|
— BY MISTY WIGGINS —
GREEN BUYS
Remember when only “hippies” talked about getting back to nature? What’s old is new again. Retro is in. It’s hip to “go green”! Eco-friendly buys are everywhere. Even a few small changes can help you follow the three R’s – reduce, re-use and recycle.
REDUCE:
Save energy with solar-powered gadgets and gizmos. At www.greenandmore.com, you can buy a hydrogen-powered car for $114.99 plus shipping – OK, it’s a toy car but how cool is that? This site also sells LED flashlights and radios that recharge using good, old-fashioned, elbow grease (hand crank), solar power or electric current, starting at $22.99. One great gadget is the HYmini - a handheld, universal charger/ adapter device that harnesses renewable wind power/ solar power or uses conventional wall-plug
power to recharge almost all your 5-volt gadgets – only $49.99 plus shipping.
Ready to start your holiday decorating? Switch to LED lights – they use less energy and last longer than incandescent. There’s a huge selection at www.holidayleds.com, starting about $14.99. They offer recycling, too!
Light the way all year long using solar-powered landscape lights from major retailers like Wal-Mart and Target, home improvement stores or online sites like www.solarlightstore.com where you can find solar globe stakes, a solar light rock and several styles of landscape lights. Prices start about $27.99.
RE-USE:
Tired of answering “paper or plastic?”? Bring your own reusable bags. The fashionable Ukrop’s or Target totes are a few bucks or make your own “green” statement with bags from www.originalgreenbags.com,
beginning as low as $4.99 plus shipping.
You can also find reasonable prices on those funny-looking light bulbs called CFL’s (compact fluorescent light bulbs) which, by the way, can now be recycled locally through Atlantic Electrical Supply Corp. on
Westwood Avenue, (804) 358-6737.
Even common household food waste can be reused by composting, which is nature’s way of recycling. But if you don’t have a green thumb, you can still replenish the earth with composted organic material: Covered Bridge Organic and Solarcone are two companies offering compost bins at reduced prices through Central Virginia Waste Management (www.CVWMA.org). You can also find inexpensive bins at any local hardware or home improvement store.
RECYCLE:
The easiest way to recycle is curbside recycling if it’s available. Central Virginia Waste Management collects about 120 tons of recyclable material from 240,000 households across the region. CVWMA’s office is on Laburnum Avenue – or call the Recycling Hotline at (804) 340-0900. Check www.cvwma.org for more
recycling tips and information.
|
