Every Day Should be Earth Day
Even though Earth Day 2013 has come and gone, at GreenBy3, we think we should observe Earth Day every day — all 365 of them.
We love that when the annual Earth Day celebration rolls around, everyone gets excited about recycling everything from plastic bottles to electronics; composting; making something new from something old; walking or carpooling instead of driving; using natural products and cleaners; using reusable shopping bags, and much more.
We love that people come out in force for the celebration. EarthDay.org says Earth Day was established in 1970 and more than a billion people worldwide celebrate it each year.
But … just imagine the impact if all those people maintained their enthusiasm for the environment every day of the year. GreenBy3 has several friends who do. One friend in particular grows her own fruits and vegetables, unplugs everything unless it’s in use, recycles and composts so much, her trash can is an old coffee can and she never uses her disposal. She doesn’t have a plastic grocery bag in the house, she walks wherever she can, she uses vinegar and lemon to clean her home, and she even works for a nature conservancy.
Our friend lives like every day is Earth Day and has the utility bills to prove it. She’s also made an impact on the environment, or shall we say, she has greatly reduced her impact on the environment. Yes, it took her more effort to set up her life to be kind to the environment, but she says it’s well worth it and now it’s all second nature.
GreenBy3 is not saying you have to totally change everything about the way you live. Start small and see the impact even a small effort can have. For example, if you love coffee like we do, consider taking a reusable thermos to fill up at the coffee shop instead of getting a new cup you throw away after each visit.
On the jobsites, GreenBy3 encourages clients to employ sustainable building practices and use reclaimed materials where it makes sense. A recent example of this is on the PeopleMatter headquarters, which just opened on King Street in downtown Charleston. The original brick from the building was stabilized, repointed and left exposed on interior walls.
Original brick from the old building were used for interior walls in the new building.
Beams also were salvaged from the original building and used to make a unique board room table, as well as counter tops for the conference room, break room bar tops and the desk in the company president’s office.
This board room table was made from wood reclaimed from the original structure on King Street. The dark wood is timbers that had been burned in a fire in the building many years ago.
“GreenBy3 was started out of a passion to help people, communities and our shared environment. And we’re proud to say that while the company has grown and evolved, these priorities remain part of GreenBy3’s focus,” said Jorge Riano, president.
“We reclaim building materials from contractors and various sources then store them so they can be used on our clients’ projects and to help our community. This not only adds character to a project and helps our community; it also reduces the impact on our landfills and cuts down on landfill fees for contractors and builders,” Riano said.
Click here for examples of materials GreenBy3 has reclaimed and reused. And if you happen to have used or excess building materials you would like to recycle rather than dispose of yourself, contact us at reclaim@greenby3.com today.
Tagged: Earth Day
