlery, it is much more environmentally friendly. Using reusable Tupperware and Pyrex containers instead of plastic bags, tin foil or plastic wrap also minimizes the waste you produce. Be aware that you should not heat up leftovers in plastic Tupperware; plastic breaks down when exposed to heat and releases chemicals into your food.

7. Be more water efficient in the bathroom and kitchen.
   Water is one of our most valuable resources. With climate change affecting precipitation patterns around the world, there are already over 50 international conflicts over access to water. A few ways to improve water efficiency in our homes are taking shorter showers, turning off the faucet when brushing your teeth/washing your dishes and installing water efficient showerheads and toilets.

8. Air-dry your laundry.
   There are several benefits to air-drying your laundry. In the winter, when the air is dry, hanging laundry on a drying rack helps to add moisture to the air in your home. In the summer, hanging laundry outside is a good way to air out your clothing and uses no electricity. If you are worried about your clothing being stiff from air-drying, add ¼ cup of vinegar to your wash. Most fabric softeners are toxic and have warnings to avoid inhaling fumes. Natural detergents are healthier for your family, especially children.

9. Help your appliances run at maximum efficiency.
   If you are in the market for new appliances or you can afford to replace the ones you have, purchasing Energy Star appliances, front-loading washer/dryers, etc. can drastically reduce your energy use. Freezers are more efficient when they are full, but instead of filling your freezer with frozen food, fill a gallon milk jug with water and let it freeze in your freezer. In the summer, let a fan blow across the jug into your living space; it will act as a natural air conditioner.

10. Grow your own and buy local.
    Having a garden at home can help reduce your food costs and allows you an opportunity to use compost from your home. Plants improve quality of life and homegrown food is healthier because pesticides and other chemicals aren’t typically used in a home garden. Growing food and buying local also removes the need to have food transported to your local grocery store; meaning no transportation costs and no fuel burned.