Sustaining Success
The University of Delaware's newest bus, a 22-foot, 22-seat vehicle that runs on hydrogen, tooled around downtown Wilmington on Monday, Nov. 16, carrying some very important riders. U.S. Sen. Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.), U.S. Rep. Michael N. Castle (R-Del.) and Wilmington Mayor James Baker sat inside chatting about various options for transport in the region.
"Does it smell like French fries?" Colin Sweeney is used to hearing that question when he tells people about his 1986 Mercedes SDL, which he has converted to run on cooking oil. His answer? "No, it actually smells kind of sweet."
Suggestions
Waste
The Clean Air Council, which works to help people in Delaware and Pennsylvania reduce the amount of waste they produce, offers the following recommendations to reduce waste:
- Put someone in the house in charge of waste reduction.
- Use items such as Tupperware instead of plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
- Use sponges and cloths instead of paper towels and tissues for cleaning up spills and housekeeping.
- Use a reusable lunch box instead of brown paper bags.
- Buy food, detergent, etc. in bulk/concentrate whenever possible to cut down on packaging.
- Use the back of paper as scrap for grocery lists, etc.
- Get off junk mail lists by requesting a name removal card from:
Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, P.O. Box 9008, Farmingdale, NY 11735
- Don't bag grass clippings--leave it on the lawn, its good for the grass.
- Repair old household items rather than throwing them away.
- Avoid disposables--juice boxes, paper cups/plates, razors, plastic ware.
- Give away rather than throw away books, clothes, furniture, etc. to friends, charities, or second hand stores.
- Avoid products with wasteful packaging when shopping.
- Start a compost heap with food and yard waste.
- Use reusable, rather than disposable products.
- Use recycled products and ones with recycled packaging.
- Purchase products that are durable and less toxic to the environment.
- Reconsider waste producing activities.
- Express preferences for less wasteful/environmentally friendly products to businesses that you patronize.
