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Letter to the editor

Around the house: Protect your work environment

By Times Staff, Wires
Published February 23, 2008

How green is your home away from home, your office cubicle? You probably spend more waking hours there than you do at home. Incorporate these tips into your work life. They're from True Green @ Work: 100 Ways You Can Make the Environment Your Business, by Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin National Geographic, $19.95:

- Use your own coffee mug instead of adding to the nearly 2-million tons of disposable cups tossed in the trash each year.

- Wear lightweight, washable clothes. It saves water, energy and cleaning costs for you, as well as energy costs for the boss because the thermostat can be set higher in warm weather.

- Ask building managers to turn off lights at night or install motion sensors. Lighting accounts for 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions from commercial buildings.

Lots to see, know for association dwellers

The annual free Community Associations Day and trade show is from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. March 7 at the Harborview Center, 300 Cleveland St., Clearwater. Educational panels, attorney Q&A, and 120 vendors with products and services for residents of condos, co-ops and homeowner associations. Information: Community Associations Institute, (727) 345-0165.

Something old becomes something new

A couple of readers have inquired about the source of the recycled glass countertops in the "green" home featured in this section Feb. 9. The source is Refresh Interiors in Pinellas Park, (727) 527-0206, www.gotgreencountertops.com.

Don't recycle? Then pay up

Stop complaining about recycling. Swiss citizens must dispose of garbage in government-issued trash bags, which cost about 5 Swiss francs ($4.50) per bag in Zurich, Metropolitan Home magazine reports. There's a motivation to reduce, reuse, recycle.

[Last modified February 22, 2008, 16:40:58]