Laredo's Green Blog

One of the most important resources on Earth that we cannot live without is water. Currently, the City of Laredo is considering applying water restrictions due to our city and state’s drought conditions. Laredo’s water source comes from the Rio Grande River which is an endangered river due to pollution and drought. To protect our water source and help Laredo’s drought conditions, here are some tips to save water at home:

Less water- Everyone likes to have a green plush lawn and with Laredo’s strong heat many people tend to overwater their lawn. Overwatering can create a moldy and unhealthy lawn. Grass only needs watering once every eight or ten days. To make sure your grass retains its moisture, water your lawn at night or early in the morning.   

Recycle your water- Don’t let water go to waste. There’s plenty of ways you can recycle your water such as watering your plants with water used to boil pasta or veggies and wash your car in your lawn to water your grass.

Fill it up-Don’t let the water flow while you’re washing your dishes, fill up your sink instead.

Grab a broom- While it may be easier to use a water hose to clean your driveway, use a broom! Sweep up your driveway and you’ll save many gallons of water.

Turn it off – There’s no reason to leave the water running while you’re shaving, washing your face or brushing your teeth in the bathroom sink. Fill up the sink to shave and wash your face. Turn off the water to brush your teeth. Leaving the water running adds up to gallons and gallons of good water being wasted every month.

Collect rainwater-On those rainy days, leave out buckets and collect rainwater. Save that water for your lawn, plants, or even for washing your car.

Quick shower – This is a popular repeated tip, but still important to share to keep your shower time to no more than 10 minutes. Bring a timer into your bathroom and set it to 8 minutes to help you manage your time.  To save even more water, brush your teeth while you shower.  

Make a change! Many people don’t value how water is vital to our quality of life. Not only will you be helping our environment, but you will see a lower water bill too! Contact Ecovative Changes to make your business or home green and save money! Call (956) 635-7760 or email iselarmz@ecovativechanges.com

Comments (0)     

The amount of waste each person produces every year is enormous. Our landfills look like an infinite mountain of trash and a majority of that trash can be recycled, but goes to waste instead. We all need to reduce the trash we create to help our environment and give our landfills more space. Here are some helpful tips to reduce your waste:

Less plastic bags- There are not enough people in Laredo using reusable bags. One major problem considering pollution in Laredo is plastic bags. Everyday, plastic bags are flying around, caught in branches, and are unnecessarily thrown away instead of being recycled. If you’re forgetful about bringing your reusable bags, leave them in your car, set a reminder in your phone, or leave them by the door.

Fewer water bottles- It’s puzzling that nowadays people have the need to stay constantly hydrated and have a plastic water bottle in their hand. Even more puzzling is that it actually takes water to make a plastic water bottle. The big misconception which Dasani and other big brand plastic water bottle makers have made is advertise to society that plastic water bottles are safer, cleaner, and all natural. All lies. Don’t be fooled by their marketing schemes. You’re already paying for the water you have in home. Why not drink it? Buy a filter, use your reusable water bottle and save money. Tap water if perfectly safe and actually gets tested many more times for contaminants than these big brand corporations.

Less waste- The amount of waste we produce is staggering and this is not just harming us, but all living organisms in our environment.  Buy products you only need and will use for a long time to reduce waste. Don’t throw away your unwanted furniture, old electronics, clothes or anything you want to get rid of. Instead: Use Facebook to give away or sell your old stuff, be generous and give it to charity or if you need extra cash go to recycling centers. Several recycling centers in Laredo are now taking old electronics and give you cash for recycling.  

Pre-cycle- Most people don’t think of the amount of waste they bring into their homes when they go shopping. Pre-cycling is a great way to reduce waste and it’s less recycling too. The next time you go grocery shopping, look at how much packaging products have. Nowadays, products are pointlessly over packaged with different types of plastic, styrofoam, cardboard and other materials. Try to buy products that have less than two types of packaging.

Less is definitely green. It saves you money, time and helps our environment! 

If you’re looking to make your business or home eco-friendly, contact Isela Ramirez at (956) 635-7760 or email: iselarmz@ecovativechanges.com. Do you have green tips or ideas you would like to share? Contact me to post your tips here!

Comments (0)     

As we start a new year, it’s time to make green changes for our city and help preserve Laredo’s scenic environment. While it’s great that many people are recycling and reducing their carbon footprint in their homes, here are some ideas to take it up a notch to go green:

1.       Less trash – Litter is a common problem here in Laredo from gum wrappers to mattresses, litter is litter doesn’t matter the size. We can’t stop every litterbug out there so be the example and pick up other people’s trash and throw it in the trash can. If possible pick up plastic bottles, plastic bags and add them to your blue recycle bag. You’re not only helping to reduce trash in Laredo, but you’re taking an extra step to collect trash that can be recycled.

2.       No straws- Some of you might think, how much harm can straws do? Straws are made out of plastic which contain petroleum and other chemicals, it takes a huge amount of energy, and we only use it for a one time quick use then off to the trash it goes. Reduce your use of plastic and next time you’re at a restaurant drink your beverage without a straw.

3.       Stop idling! -  Another common problem in Laredo is idling. Many people leave their cars turned on while either waiting for someone or talking on the phone. In several cities in the U.S., it is against the law to leave your car idling for more than 10 minutes. Idling creates more carbon emissions into the atmosphere, causes air pollution and affects our lungs. Don’t waste your gas, reduce air pollution for Laredo and don’t leave your car idling for more than 3 minutes.

4.       Go outside- We are spending too much time indoors that we have forgotten how to good and healthy it is to be outside. Yes, Laredo gets extremely hot from May to September, but when the weather is tolerable make an effort to spend time outside. There’s countless activities to do outside that are better than any electronic gadget. Turn off your TV, iPads, Xbox and enjoy the outdoors!

5.       Grow your own food- You may have noticed that sometimes the fruits and veggies you buy at grocery stores aren’t ripe, are stale, or even taste artificial. Control the amount of chemicals and pesticides in your food and grow your own at home. You don’t need a big yard to grow your own fruits and veggies, reuse items you no longer use such as containers, and start growing some food. All you need is good soil, seeds, sunlight, water and care.

Hopefully these ideas will spread out and even spark up new ones. Many cities in Texas and in the nation are making huge changes to go green and it’s time that Laredo joins in! Contact Ecovative Changes to get your business or home green at (956) 635-7760/ Email: iselarmz@ecovativechanges.com

Comments (0)     

Holidays are a time to cook big dinners, bake many pastries, shop for many items and often times that leads to an increase in your carbon footprint. If you already recycle and do your best to be eco-friendly then there’s plenty of ways to enjoy your holidays and keep the environment in mind. Here are some tips to help you go green this holiday season:

1.       Avoid disposable cups, plates and utensils!

 This is the time when disposable dinnerware is used more than any other time. It is convenient for many, because it is intended for a one time use and it eliminates having to wash dishes. If you must use disposables then it would be best to use paper plates that have been made from recycled paper, recyclable cups and utensils such as the brand Solo.

2.       Artificial tree or real tree

There has been a long ongoing debate on whether artificial or real trees are better for the environment. Real trees do require daily watering, are sprayed with pesticides which affect your indoor air quality and are sometimes spray painted to appear greener. Artificial trees are made out of plastic, not recyclable, but can be reused every year for a long time. If you choose to buy an artificial tree look for one that has been made out of recycled material and reuse the tree each year. If you decide to go for a real tree, water your tree with used water, open a window every couple of days to air out the chemicals in the tree and after the holidays contact the city to properly dispose of the tree.  

3.       Reduce food waste

The U.S. wastes large amounts of food every year than any other country. Do your best this holiday to avoid wasting food. Make a plan, cook accordingly to the amount of guests you will have, make a list and don’t forget about your leftovers. A lot of the time, leftovers end up in the trash instead of being eaten. If you have leftover turkey, make turkey sandwiches, pozole, and turkey salad, also look up recipes online.

4.       Don’t wait to preheat

Save money on your electric or gas bill and don’t leave your oven preheating. It’s not necessary to preheat your oven, once you turn on your oven it automatically starts to heat up quickly. You’ll also save time by avoiding preheating.

Happy Holidays Laredo! If you would like more tips on going green or would like an audit in your business or home, contact me at (956) 635-7760/ iselarmz@ecovativechanges.com  

Comments (0)     

Going green has definitely been gaining more and more popularity and this is not only helping our environment, it is helping you as well. Laredo surely needs more green changes to help our community and give our city a green reputation. Here are some tips on what you can do to start going green:

Volunteer - Keep Laredo Beautiful, Rio Grande International Study Center (RGISC) and other organizations often do monthly clean ups at parks and different areas of Laredo to help beautify our city. Contact these organizations and help clean Laredo, litter is certainly prevalent in all areas of the city so get out there and help clean.

Reusable bags- There aren’t many people in Laredo that bring their reusable bags to grocery stores and that definitely needs to change. Most plastic bags end up getting tossed into the trash which either end up in landfills or are flying around damaging our environment.  Consider making a change and quit using plastic bags and start using reusable bags! You can find reusable bags that cost less than $2 at H.E.B., Kmart, Target and Walmart.

Start recycling- Simply by recycling you’re reducing wastes for yourself and the environment. For plastics, always look for the recycle symbol and the number in the middle which is usually found in the bottom of the bottle. I f the number inside the recycle symbol is a 1 or 2 then it is recyclable. It’s not just plastic water bottles that are recyclable check your shampoo bottles, lotion bottles, dishwashing soap bottles, and any plastic container. Gather up all your aluminum cans, cereal boxes, cardboards, paper and toss them in the blue recycle bag!

Conserve water- Water is incredibly essential to our daily lives and we need to preserve and conserve water in every way possible. Some simple steps to conserve water in your home are: water your lawn once a week, take ten minutes or less to shower, and wash your clothes once a week. Just by taking these steps you will see the results in your water bill and hopefully this will lead you to conserve water in more ways.

Carpool- Create a carpool in your neighborhood! Meet with your neighbors and discuss carpooling. By starting a neighborhood carpool you save money on gas, it saves you time, it reduces carbon emissions in Laredo and we get cleaner air to breathe.

Not only are you doing your part to beautify Laredo, you’re also helping our community by reducing its carbon footprint! Go out and volunteer, do your part to go green and spread the word out to others.

Contact Ecovative Changes to help your business or home save money by going green at 956-635-7760

Comments (0)