VILLAGE OF SPRING LAKE

Politicians and manufacturers are now agreeing with what Environmentalists have been saying for years: American consumers need to be concerned about the choices they make that directly affect our Global Climate.

GREEN living for your home:

• The most effective choice you can make is to RECYCLE in your home. Now it’s even easier! The local waste haulers provide curbside pickup.
• Say NO to plastic bags. Few people recycle the plastic bags they get from local stores, so they end up in landfills and take an estimated 500 years to decompose. Solution? You can now buy reusable bags from stores like Walmart that are not only recyclable, but are also made from recycled materials.
• One of the simplest things you can do is simply to turn off your lights when you leave the room. Not only will you save on your electric bill, but you’ll also be conserving valuable energy. You can also replace regular bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs.
• Change your consumer habits.
  Buy Local – local products use less resources for transportation and packaging.
  Buy organic --

A Citizens Guide to Cold Weather Practices
A Citizens Guide to Household Hazardous Waste
A Citizens Guide to Auto Care
A Citizens Guide to Lawn Care
Clean Water Starts With You
Village goes 100% Recycled Paper on Most Paper Products, Falcon Printing Helps
Allied Waste Area Recycling Information
Fertilizer Ordinance
Rein in the Runoff, improving water quality in Spring Lake

Phragmite Information

USGS Phragmite Info
Phragmite Basics 101
Phragmite Location Map

Holiday Sustainability Guide

A Product of the Muskegon Area Sustainability Coalition

Americans throw away 25% more trash during the Thanksgiving to New Year’s holiday period than any other time of the year. This extra waste amounts to 25 million tons of garbage, or about one million extra tons of garbage per week. So during this holiday season, help trim the trash while trimming the tree.

Lighting and Decorations:

• Look for LED (light emitting diode) holiday lights that can use up to 95% less energy than standard incandescent light strands.
• To avoid running up your electric bill unnecessarily, use an automatic timer both indoors and out. You won’t have to worry about turning lights on and off and you’ll avoid leaving them on all night or during the daylight hours. Just make sure that the timer you use is rated to handle the total wattage of lights.
• Get a tree that can be planted or arrange to have your tree ground up as mulch afterward.
• Reuse holiday decorations.
• Remember, the smaller the bulbs, the lower the wattage. Low wattage has two advantages: it consumes less energy and gives off less heat, making your lights safer.

Parties and Holiday Dinner:

• Turn down the heat before your guests arrive. You’ll save energy while the extra body heat from your guests warms up the room.
• Remember to collect and recycle waste paper, plastic bottles and aluminum cans after the party.
• Avoid using one-time consumables such as paper cups, dishes, napkins and plastic eating utensils. Or use 100% recycled products.
• When you buy the ingredients for your holiday dinner, consider buying products that are locally or regionally produced.
• Plan meals wisely and practice portion control to minimize waste in the first place

Shopping:

• When you do your holiday shopping, bring your own shopping bags. Paper, plastic, and cloth are all good.
• Consolidate your purchases into one bag rather than getting a new bag at each store.
• Look for recycled content greeting cards and wrapping paper.
• When shopping for the holiday dinner, consider buying locally grown or manufactured products.
• Buy ingredients that have as little packaging as possible.
• Plan your shopping in advance. Consolidating your shopping trips saves fuel

Gifts and Wrappings:

• Reduce, reuse and recycle gift-wrap
• Wrap gifts in old maps, newspapers, Sunday comics or fancy holiday gift bags that are reusable. Kids’ artwork is a perfect wrapping for presents to proud grandparents.
• Keep an eye open for products made from recycled materials or that are energy efficient.
• Buy a gift for a charity that gives them to less fortunate families, such as “Toys for Tots” or “Angel Tree”.
• Consider wrapping gifts in a decorative bag that can be used again the next Christmas season.
• Instead of wrapping gifts for the kids, hide the presents, plant clues to where they’re hidden and make the kids’ search into a treasure hunt.

Miscellaneous

• Start a new tradition—pick one night a month that your family will donate time at a local shelter handing out food.
• Donate unwanted gifts, along with last year’s gifts that the kids have outgrown, to charity.

Carbon Footprint Calculator

http://www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/calculator/ 

Don’t Flush Unwanted Medications!

Instead, safely dispose of your personal medications at any of 3 Ottawa County Health Department offices located in Holland, Grand haven, and Hudsonville during regular business hours.

Grand Haven: 16920 Ferris Street. 616-846-8360
Monday, Wednesday and Friday 8 AM – Noon and 1 PM – 5 PM

Holland: 12252 James Street, 616-396-5266
Monday – Friday 8 AM – 5 PM

Hudsonville: 3100 Port Sheldon Road, 616-669-0040
Monday, Wednesday and Friday 8 AM – 5 PM

Please remove pills from the pill bottles and place them in a plastic bag before dropping them off at the Health Department office.

If you have questions about Ottawa County’s unwanted medications collection program please call 616-393-5645

This information was provided by: C.O.R.E. (Clean-up Our River Environment) through a grant from the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation’s Marion A. and Ruth K. Sherwood Family Fund.