This month you’ll find tips from askHRgreen.org in the national magazine, Women’s Day! Author Catherine Strawn reached out to askHRgreen.org team member Julia Hillegass and other city leaders to put together 4 tips for building hometown pride. We’re thrilled to have this opportunity to share our ideas with the nation!

Click on this post’s image to read our advice and learn about a “two-minute do-gooder” action you can complete today.

Subscribers to The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press received a treat in today’s paper: the second annual edition of askHRgreen.org’s Green Living. The guide lets you explore our watershed and see why the time to improve our region’s water quality is at hand; go beyond the big blue bin and examine the business of recycling; learn tips for keeping a “green” yard from a true garden guru; follow the path of water through our vast (and often forgotten) infrastructure; and learn why it’s time to “break up” with a common household appliance.

In case you missed it, below is a quick link to the digital version for your viewing pleasure. We hope you enjoy Green Living, learn something new, and share it with friends!

Read Green Living.

Have you heard about the possible legislation to ban smoking at the beach?  You can read more about it in this article.  But for now, let’s leave politics out of the conversation and focus on the real issue at hand: cigarette butts are litter!

While most folks understand that tossing your empty bag of chips out the window is a no-no, many tend to look the other way when it comes to tossing cigarette butts.  Why is that?  Because they’re small?  Because they think they’ll decompose quickly?

Cigarette butts don’t disappear and, even though they are small, they make up 32% of all litter¹!  About 95% of cigarette filters are composed of cellulose acetate, a form of plastic which does not quickly degrade and can persist in the environment².  I also learned here on askHRgreen.org that one cigarette butt can contaminate 2 gallons of water (which, if you think about the damage they do to humans, is not at all hard to believe.)  Plus, what if a sweet, innocent fishy or another marine animal saw a floating cigarette butt and thought it was a snack?  Yuck – not good!

There are plenty of easy solutions to this clear problem.  If you’re a smoker, carry an empty water bottle with you at all times.  This way, you can toss cigarette butts in your bottle and throw it away later.  There are also nifty cups you can get to put in your car’s cup holder that are specifically made for cigarette butts.  Get a few and put one in each of your cars and even on your back porch so that there’s always one available.  The City of Chesapeake has these available for citizens.  If you make a commitment to not litter, you can get a free portable cup for your cigarette butts!  Just give me a call at 382-6983!

Cigarette butts are litter – no butts about it!  We can easily prevent them from ruining our waterways just by throwing them away in the garbage, not on the ground.  Do you have any helpful tips for smokers who want to avoid littering?  Share them with us in the comments!

1 “Litter in America” 2009 KAB Research

2 Clean Virginia Waterways

It is the middle of January and most of your New Year’s resolutions have fallen by the wayside. But have no fear, it’s never too late to get better connected to our environment. One way to do that is to prevent stormwater runoff pollution. Stormwater runoff has become one of the primary pollutants to our rivers and streams and the quality of stormwater runoff  is something we all can take part in improving.

The first thing you can do is to learn where your stormwater runoff goes. Locate your home on a map and see where the closest stream is – that’s where your stormwater runoff goes. You can protect your local waterway along with its receiving water by following these Good to Do behaviors to make sure nothing by rain goes down the storm drain:

• Sweep the gutter in front of your house and keep the driveway clear of yard litter.
• Do not fertilize unless you know what your yard actually needs. Soil tests are cheap and can be obtained from several locations including Virginia Tech and local labs.
• Do not feed the wildlife – they don’t need us to feed them. Bread is bad for their systems and feeding results in abnormally high populations that the environment can’t support. If you go on vacation, the dependent wildlife starve and all that extra food turns into, you guessed it, POOP.
• Pick up dog waste after taking walks and being in the back yard. Modern sanitary sewer systems keep human wastes out of the water so it is not hard to guess the source of most of the bacteria in our rivers and streams.
• Keep fats, oils and grease out of the drain because sanitary sewers can get clogged with grease and food scraps. If you see a manhole overflowing. Call it in immediately. Cities count on their citizens as their eyes and ears
• Report improperly managed construction sites. If you see one that is a mess, REPORT IT. Remember you are the eyes and ears of the City.

Hope you have a clean, green new year!

Blog article written by askHRgreen.org committee member Bill Johnston, City of Virginia Beach V.P.D.E.S. Permit Administrator, Department Of Public Works, Engineering

The beginning of a new year is here and we are super excited about the various projects that are on the launching pad at Keep Norfolk Beautiful (KNB)! With education and citizen engagement at the forefront of our mission, we’re working with the entire village to shine a light on environmental stewardship in our community.

KNB has launched 2013 with the 15-year celebration of the Ernie Morgan Environmental Action Center – slated for Friday, January 25, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. The celebratory open house is free and the general public is invited to attend.

Serving as a conduit for environmental education programs since 1997, the center is home to various green programs, particularly recycling education and litter prevention. When you visit this place you will be amazed! It’s nestled between the Norfolk Zoo and Lafayette Park, and was remodeled with various green building features including, straw bale construction, solar tubes, flooring made with recycled plastic bottles, natural linoleum, and a photovoltaic energy system. How cool is that? Taking what’s old and making it new again! That’s what sustainable living is all about! Making the most of your resources!

The impact of environmental stewardship is huge and we hope you all get on board with us as we continue striving toward a more sustainable community – in Norfolk and beyond!

For more information go to www.norfolkbeautiful.org, or call us at 757-441-1347.

Article written by askHRgreen.org committee member Quwania Jefferson, Recycling and Communications Manager, City of Norfolk/Keep Norfolk Beautiful