Going Green
Every "Earth Day" we invite new associates to join our growing "Green Team" here at Northern Safety. Our monthly "GreenZine" is written by a team member and emailed to our entire organization...just one part of our ongoing effort. Our goals remain to raise awareness, increase recycling, reduce waste, save energy and help increase our sustainability. By having a team of volunteers with a shared passion for "Green," we're improving in all areas. We're always looking for suggestions on how to continue to get better and some of our best ideas come from customers like you. If you have any suggestions on how we can improve our sustainability and efforts to become more "green"... I'd love to hear them. Like many of you have told us, good green practices, increasingly, are just plain good business!
I invite you to email me directly at greenneil@northernsafety.com. I'll answer every single one personally. Thank you for your business and your ideas!
Neil Sexton
President and COO
Sustainability
Sustainability is somewhat like safety - it starts with awareness. Awareness of the risks, awareness of the level of those risks, and awareness of what is out there to help. Northern Safety's GreenTeam was founded with helping promote awareness as our primary goal.
By all of us being just a bit more aware, by recycling, reusing, and reducing waste just a bit more, we can really make a big difference.
The idea, as always is to increase awareness and hopefully help us all get just a bit more green. By doing so, the collective impact is truly better sustainability and maybe just maybe...a better future for our planet Earth.
Accomplishments
Check out some of the things that Northern Safety has accomplished to conserve energy and reduce waste:
- Upgraded and added new Trane® HVAC units with variable drive motors and compressors
- Brought in water coolers to reduce bottle and water waste
- Installed hand dryers to reduce paper towel waste
- Started cigarette butt recycling
- Reduced coffee cup and styrofoam waste by providing biodegradeable corn mugs
- Increased paper, plastic, aluminum, and cardboard recycling
- More efficiently separate plastics and cardboard for recycling
- Changing out and adding energy efficient T5 and T8 florescent fixtures
- Northern Safety has sent approximately 11,000 K-cups® for recycling.
10 Ways to Save on Heating & Cooling Bills
- Lower your heat thermostat to 68° and raise your air conditioner setting to 78°
- Seal air leaks
- Seal off fireplaces
- Seal duct work
- Lower water heater to 120-125°
- Change furnace filters every month
- Weatherstrip doors and windows
- Insulate water pipes coming from the water heater
- Add an insulation blanket to water heater
- Add insulation to attic
Do you know how long it takes for common land fill items to biodegrade?
- Cigarette Butts - 10 to 12 years
- Monofilament Fishing Line - 600 years
- Rubber-Boot Sole - 50 to 80 years
- Foamed Plastic Cups - 50 years
- Leather shoes - 25 to 40 years
- Milk Cartons - 5 years
- Plywood - 1 to 3 years
- Painted board - 13 yearsr
- Cotton Glove - 3 months
- Cardboard - 2 months
- Styrofoam - Never
- Nylon Fabric - 30 to 40 years
- Tin can - 50 years
- Ropes - 3 to 14 months
- Waxed milk carton - 3 months
- Aluminum cans - 200 to 250 years
- Train tickets - 2 weeks
- Canvas products - 1 year
- Batteries - 100 years
- Lumber - 10 to 15 years
- Sanitary Pads - 500 to 800 years
- Wool Clothing - 1 to 5 years
- Tinfoil - Never
- Glass bottles - Never
Please recycle whenever possible!
Ever wonder how to recycle your Household Hazardous Waste like paint, cleaning solvents, oven cleaners, pool chemicals, antifreeze, and motor oil? These websites can help:
