Sustainability

IMPROVEMENTS ON THE BUILDINGS I LIVE IN OR WORK

I live in an apartment area that was built in early 1960’s with no intention for using any natural sources or keeping in mind of any green or eco- motive around the area. The apartments are old, they are all electric and they consume power like a sponge in a water bowl. The only great effort I see from my apartment community towards creating a green environment is to have good insulation inside the houses. After taking this course, I felt motivated to approach my property manager to suggest her few basic environmental friendly suggestions , that can not only help in building a green society but will also bring future profit to the community due to its sustainability. Below is a summary of few points that we discussed and found it to be applicable in a small community-

Updating electricity – Creating more efficiency in saving energy by smart uses of the many varieties of plastic insulations, electric switches or using energy saving electric fixtures.

Opting for recycling designated bins - currently the option for disposing waste in apartments is very general, all the waste is dumped in the big trash bins from where it is picked up by the city. A recommendation for the designated bins for recycling products is the first step for the entire apartment society to consider green and healthy living.

Improving Insulation- Since the apartment is entire electric, little changes like putting up the insulating curtains or using more sunlight during the day can help, in not only warming the house but also saving the extra electricity costs that adds up to everyone’s monthly bill.

Reusing the Products via auctioning- One great recommendation that my property manager suggested was the weekly garage sales in the apartment community to bring people together and taking this opportunity to educate them and spread awareness. This will not only help the people to get informed about the benefits of re-using products on a cheaper...