We're Going Green - And That's Better For All!

PureFUN! Inc. now offers electronic delivery of invoices and statements. It's good for the environment and it saves time and money.

Go to www.purefunbetterforall.com to sign up for paperless invoices and statements.

Source Reduction - Why?

Why It's Important...

• Source reduction conserves raw material and energy resources. 
• Smaller packages and concentrated products typically use fewer materials and less energy to manufacture and transport.
• Source reduction reduces releases to air, land and water. For example, it takes less fuel to transport lighter weight materials.
• Source reduction cuts back on what has to be thrown away. That helps keep solid waste disposal costs down, which is good for municipal budgets and consumers.
• Source-reduced cleaning products take up less space in the home, and are more efficient and easier to use. 


Source Reduction

What It Is...

Source reduction is decreasing the amount of materials or energy used during the manufacturing or distribution of products and packages. Because it stops waste before it starts, source reduction is the top solid waste priority of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Helping "grow kids" better!

Grow Kids, Inc. is a non-profit organization based in Atlanta, GA.

Grow Kids, Inc.'s mission is to enhance the developmental environments of infants and young children by building collaborations and providing services that promote safe spaces, green places, and happy faces where children learn and grow.

• Safe Spaces - Provide prevention and intervention services to increase protective factors that prevent violence exposure to young children. Build skills that improve the safety of child care centers.
• Green Places - Promote environmentally “green” and healthy living to help improve the social-emotional development of young children.
• Happy Faces - Provide programs and services that aim to improve the social and emotional development of young children and help strengthen the emotional well-being of the adults that provide the children with care.

How you can help:

• Click here to donate.
• Click here for information on volunteering.
• Click here to follow and support us on Facebook.

Visit www.growkidsinc.org to find out more about their services!

Asthma and Air Pollution

The prevalence of asthma in the U.S. has increased by more than 75% since 1980 (arb.ca.gov).

Air pollution plays a well-documented role in the development of asthma and asthma attacks. The ARB-funded Children's Health Study at the University of Southern California found that children who lived in communities with high ozone levels were more likely to develop asthma than the same active children living in areas with less ozone pollution.

What you can do (kidshealth.org):

• Avoid triggers (i.e., smoke, soot, aerosols, dust)
• Pay attention to pollution levels (http://www.airnow.gov/ & http://www.weather.com/)
• Don't drive (share a ride, take public transportation, ride a bike, or walk)
• Don't put gas in your car until after 7 pm
• Avoid mowing your lawn until after 7 pm or until the air quality improves
• Don't use paints, solvents or polishes that produce fumes
• If barbecuing, use an electric starter instead of charcoal lighter fluid

Raising a “green generation”

President and Founder of Little Sprouts, Inc., Susan Leger-Ferraro, wrote an article in the May/June 2010 Child Care Exchange magazine about raising a “green generation.” She states, “To truly impact change, our future generations must carry the torch of transformation. To ensure success we need to begin the practices with the fertile minds of young children in early education.”

She believes that schools should do their best to lead example in the day-to-day operations and overall culture.

In the article, Leger-Ferraro gives some pointers on being an example:

• Water: Educate children to keep the water flow to a pencil thin stream when using the sink; have them sing their ABCs while washing their hands in order to maintain a time limit.
  
• Energy: Children and staff should be reminded to turn off lights in unused rooms. All electrical appliances should be shut down at the end of the day as well.
  
• Waste: Recycle used paper. You can also reuse the paper as scrap paper for memos or cut it up into small pieces for the classrooms to use for collages or classroom activities.
  
• Food: In order to prevent waste, food should be portioned between the classrooms based on daily attendance. Pay attention to portion sizes.
  
• Transportation: When feasible, offer transportation to families. Not only will it provide beneficial service, but it could reduce overall gas use and emissions.
  
• Recycling: Plastic bowls/plates should be used instead of Styrofoam. All teachers should have recycling bins in their classrooms. Teachers should be encouraged to bring and use reusable water bottles to work.
  
• Materials: Buy only nontoxic art supplies, while also restricting the use of aerosol sprays and chlorine bleach. Monitor the air for carbon mon-oxide.

Papyrus Cards made by the orphans of Egypt

Click picture to enlarge.

Source Reduction - Making a difference...

• Buy a concentrated product. Many cleaning products have been reformulated to use less product to do the same job. 
• Buy the largest size container you can use efficiently. You'll usually save money -- and may use less packaging in the long run. 
• Buy refill systems whenever possible. 
• Buy packages made with recycled materials.

Source Reduction vs. Recycling

What Source Reduction Isn't...

Source reduction is not the same as recycling.

Recycling is collecting already used materials and making them into another product. Recycling begins at the end of a product's life, while source reduction first takes place when the product and its packaging are being designed.
The best way to think about source reduction and recycling is as complementary activities: combined, source reduction and recycling have a significant impact on preventing solid waste and saving resources. And they're activities in which both the cleaning products industry and consumers play a major role.