Buying used toys is good for the pocketbook, good for the environment

July 9, 2015By 0 comment

The holiday shopping season is now in full swing. According to a recent American Research Group survey, the average American will end up spending around $861 on Christmas this year. Although this might be no big deal for some parents, for others it can cause a lot of stress.

One simple thing to do instead is buy used toys. Buying used toys is not only great for your pocketbook, but it’s also good for the environment.

Buying used toys when possible helps keep them out of the landfills. (Photo from Creative Commons)

Tiffany Smith, a mom living in Lexington, says, “I save so much money buying gently used toys for my 2-year-old son. He is always excited to play with something that is new to him. I find most of his toys at garage sales, secondhand kid stores and on Facebook parent pages.”

Yes, buying used products usually saves us money, but if that’s not a good enough reason to buy used toys let’s talk about the impacts on the environment. Purchasing toys from places such as Goodwill and Re-Kid in Lexington not only saves that perfectly functioning toy from ending up in the landfill, but it also cuts down on the amount of materials required to make new things.

Personally, the thing I dread most about toys is the amount of packaging used by manufactures to secure the toy in the box. The cardboard and plastic used in most toy packaging is also hard for children to open themselves, not to mention that most new toys require some assembly time.

“My husband also loves it when I bring home used toys because they are usually already put together,” adds Smith.

The American Occupational Therapy Association provides tips for selecting toys that will make the most of playtime, stimulate social, physical and cognitive development. Ask yourself:

  1. Is the toy is safe and age appropriate. If the suggested age is too young, the child will get bored quickly. Too old and the child may be frustrated and give up, or be exposed to small parts that could pose a safety risk.
  2. Can the toy by played with in more than one way?
  3. Does the toy appeal to several senses? Children’s attention is captured by colors, sounds, lights and textures? Look for toys that encourage them to push buttons, move parts, open doors, sort shapes.
  4. Can the toy be used in more than one place or position?
  5. Does the toy involve the use of both hands? This promotes motor skills development.
  6. Does the toy encourage thinking or solving problems? Board games and science kits are great for older kids. A jack-in-the-box is good for younger children.
  7. Does the toy necessitate communication and interaction? Dress up clothes, kitchen sets and play houses fit in this category.
  8. Is the toy worth the cost? How durable is it?

I hope this helps you wrap up your shopping (pun intended) by taking some of the stress off your wallet and the environment this holiday season.

emily casey

Emily Casey is an environmental educator at Bluegrass Greensource. She works primarily with elementary and middle school students. She has a bachelor’s education and environmental studies from the University of Vermont. Casey spends her free time exploring Lexington and spending time outdoors around the beautiful Bluegrass Region she now calls home.

This article appeared in KY Forward on December 18, 2014.

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A little clothing TLC can do a lot to keep ‘textile waste’ out of our landfills

November 19, 2014By 0 comment

Confession: I didn’t separate my laundry in college. I didn’t even realize the temperature of the water mattered until my roommate, whose mother had instilled good clothes-washing habits in her, scolded me for washing my jeans on a warm cycle. I could probably fake my way through sewing a button on a shirt, but it might not look very good or last very long. I am a product of my generation – a generation with an overwhelming lack of knowledge about clothing maintenance, according to a recent study by the University of Missouri department of Textile and Apparel Management.

That’s right, we Millennials have a serious problem when it comes to clothing care, and it’s a serious problem for our environment, too. The EPA reports that the U.S. generates about 25 billion pounds of textiles each year, and 85 percent of that ends up in our landfills. Much of this can be attributed to the lack of emphasis being placed on clothing care, repair and recycling to young people. Home economics classes are mostly a thing of the past, and many of us didn’t think to learn these basic skills via other avenues.

The good news is that now that this problem is being brought to light, we can do something about it. Taking the time to learn how to properly care for and responsibly dispose of clothes and accessories can save you the money and hassle of buying new things as often and can dramatically decrease the amount of post-consumer textile waste heading into our landfills each year. Here are a couple of easy ways to keep your things from becoming waste as long as possible:

When you can, spring for higher quality. We’ve all heard it a thousand times: They just don’t make things like they used to. Lots of clothes aren’t manufactured to last more than a season in order to keep costs down and fashion dynamic. This creates a lot of unnecessary waste that would be avoided if we all invested in long-lasting, classic pieces to make up our wardrobes. This may mean more money up front, but reduces future spending and means less being thrown away after just a few uses.

Read care instructions on your clothing’s labels. This one seems obvious, but many people simply don’t know how to wash their clothes. Ignoring the wash directions on one’s tags is a common millennial mistake that can be easily avoided, exponentially increasing the life of the item. If your sweater tells you it needs to be washed cold, it needs to be washed cold. Hand-washing doesn’t take that long, and the gentle cycle is a thing that your delicates appreciate. Your sheets are serious when they say, “tumble dry, low heat.” These things are important.

Learn sewing basics. If your favorite shirt gets a hole in it or last year’s winter jacket loses a button, don’t panic or feel the need to replace it right away; repair it! It may seem like a daunting task if you’ve never mended anything before, but many snags and tears are quite easy to fix. Lots of online tutorials exist to help beginners learning to sew, or ask a friend or family member to help you pick up this new and important skill.

Donate or recycle things when you are done with them. Just because you don’t have use for something doesn’t mean someone else doesn’t. Taking your clothes to a secondhand shop is the perfect way to give them new life, and there are a lot of nonprofits who can benefit from your donations. For example, The Hope Center takes donations of men’s clothing, and if you take things to Goodwill or the Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore in the name of Greenhouse 17, they will provide families with vouchers to shop with. If something is irreparable or truly worn out beyond use, recycle it instead of tossing it in the trash. For more information on how to do this, check out the Council for Textile Recycling’s website.

 
1 macyMacy Gould is the AmeriCorps VISTA member who serves as Bluegrass Greensource’s green jobs coordinator, working with educators to ensure that students are aware of and prepared for the variety of green career paths that await them after high school. Macy is originally from Minneapolis but considers Lexington home and enjoys visiting her family in Colorado Springs. She recently graduated from Transylvania University. Outside of work, you could likely find Macy planning for her community radio show or taking a long walk downtown.

This article appeared in KY Forward on November 13, 2014.

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Sustainability partner Office Depot to lead free Greensource green purchasing workshop

November 7, 2014By 0 comment

greenpurchasing

Those working toward a more sustainable lifestyle often spend time thinking about the things they should do or should not do such as turning off the lights, recycling, composting, making sure the faucet isn’t left running or picking up litter. What is equally important, and often not discussed, is the impact of things we buy.

In this consumer-driven society, the way we spend sends a major message to manufacturers and retail outlets. Bluegrass Greensource wants that message to be, “I support sustainable, responsible practices.”

To that end, BG and Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government launched the LiveGreenLexington Green Business Challenge and are now offering a free green purchasing workshop for Lexington professionals.

The lunch-and-learn event is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 18, from 12-2 p.m. at the Barrel House in Lexington. The Barrel House is located at 903 Manchester St. in Suite 150.

“Every person can do their part to green the supply chain, but sustainable purchasing is even more important in the workplace,” reads a BG news release, “where major accounts and large quantities carry more weight with suppliers.”

The workshop will be led by Office Depot, an “industry sustainability leader,” as identified by Greensource. The event is intended to give Lexington’s business community an overview of green purchasing past and present and its benefits, such as saving money. Product samples from sustainable vendors will be available, and there will be tips to get any organization “moving in the right direction.”

The free workshop is open to anyone representing a Lexington business, but is ideal, say organizers, for purchasing managers and green team members of businesses from office supplies to appliances to cleaners. To register, click here. For more information about Bluegrass Greensource, click here.

This article appeared in KY Forward on November 6, 2014.

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Conserving water is more about what you don’t ‘use’ instead of what you do

November 3, 2014By 0 comment

water

When people think about conserving water, they usually think about turning off the faucet while brushing their teeth or making sure the washing machine is full before running a load. The biggest waste of water, however, is the one few people give much thought to.

In the United States, one person will typically use between 80 and 100 gallons of water a day. It is the water that we are not “using” that is the real problem. A dripping faucet can lose up to 180 gallons and a leaky toilet can use 90,000 gallons of water in a month. A leak as small as an eighth of an inch can waste more than one-quarter of a million gallons of water in a three-month period and add more than $200 to your quarterly water and sewer charges.

Finding and fixing leaks is an easy way to save money and save water. You can avoid costly surprises on your water bill and conserve water by performing periodic leak checks in your home. Often you don’t know if you have a leak, especially if you have a problem with your underground water line or irrigation system. If you have an unusually high water bill, you may have a leak. But how can you tell?

Toilets are a common source of leaks. A quick check can be made by placing a few drops of food coloring into the tank after it has filled and quieted, and watching for its appearance in the bowl. If there is a leak, then color should appear within 15 to 30 minutes. Two common leak sites are at the overflow pipe and the flapper valve (Be sure to flush immediately after the experiment to avoid staining the tank.)

If your toilet still leaks after trying the repairs, or you do not feel comfortable doing the repairs yourself, you may need the assistance of a plumber or handyman. The cost to fix the leak will be covered by the money you will save in water and sewer charges.

Your water meter can also indicate whether you have a leak. Challenge the family to not use any water for two hours. During that time, check the water meter. If the dial moves at all, check all the faucets, spigots, sinks, etc., for any signs of a leak. If you find a leaky faucet or a drip under the sink, fix these leaks ASAP.

Kentucky American Water also offers leak detection information through their Leak Detection Guide found here.

If you don’t see any leaks, you might have a bigger problem underground or in your walls.

Some signs of underground leaks include:

• Unusually wet spots in landscaped areas and/or water pooling on the ground surface

• An area that is green, moldy, soft or mossy surrounded by drier conditions

• A notable drop in water pressure/ flow volume

• A sudden problem with rusty water, dirt or air in the water supply (there are other causes for this besides a leak)

• Heaving or cracking of paved areas

• Sinkholes or potholes

• Uneven floor grade or leaning of a structure

• Unexplained sudden increase in water use, consistently high water use or water use that has been climbing at a fairly steady rate for several billing cycles.

If you suspect a leak, you may need to hire a professional leak detection company to pinpoint its exact location and a contractor to perform the repairs.

If you do not have any leaks, there are a couple of steps you can take to prevent leaks from forming due to cold weather. Disconnect your water hose before freezing weather hits. Until warm weather arrives again, your best home plumbing practice is to disconnect, wrap up and pack away your garden hose. Leaving a hose outside in winter can cause water left inside to freeze and expand, freezing your faucets and connecting pipes as well.

Also, make sure to close and drain shut-off valves leading outdoors. If you have interior shut-off valves leading to outdoor faucets, close them and drain the water from outside lines. Any water that remains in the lines and freezes could cause major damage.

Water is a precious resource, and fixing leaks in our homes is a major step toward conserving water and saving money. Even though our water sources in Kentucky can replenish themselves through precipitation, our changing climate, growing population and ever-increasing thirst for water threaten these supplies. So, go fix those leaks!

(Graphic from EPA.gov)

This article appeared in KY Forward on October 30, 2014.

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Keep your Halloween green by taking these simple earth-friendly steps

October 9, 2014By 0 comment

October is finally here and with it comes cooler weather, pumpkin everything and the favorite holiday of every sugar-crazed 6-year-old (or 6-year-old at at heart): Halloween. Honestly, who doesn’t love Halloween?

All that aside, Halloween is another one of those days when our choices can cause lots of long-lasting problems for the environment. Most candy is wrapped in a non-recyclable mix of materials that end up heading straight for the landfill or, if we’re not careful, littering our neighborhoods.

Specialty costumes typically don’t have another purpose and find themselves hanging in a closet, unused, year after year. Pumpkin carvings, and eventually the works of art themselves, often end up being thrown in the trash without a second thought as to how they could otherwise be used.

You can avoid these and other environmental pitfalls by keeping the following tips in mind this Hallow(gr)een.

Be creative (aka green) when choosing a costume. Before purchasing a new outfit to wear, check out your closet to see if you can make your own costume this year. Thrift stores are another great place to start the hunt for the perfect costume. If that doesn’t work out, try organizing a costume swap with friends and family; you never know what’s hiding in someone else’s closet that could be exactly what you need.

Keep your celebration local. Take the kids trick-or-treating in your own neighborhood, carpool to the pumpkin patch or bike to this year’s office Halloween party. There are plenty of ways to reduce your transportation footprint this Halloween season.

Hand out responsible treats. Most traditional candy wrappers aren’t recyclable, so you may have to be creative to green this part of the trick-or-treating experience. Look for candy in paper wrappers, and limit your output to one piece per child. Alternatives to candy – stickers, temporary tattoos and small toys – can be fun too, just make sure to pick products with limited packaging and plastic usage. You could even include printed instructions for ways to upcycle candy wrappers to get as much use out of them as possible and keep them out of the landfill. Lots of tutorials exist online for jewelry, pencil cases, even things such as belts and shoes. Encourage kids to be creative!

Use the whole pumpkin. Look up recipes that involve fresh pumpkin filling so that all those carving remnants don’t go to waste; try salting and roasting the seeds for an autumn snack. After Halloween, when those beautiful carved pumpkins start to shrivel up, don’t just toss them in the trash. Instead, add them to your compost pile for rich spring soil.

Help clean up. When taking your kids trick-or-treating, bring an extra bag to pick up trash you may see on the way. Organizing an early November litter cleanup in your neighborhood is another way to keep those candy wrappers off the streets; you could ask an area coffee shop to donate warm beverages to encourage people to come help out even if it’s cold.

 
1 macyMacy Gould is the AmeriCorps VISTA member who serves as Bluegrass Greensource’s green jobs coordinator, working with educators to ensure that students are aware of and prepared for the variety of green career paths that await them after high school. Macy is originally from Minneapolis but considers Lexington home and enjoys visiting her family in Colorado Springs. She recently graduated from Transylvania University. Outside of work, you could likely find Macy planning for her community radio show or taking a long walk downtown.

This article appeared in KY Forward on October 9, 2014.

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Ready, set, go with the 2015 LiveGreenLexington Green Business Challenge

October 3, 2014By 0 comment

Lexington professionals, listen up: if you’re interested in becoming more sustainable, you love saving money on your utility bills, and you have a little bit of a competitive streak, this one’s for you! The 2015 LiveGreenLexington Green Business Challenge is now underway, and it’s anyone’s game to win.

The launch party is tonight, Oct. 2, at the Carnegie Center for Literacy in Lexington from 5-7 p.m. Join us to represent your business and find out more about the challenge. You’ll also have a chance to meet our partners, network with peers, register to compete if you haven’t already, and enjoy light refreshments.

The challenge is a sustainability competition for Lexington’s business community. It uses practical activities – from energy conservation to transportation, and everything in between – to help you set and achieve your sustainability goals and have a little fun while you do it.

Whether you’re just starting out, or you’re already as green as can be, the challenge has something to offer your business – it provides structure and direction, lets you brag on the things you’re already doing, and encourages you to keep improving all year long. And with more than 100 activities to choose from, it’s flexible enough to meet any organization’s needs and budget.

The challenge is free and available to any Lexington business or organization, and it comes with plenty of perks, thanks to support from Elite Partners Office Depot, Graybar, and Klausing Group.

Challenge participants can take advantage of free energy and lighting assessments, free landscaping assessments, free waste audits, and exclusive training opportunities on topics ranging from green purchasing to water quality best management practices.

Head over to LexGreenBizChallenge.com to find out more about this great opportunity and register while you’re there. Competition runs through June 30, and registration is open until Feb. 1. If you sign up early, you’ve got more time to earn those points.

 
1 bethBeth Oleson is an outreach specialist for Bluegrass Greensource, working primarily with Lexington businesses to help build a more sustainable community. A Lexington native, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in marine science and environmental studies from the University of South Carolina before returning home to the Bluegrass to pursue non-profit work. When she’s not busy with Greensource, Beth’s other passion is animal rescue and welfare.

This article appeared in KY Forward on October 3, 2014.

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PRESS RELEASE: Bluegrass Greensource receives $50,000 grant from Walmart

October 1, 2014By 0 comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Tiffany Smith, 859/797-0324

 Bluegrass Greensource receives $50,000 grant from Walmart

Winchester, Ky., September 30, 2014 –The campaign to promote environmental responsibility through recycling in Central Kentucky schools received a boost today through the presentation of a $50,000 contribution from the Walmart Foundation to Bluegrass Greensource.

“Bluegrass Greensource is excited to once again partner with Walmart, to expand the Wastebuster program to more schools in Central Kentucky,” said Bluegrass Greensource Executive Director Amy Sohner at an event at Conkwright Elementary School. “We look forward to working with all of the schools in Boyle, Clark and Madison Counties to help increase recycling rates and teach students and families the importance of waste reduction. Thank you very much to Walmart for giving us this opportunity.”

Bluegrass Greensource will use the contribution to increase student knowledge of waste reduction issues in Central Kentucky. Experiential environmental education about recycling and waste reduction can be taught in three main content areas: practical living, social studies and science.

In addition to education students, Walmart’s contribution will be used to provide classroom bins and rolling carts to facilitate recycling in each school.  It will also enable Greensource educators to work with students to perform two waste audits in each school – one before the program is implemented and one afterward.  Also, grants of up to $500 will be awarded for projects that will help the schools continue their recycling and waste reduction programs after the initial grant period is over.

“At Walmart, our community involvement is based on the philosophy of operating globally and giving back locally,” said Walmart Store Manager Shannon Willoughby. “We believe we can do the most good by supporting issues and causes that are important to our customers and associates in their own neighborhoods – including programs that stress environmental sustainability and incorporating green practices into every day life. We are pleased this donation to Bluegrass Greensource will enable the Wastebusters Program to expand into Boyle, Clark and Madison counties and look forward to following its success.”

Bluegrass Greensource is an environmental, non-profit organization that has offered resources and educational information to Central Kentucky since 2001. Greensource provides outreach to over 230 schools, 600 community groups, businesses, local governments and private citizens throughout Central Kentucky. Encouraging small, every day changes that make a big difference, the organization fosters positive environmental and economic impact throughout the region. For more information please visit www.bgGreensource.org.

About Philanthropy at Walmart

 Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are committed to helping people live better through philanthropic efforts. By operating globally and giving back locally, Walmart is uniquely positioned to address the needs of the communities it serves and make a significant social impact within its core areas of giving: Hunger Relief & Healthy Eating, Sustainability, Career Opportunity and Women’s Economic Empowerment. Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are leading the fight against hunger in the United States with a $2 billion commitment through 2015. Walmart has donated more than 1 billion meals to those in need across the country. To learn more about Walmart’s giving, visit www.foundation.walmart.com.

 

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Bluegrass Greensource uses Walmart grant to promote school recycling in three counties

October 1, 2014By 0 comment

Walmart has given Bluegrass Greensource a $50,000 grant to help promote more recycling and waste reduction in schools in three Kentucky counties – Boyle, Clark and Madison.

The program has existed for a number of years in six other counties – Anderson, Fayette, Garrard, Jessamine, Lincoln, and Mercer – and been responsible, according to Bluegrass Greensource, for improved student state test scores, an increase in the rate of recycling, and significant financial savings. Fayette County schools estimated they saved $50,000 on their waste removal budget through the pilot program. Another county reports a 40 percent reduction in their landfill-bound waste.

Priorities for the program include increasing student understanding for the need to reduce waste and increase recycling. This is to be achieved, according to Greensource, by working with classrooms, cafeterias, custodians, and administrators on five elements including waste audits; provision of recycling equipment and materials; offering age-specific hands-on activities aligned with Common Core; providing a Manual for Waste Reduction; and helping schools apply for mini-grants to implement school-specific waste reduction initiatives.

Conkwright Elementary in Clark County will host an official launch of this year’s program on Tuesday, Sept. 30, during which students will participate in a school-wide waste audit and complete recycling lessons. Present at the launch will be the mayor of Winchester, the Clark County judge executive, the school superintendent, representatives from participating schools, the Clark County solid waste coordinator, and representatives from Winchester Municipal Utilities.

This post appeared in KY Forward on September 29, 2014.

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Why are some things recyclable and others are not? It’s all about economics

September 5, 2014By 0 comment

Many people recycle, but I often wonder how much we understand about WHY we recycle.

Recycling is about more than just keeping things out of the landfill, although that is a big part of the reason why we do it. What I find most interesting is not the WHY to recycle, but WHY certain things are recyclable and others are not. The answer is invariably economics.
1 recycle thumb

In Lexington, we can recycle all colored glass (wine bottles, jelly jars) but not Pyrex or ceramic plates; we can recycle plastic bottles and jugs but not yogurt or peanut butter containers; we can recycle most paper, including junk mail and colored copy paper, but not wrapping paper. It does not always make sense.

Everything is recyclable; it just may not be recyclable in our community. The most common comment I get is that if the container has a recycling symbol on the bottom, it must be recyclable. And that is, in part, true – it just depends on which community you are talking about. In Lexington, we have the volume and infrastructure in place to process and sell plastic bottles and jugs. The numbers on the bottom, in the middle of the recycling symbol, are actually code for the plastic industry, and not for the recyclers, and they generally don’t tell you whether an item can be recycled.

Again, it all goes back to economics. Is the item able to be easily separated from all of the other recyclables? Is the item able to be sold at a rate that surpasses the expense of shipping it to its destination? These are the most important questions that dictate whether an item can be recycled in a particular area.

A good example is glass. Glass, even when crushed, is very expensive to haul. It is easily made into new products, but for the most part, it is more expensive to ship it to a plant that takes used glass and makes new bottles than it is to send it to a landfill. In Lexington, we generally pulverize our glass and use it in road bed material, which makes the most economic sense locally.

Plastic is another good example. There is a great market for No. 1 and No. 2 plastics that take the form of a bottle or jug (water bottles, shampoo bottle, milk jugs). This means that the plastic that was used to make those materials was blown into a mold (glass) rather than injected into a mold (Starbucks cup or yogurt container). This makes the plastic more marketable and more marketable means that municipal sorting facilities have the chance to make their money back after sorting and baling these plastics.

Aluminum is the easy one. Aluminum cans (soda, beer) are the most recyclable container available. Most products can be recycled into something that is of lesser value than it started out as. For example, nice white copy paper can be recycled into newsprint which can then be recycled into toilet paper (The process stops there, thankfully!). Aluminum cans can be made into another can and then another and another, which helps keep the price of a bale of aluminum cans at a premium. Cans from Lexington, and from much of the state, go to Novellis in Berea, one of the largest aluminum smelters in the country.

Cardboard is another item that is easily recyclable – that is that it is easy to make into other useful products and it is fairly light/easy to ship. Cardboard from Lexington goes to a paper mill in Maysville to be made into new corrugated cardboard boxes. However, refrigerated boxes (soft drink boxes, pizza boxes) cannot be recycled. These have little bits of plastic impregnated between the layers of boxboard that make recycling harder and therefore less economically viable.

There are a few places in the United States that can recycle almost everything. Some even mandate recycling and food waste composting. We are far from that in Lexington, but I think it is helpful to understand why some things can be recycled here and others cannot. It may help us all understand how we can affect our waste stream.

Next time you are at the grocery store, think about how what you are buying will affect your trash can. Can you buy in bulk to reduce the amount sent to the landfill? Can you buy a gallon milk jug that can be recycled instead of a half-gallon that has to be sent to the garbage? Can you reuse the bag that held your bread instead of throwing it away? Because to-go coffee containers cannot be recycled, can you bring your own mug and maybe even save a few cents?

We all have the ability to effect great change in our local community. Knowing how and what and why to recycle is one very important way to start. Talk to your local solid waste coordinator, or click here to find out what can be recycled in Lexington.
1 Amy-Sohner

Amy Sohner is executive director of Greensource and a graduate of the University of Kentucky. Sohner has worked with Greensource since its inception in 2002 and is a Certified Environmental Educator. She is involved with the Kentucky Environmental Literacy Alliance, the Bluegrass Rain Garden Alliance, the Licking and Kentucky River Basin Teams, and serves as vice-chair of the Keep Lexington Beautiful Commission. Sohner lives near the Kentucky River palisades with her husband, two daughters and a multitude of pets.

This article appeared in KY Forward on September 4, 2014.

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Does your business measure up? Find out with Green Business challenge

August 22, 2014By 0 comment

Being sustainable at home? Piece of cake. Being sustainable at work? A little tougher.

When your coworkers are all using energy, running water, printing documents, commuting to work and using (or not using) the recycling bins, it’s easy for your workplace’s environmental footprint to get big in a hurry. That’s where the LiveGreenLexington Green Business Challenge comes in: it’s designed to help Lexington’s business community be a sustainable one.

Since 2011, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government and Bluegrass Greensource have teamed up to host an annual, friendly competition for Lexington businesses, formerly known as the LiveGreenLexington Games. This year, Lexington has the distinction of being one of only four cities nationwide to receive grant funding from the International Council on Local Environmental Initiatives to expand and improve that competition.
And expand and improve it we have.

The challenge is designed to engage participants from start to finish, keeping them actively improving their energy and water efficiency and reducing their waste production throughout the nine-month competition. Participants complete activities to earn points and move up the leader board.

With more than 100 activities to choose from, from “Form a green team” to “Earn LEED certification for your facility,” there are opportunities for any organization of any size to compete. We know sustainability for sustainability’s sake isn’t every company’s cup of tea; but even if going green isn’t a top priority in your workplace, the challenge is still a great opportunity to save some green – those shrinking utility bills look pretty good from where we’re standing.

Challenge participants don’t have to walk the road to sustainability alone. With the support of partner organizations Green Per Square Foot, Office Depot, and Graybar, the 2015 challenge offers more trainings, workshops, and services than ever before. The challenge is all online and powered by Green Per Square Foot, which also helps businesses track their energy consumption, bid out facility improvement projects, and find financial incentives. Energy and lighting assessments, waste audits, and much more will be available free of charge during the challenge period. Additionally, nearly all activities come with a host of resources to help participants achieve their goals.

Want to take the challenge? Here’s what you need to know:

‣ Any Lexington business or organization can compete – not just LiveGreenLexington Partners, as in the past (although we hope you’ll become a partner if you decide to compete).
‣ It’s free! Just go to www.LexGreenBizChallenge.com to sign up and get started.
‣ Registration is open now. Sign up before Oct. 1 and start off the challenge with 50 bonus points for being an early-bird.
‣ Competition runs from Oct. 1 through June 30, 2014, with an awards ceremony in July 2015.
‣ The challenge is whatever you want it to be: you choose which activities to pursue, you work on your own timeline, you tailor it to fit your business and your needs.

Whether you’re ready to drop everything and sign up now, or you want to find out a little bit more about the challenge, join us on Oct. 2 from 5-7 p.m. at the Carnegie Center in downtown Lexington and represent your workplace at the official 2015 Green Business Challenge launch. We’ll be kicking off the challenge in style – and there will be plenty of time to network and share ideas with your peers. It’s a friendly competition, after all.

1 beth

Beth Oleson is an outreach specialist for Bluegrass Greensource, working primarily with Lexington businesses to help build a more sustainable community. A Lexington native, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in marine science and environmental studies from the University of South Carolina before returning home to the Bluegrass to pursue non-profit work. When she’s not busy with Greensource, Beth’s other passion is animal rescue and welfare.

This article appeared in KY Forward on August 21, 2014.

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