Recycle Utah

Nonprofit Summit County, Utah Recycling Center

Energy

Got Energy? It’s Time to Economize

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Imagine this: your thermostat is at 67 rather than 70 during the day and 55 rather than 60 during the night– you throw on a sweater or an extra blanket. Simply decreasing the temperature of your thermostat, amongst many other changes, can save money and minimize the burning of fossil fuels during our winter months. Not everyone can afford solar panels, electric vehicles, and the latest appliances, but there are numerous low to no-cost energy actions we can implement to reduce our monthly bills and carbon footprint. Here are a few:

  • Transition all bulbs to LED, including Christmas lights.
  • Why heat or light the house when nobody is there? Purchase a smart thermostat, dimmers, motion sensors, and timers.
  • Turn off lights when not in use and install smart strips to avoid vampire power use.
  • Identify air leaks, then caulk, seal, and weather strip.
  • Open windows during warmer days and close them at night.
  • Make sure nothing is blocking heat vents and add rugs if the floors are cold.
  • Ditch the extra fridge or freezer hanging out in the garage or basement.
  • Maintain central heat ducts and service your furnace.
  • Decrease heat in parts of the house that are not used consistently.
  • Turn the water heater temperature down.
  • Ditch the dryer and use drying racks.
  • Close the fireplace flue when not in use and add chimney insulation if appropriate.
  • Close off spare bedrooms, including vents.
  • Consider transitioning to electric for the oven, furnace, and water heater (rebates are available).
  • Contact Dominion Energy’s ThermWise program for a $25 Home Energy Audit at 1-888-324-3221.

By Mary Closser

Winterizing Your Home the Green Way

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It’s October, which means winter is around the corner! Winterizing your home the green way not only safeguards the environment but also significantly reduces your energy bills. Embrace these tips and make sustainability a cozy affair!

  • Wrap your Pipes: Insulating pipes prevent freezing and energy wastage. Materials like newspaper and rags make for great options. 
  • Inspect the Roof and Gutters: Clean and clear gutters prevent ice dams, reducing energy costs. Checking your roof for damage and repairing them timely ensures better insulation and reduced heating needs.
  • Weatherproof Doors and Windows: Sealing gaps and installing weather stripping around doors and windows prevents cold drafts, making your heating system work more efficiently.
  • Thermostats: Consider installing a programmable thermostat. It helps in maintaining the desired temperature and cuts down on unnecessary heating, saving both energy and money.
  • Water Heaters: Insulate your water heater or opt for energy-efficient models to conserve energy.
  • Switch to LED Lights: Longer nights mean more artificial lighting. LEDs use significantly less energy compared to traditional bulbs. Opt for LED holiday lights too!
  • Natural Heating: Harness the sun’s power! Open curtains on south-facing windows during the day to allow sunlight in, warming up your space naturally.
  • Insulated Curtains: They trap heat and prevent cold drafts, proving to be both an eco-friendly and aesthetic addition to your interiors.

Tori Sowul, The Drawdown Fund

The Carbon Footprint of Streaming

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Many of our everyday activities have environmental consequences: how we dispose of waste, what we eat, how we move around. Most of us are familiar with the impacts that these activities have on our planet. Each one uses energy, produces emissions, and therefore contributes to a carbon footprint. But what about the activities that aren’t so straightforward? Have you ever wondered how streaming—something billions of people do every day—impacts the environment?

Streaming relies on a vast infrastructure of data centers, networks, and devices like computers, phones, and TVs. All these elements contribute to the carbon footprint of streaming, accounting for a significant portion of global carbon emissions. The demand for high-definition streaming continues to rise, leading to the expansion of this infrastructure.

When considering the environmental impact of streaming, it’s essential to consider the production of the devices used for streaming. The manufacturing of these devices is energy-intensive and often reliant on fossil fuels, further contributing to carbon emissions. 

Video streaming has a carbon footprint comparable to activities like boiling a kettle or microwaving popcorn. While individual streaming habits do matter, the continuous operation of data centers and networks independent of the number of users streaming is a significant part of the problem. Switching to renewable energy will significantly decrease the emissions of these data centers, and therefore the emissions of streaming in general. Many of the big players in the streaming industry have committed to sourcing their energy from renewable sources, which will be a major step in making media consumption more sustainable in the future.

Although much of the impact of streaming is out of the consumer’s hands, there are several things we can do to reduce the environmental impact of streaming. When possible, stream from a less energy-intensive device. Watching on your laptop or phone uses a fraction of the energy required to stream on a TV. Download files when you can. And most importantly, use your devices for as long as you can. Dispose of old devices correctly. You can drop off old TVs, computers, and smartphones at Recycle Utah!

Streaming is a popular and convenient way to consume media, but it’s not without environmental consequences. By being mindful of our streaming habits and supporting sustainable initiatives in the industry, we can work towards a more environmentally friendly streaming future. 

By Chelsea Hafer

Talking About Climate Change

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How often do you talk about climate change or hear someone else talk about it? If you responded, “not much,” you are not alone. Only 24% of Americans have heard Climate Change discussed in their social circle.

To stop the goliath that is climate change, we need to talk about the issue and solutions. We also need to get as many people on board with climate initiatives as possible, including people who are otherwise unmotivated or unconvinced of the need to act. The only way to do that is, you guessed it, to talk about it. So, how should we go about this?

  1. Have non-judgmental discussions. Open-minded discussions about emotional topics lead to lasting opinion changes and increased concern about an issue. They increase the chances that participants want to act.
  2. Focus on values and personal experiences. In climate discussions, this could mean talking about family, religion, community, recreation, patriotism, and how climate change affects them all.
  3. Rather than focusing on doom and gloom facts, be optimistic. Discuss the potential for solutions that benefit not just the planet, but also our economy, health, and equality.

Here is the best part about all of this: those who we talk to about climate change then discuss it with their social circle, creating a positive feedback loop. Only 22% of those who rarely discuss climate change talk about it with their family and friends, while 76% of those who discuss climate change at least once a month talk about it to their family and friends.

So, let’s all challenge ourselves to talk to someone about climate change and see where the action takes us.

Montana Burack, Senior at Park City High School

Laundry Tips

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Unless you have the laundry fairy on speed dial, chances are you or someone in your household does up to 300 loads of laundry each year. Washing laundry requires about 6,000 gallons of water each year, and the dryer is the 2nd biggest user of energy in most houses behind the fridge. The United States’ annual residential laundry carbon emissions is equivalent to powering 21 million homes. So, what can we do to reduce the environmental impact of laundry, and maybe save some money while we are at it?

  1. Reduce the number of loads of laundry that is done by wearing clothes more than once and running full loads.
  2. Wash on cold. Heating the water in a washing machine takes up to 90% of a washing machine cycle’s energy. While washing on hot is still needed for germ filled loads, cold cycles are generally better for making clothes last longer and removing stains.
  3. If a washer or dryer needs to be replaced, be sure to choose an efficient energy star option. It could save you $370 in operating costs over your washer’s lifetime, and only uses 25 gallons per load, compared to 40 gallons for older machines.
  4. When it comes to drying, air dry if possible. Not only will you reap the savings from not using your energy hogging dryer, but you will also extend the life of your clothes.
  5. When using the dryer, make sure to properly clean the lint filter, and consider using dryer balls to reduce laundry drying time and energy use. Dryer balls also have the added benefit of softening laundry, making them an ideal replacement for single use and chemical laden dryer sheets.

By Montana Burack, Park City High School

Energy Upgrades

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Our energy supply gets cleaner every day. In fact, while less than 20% of Utah energy is still delivered to us via renewable sources, this will change drastically within this decade. The 80-megawatt solar farm in Tooele County, one of the largest generators connected to Rocky Mountain Power’s Utah grid to date, is due to deliver green power to our Summit County homes by 2030. This farm is intended to power over a dozen Utah cities, counties, universities, and ski resorts.

Knowing this, it’s wise to start saving up to slowly transition off fossil fuels to a cleaner and healthier home. Think long term: cost savings, health, and environmental impact. The new Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) bill is jam-packed with rebates, but the savings depends on your tax bill (which can lower the amount owed but won’t offer a refund if you don’t owe anything). Consider upgrades to the following home areas:

  1. Get a home energy audit.
  2. Install solar or other renewable sources.
  3. Install a heat pump heating and cooling system.
  4. Switch out your appliances (gas stove to electric, laundry, and more).
  5. Upgrade your thermostat.
  6. Upgrade your insulation, windows, exterior doors, ventilation, air leaks and more.
  7. Purchase an electric vehicle, home charger, or battery pack.

The IRA bill is serious and thorough, including low and middle-income households and offering 50 to 100% upfront rebates. Another action we all can do is to support Green Power on our monthly power bills through ThermWise (natural gas) and Blue Sky (electric). Be proactive and think electric.

By Mary Closser