Green Business Best Practices Workshop: Go Greener in Salem!

As most people were probably at home drinking coffee and reading the paper this morning, twenty-five like-minded participants and I attended the "Green Business Best Practices Workshop", an interactive workshop organized by City of Salem, Salem Chamber of Commerce, Salem Recycles and the North Shore Transportation Management Association.  

Industry leaders, including a bicycle commuter of nineteen years (!) shared resources, tips and tools on how we can save money by greening our businesses and homes, from conserving water by changing spray nozzles on our garden hoses to recycling construction waste and qualify for tax credit programs. Most of us knew of course that the city has a curbside recycling program, but did you know that if you use a private trash service, you can still use the city's recycling program? Did you know that North Shore Recycled Fiber, located right here in Salem, is open to the public and will shred sensitive documents for you and recycle your boat's shrink wrap? Were you aware of what happens if you put plastic bags in your recycling bin? I thought not: during processing your bag wraps around inside the machine and forces the entire system to be shut down for an hour so the bags can be cut off! A dripping faucet? At a rate of one drop every ten seconds, you are wasting almost 26 gallons per month! http://www.gdrc.org/uem/water/drip-calculator.html

Luckily, help is only one click away!  http://www.salem.com/pages/salemma_webdocs/greenbusiness
This site, developed by City of Salem gives you immediate access to over fifty websites, from recycling programs and construction waste management to buying guides and alternative commuting ideas and resources.

Remember what matters is not that you can do it all, but that you do all you can.



My new shower head.



Dates to remember:

• Saturday April 24: Household Hazardous Waste Day in Beverly, open to Salem residents. 8 a.m. to noon, at Beverly High School, rain or shine.There is a $20 co-pay to help the city offset the cost of putting on the event. Proof of residency is required. No commercial waste will be accepted.
• Saturday May 7: Clean Salem, Green Salem. 8:30 am start.  Salem Common. http://salem.com/Pages/SalemMA_EventsCal/S02F37BE4-02F37E06?formid=161
• Saturday May 21: 4th Annual Living Green and Renewable Energy Fair. 10 am - 3 pm. Old Town Hall, Salem. Green industry professionals and consumers from the Greater Boston & North Shore regions will discuss products, services and information that encourage healthier, more sustainable consumption and lifestyles for businesses and families.  http://www.salem-chamber.org/livinggreenfair34.html