Eco-Tips

Resources for a more sustainable holiday season:

• LexCAN’s Simplify the Season Slide Deck
• LPS Green Team’s Tips for Greening Your Holidays
• Gift Guides, Earth-Friendly Traditions, and more from the Center for Biological Diversity

From Lexington Living Landscapes: Homeowners are embracing a new aesthetic that says supporting our wildlife outranks the ideal of crisp, clean garden beds going into winter. Fallen leaves enrich the soil, store carbon, provide a blanket to protect plants and critters from the harsh winter weather, and serve as habitat for a host of overwintering insects. The stems and seed heads of many flowering perennials provide winter homes for bees and other insects and food for birds.
There are a number of great online resources on how, what and why to do this. Watch Kathy Connolly’s November 7 talk for the Native Plant Trust. See what the Xerces Society, National Wildlife Federation, and the Wild Seed Project recommend, or have a look at this 2023 article in the New York Times. Read how some fellow Lexington homeowners tried new approaches to fall clean-up. Nick Dorian’s blog at the Tufts Wildlife Initiative is the best advice we’ve seen on how and how long to leave stems standing. Challenge yourself to see how few leaves you remove from your property this fall!

View a recording of the October 9 Massachusetts Climate Change Policy webinar with State Senator Mike Barrett. Read about LexCAN’s climate change policy priorities.

School has begun and providing materials is often expected. Before you buy new, take a look at what you already have and can reuse. It can be a teaching moment for your kids about sustainability and zero waste. Keep in mind the principle of “reduce and reuse before recycle” to guide you through the process.
 Can you do without it?
 Can you reuse something from last year?
 Can you borrow or buy secondhand?
 If you must buy new, can you find a product that is made of recycled materials or
can easily be recycled?
Check out this website with examples of recycled or recyclable products for school.

The Town of Lexington Department of Sustainability and Resilience has extended the curbside compost pilot program! With 35% of our waste stream made up of compostable materials, composting is a cost-effective strategy to avoid sending waste to the incinerator. All while contributing to the creation of nutrient-rich soil! LEARN MORE AND SIGN UP TODAY

This comprehensive resource provides information and products (with links) for all phases of Integrated Pest Management: Prevention, Monitoring, Treatment and Control

Check out these reputable organizations that effectively get voters to the polls to create the Congress and Presidency that will defend our freedoms and our planet.
Environmental Voting Project
Additional Non-Partisan Voter Projects

Black Earth now offers an easy way to dispose of materials such as electronics, toys, styrofoam, food cartons, knick-knacks and much more. You needn’t already be a Black Earth customer.

Click here to learn more about CHaRM.

Also, take advantage of Lexington’s FREE curbside composting program with Black Earth

While online shopping does have a smaller carbon footprint than traditional retail shopping, it’s only really better for the environment if you don’t get rush delivery. Listen to learn more.

There are good reasons to go organic with your lawn care and many resources to help you, whether you are a do-it-yourselfer or rely on a lawn care company. Visit Lexington Living Landscapes for more information!

Whisk away energy waste and save some dough in the kitchen with 6 easy and practical tips.

Tip #1: Keep the oven door closed. Every time you open the oven door, the oven temp can drop 25 degrees. Use the oven light or stick to your timer, instead. (Limit the time you open the fridge door, too!)

Tip #2: Keep the kitchen sink faucet in the cold position when using small amounts of water. Placing it in the hot position draws hot water even though it may never reach the faucet, wasting energy.

Tip #3: Ensure that your refrigerator door seals are airtight. Close your fridge door over a piece of paper so it’s half in and half out, and if you can pull the paper out easily, you may need a repair or replacement.

Tip #4: Cover your food and let it cool before it goes into the fridge. Your fridge works harder to cool moist air, and covered food limits moisture evaporation. Don’t put hot food inside either as your fridge will use more energy to keep things cool.

Tip #5: Avoid using the stove or oven. Air fryers, slow cookers, pressure cookers, toaster ovens, or convection ovens are great for small meals. A toaster or convection oven uses 1/3 to 1/2 as much energy as an oven.

Tip #6: Use your dishwasher. Washing dishes in an energy-efficient dishwasher instead of hand washing can reduce your energy bills by about $210/yr and save you more than 230 hours of time per year.

Interested in a new induction stove or refrigerator? The Mass Save® Sponsors offer a $500 induction stove rebate and $125 worth of rebates for an efficient freezer or refrigerator, with no-cost pickup of your old one. Homeworks Energy is here to help you save! Call us at (781) 305-3319 with questions about Mass Save rebates, summer insulation upgrades, or a no-cost heat pump consultation.

According to a study published by researchers at Columbia and Rutgers Universities and published in the journal The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, popular brands of bottled water tested contain hundreds of thousands of tiny bits of plastic— in quantities 10 to 100 times more than previously estimated. Around 90 percent of these particles were “nanoplastics,” which are tiny enough to pass through cells directly into the bloodstream to lungs, intestines, and even into the brain. “Previously this was just a dark area, uncharted. Toxicity studies were just guessing what’s in there,” said study coauthor Beizhan Yan, an environmental chemist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. “This opens a window where we can look into a world that was not exposed to us before.”

Scientists were aware of the existence of micro plastic in bottled water, which slough off the container as it sits on shelves and especially in the sun, but this study confirms that microscopic bits of plastics are entering our bodies in large quantities through these disposable water bottles. Nanoplastics were previously difficult to quantify and the authors measured far more in bottled water than was previously estimated. The authors also assert that nano plastics are more readily absorbed by the body than micro plastics, and therefore possibly even more problematic. The safest way to avoid drinking microplastics is to carry and refill a reusable water bottle.

For more Information: “Bottled Water Can Contain Hundreds of Thousands of Nanoplastics.” Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, January 9, 2024. “Researchers find a massive number of plastic particles in bottled water.” NPR.org, January 10, 2024. “’Nanoplastics’ found in popular bottled water brands. Here’s what to know.” Boston Globe, January 10, 2024.

Most people do not realize that all laundry detergent pods (and a newer format, dissolvable sheets), are made from a petroleum-based plastic called Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA or PVOH). While this film dissolves, it does not disappear or readily biodegrade. Research shows that over 75% of intact plastic particles from these laundry and dishwasher pods and sheets are released into our oceans, rivers and soil. Why? Because the conditions needed to completely degrade this plastic are extremely specific and don’t exist in most wastewater treatment facilities.

This plastic film (PVA) has the potential to absorb dangerous chemicals and contaminants, antibiotics, or heavy metals at high concentrations and then work their way up the food chain. PVA has recently been found in drinking water and human breast milk.

Like salt dissolving in water, PVA has the same effect – you can’t see it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there. When you toss a laundry pod into your washing machine, the plastic doesn’t disappear, it just breaks up into tiny plastic particles. While it might not be visible to the human eye, it’s still contributing to our current plastic crisis at a massive scale.

Learn more at ActionNetwork.org

Nearly half of the energy used in your home goes to heating and cooling. So making smart decisions about your home’s heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system (HVAC) can have a big effect on your utility bills — and your comfort.

Inspect, clean, or change air filters once a month in your central air conditioner, furnace, and/or heat pump, especially during heavy use months (winter and summer). If the filter looks dirty after a month, change it. At a minimum, change the filter every three months. A dirty filter will slow down air flow and make the system work harder to keep you warm or cool — wasting energy. A clean filter will also prevent dust and dirt from building up in the system — leading to expensive maintenance and/or early system failure. To learn more about efficient cooling and heating, visit EnergyStar.gov

Film plastic includes everything from plastic mailers, plastic grocery bags, bread bags, bubble wrap and newspaper bags to shrink wrap and product overwrap. Some kinds of film plastic can be recycled at retail stores, where they are made into composite lumber and woven reusable plastic shopping bags.

Pull the film with your hands and if it stretches and doesn’t break, you can take it to the store for recycling. These include vegetable bags, bread bags, plastic mailers, and bubble wrap. If it breaks, it should be thrown in the trash.

If the film is stretchy so can be recycled, make sure to rinse out any food and dry completely. Clean and dry stretchy plastic bags and wrap are accepted for recycling at many retail stores, including Shaws, Star Market, and Whole Foods Markets. Bins are usually located outside or inside near the entrance.

Click here for 9 Simple Tips to Recycle More Plastic. And remember, never bag your recyclables in plastic film before placing in the recycling bin! The best way to reduce plastic is to avoid purchasing it.

Black plastic take out containers are not recyclable because scanners at recycling facilities cannot detect dark colors. “Wishcycling” them into the green recycling bin means they will get improperly sorted and end up mixed with other recyclable materials, where workers must manually pull out the “contaminants” or discard the entire batch. Black plastic must be thrown into the trash and ultimately incinerated or landfilled, which is bad for the environment.

However, it is coming to light that black plastic takeout containers can be hazardous to our health. A 2018 study that investigated black plastics shows that about 40% of these products contained heavy metals such as cadmium, mercury, and lead. These metals, as well as phthalates and flame retardants, are known carcinogens that can also cause serious developmental and reproductive damage, even at low levels. According to the study, the demand for black plastics in consumer products is partly met by sourcing material from the plastic housings of end-of-life waste electronic and electrical equipment, which has the potential to introduce hazardous substances into the black plastic products. The study shows that, in some samples, the presence of these chemicals was 30 times greater than government safety standards. Given that the most common uses for these plastics are as packaging for food items or as parts in children’s toys, black plastic poses a serious health concern.

There is no way to know whether a particular black plastic takeout container is safe or contains toxic substances. The best option then may be to avoid them altogether. Tell restaurants that you love their food, but do not want them served in black plastic containers. There are safer alternatives, including white plastic take out containers. For more information about the impact of black plastic: The Truth About Black Plastic