Green Home Experts811 South Blvd.Oak Park, IL 60302708-660-1443ghexperts.com

Creating an Eco-Friendly Dorm

• Indoor air quality• Asthma/allergies• Reduce consumption• Save money• Sustainability

All the New Stuff

• Bedding• School Supplies• Clothes• Personal Care Items• Computers & Electronics

Indoor Air Quality

• 7 times more polluted than outdoor air• Carcinogens• Asthma/Allergies/Immuno Disorders

• Air fresheners• Plants• Furniture• Paint

Energy Consumption

• Electronic Devices• Lighting• Smart Surge Protectors• Programmable Thermostat• Communal Fridge• Bike/Walk/Transit

Programmable Thermostat

You can easily save energy in the winter by setting the thermostat to 68°F while you're awake and setting it lower while you're asleep or away from home. By turning your thermostat back 10°–15° for 8 hours, you can save about 5%–15% a year on your heating bill—a savings of as much as 1% for each degree if the setback period is eight hours long. The percentage of savings from setback is greater for buildings in milder climates than for those in more severe climates.

Energysavers.org

Reuse It

• Cloth napkins• Reusable plates & cutlery• Reusable coffee cups & water bottles• Cloth grocery bags• Rags

More about Coffee Cups

• They’re not recyclable!• Is it really compostable?

• 65% of Americans drink coffee.• We throw away 58 billion cups per year• It takes 20 million trees and 12 billion gallons of water

to produce the paper for the cups. • You could fill Michigan stadium – the largest football

stadium in the world and able to seat over 100,000 people – full of coffee cups 50 or so times each year (betacup.com)

Water Bottle Facts• Tap water is cleaner, cheaper and

healthier than store-bought water.• Plastic bottles are among the most

prevalent source of pollution found on our beaches.

• Plastic trash absorbs pre-existing organic pollutants like BPA and PCBs.

• Store-bought bottled water is a rip off. • As of 2006, an estimated 60 billion PET single-use

beverage containers were bought. Approximately 45 billion of these were discarded after use. (Container Recycling Institute)

Recycle It

• Seek out recycling• Thrift stores, Freecycle & Craigslist• Sell your books• Buy used books

Beyond the Dorm

The American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment, is an effort to address greenhouse gas emissions on college campuses across the country.

By signing the climate commitment, each university is pledging to work toward climate neutrality, eliminating their contributions to global warming over time.

To date, more than 500 colleges and universities in all 50 states have signed the Commitment; together, signatories enroll more than 25 percent of college students in the country.

Beyond the Dorm

Green your apartment!

maria@ghexperts.com