Green Living

Our buildings should represent our values. That’s why we are working to educate New Yorkers to reduce the environmental impact of their buildings and their lives. Our goal is to help create a sustainable New York in which all of our children and grandchildren can thrive. Making simple changes saves money – all while creating the healthy, livable, and sustainable communities that we deserve.

Recycle

Just 17% of the waste produced by New York City residents is recycled. Under the current city program we should be recycling twice this amount. A simple way to make New York a little greener is to check and make sure that everything that can be recycled is being recycled. But there is still more that can be done. On the first three Saturdays of each month at 605 West 30th Street (between 11th and 12th) there is a self-serve waste drop-off site that accepts batteries, motor oil, fluorescent tubes, latex paint, mercury thermometers, and car tires. Call 311 for more information.

Switch to Green Power

Switching to green power is one of the simplest ways to reduce your impact on the environment. Green power is simply electricity that comes from renewable sources like wind or solar, instead of fossil fuels. If you are willing to pay just a penny or two more per kilowatt of electricity, then you should consider switching to green power. If only 10% of New York households switched to green power then three billion pounds of carbon dioxide would be prevented from entering our atmosphere each year. Visit www.poweryourway.com to make the switch.

Install Energy Efficient Lighting

Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs) use 75% less energy than standard incandescent bulbs. They produce flawless, flicker-free, soft-white light and come in a variety of styles, including the standard twist bulb, 3-way adjustable, and globe shape for bathroom fixtures. Replacing a single incandescent bulb with a CFL will save you more than $50 over the course of its life. If you really want to impress your neighbors you should look into LEDs, which use only 1/3 the electricity of a CFL.

Use Reusable Shopping Bags

Another simple way to make our community more sustainable is to skip the paper and plastic shopping bags and use reusable cloth bags instead. More than 100 billion plastic shopping bags are used annually in the United States. These bags are made of oil from the Middle East, they clog our landfills, and they destroy marine environments. Besides, a cloth bag won’t break and spill your dinner in the middle of Broadway either.

Skip the Plastic at the Cleaners

New Yorkers toss more than 45 million plastic dry cleaning bags every single year. Next time you go to the cleaners bring a garment bag and have them use that instead. Most cleaners are willing to do this if you ask. If they say no, maybe that’s a good reason to switch.