Greening your apartment

Your apartment

There are many no- or low-cost things you can do to conserve energy and water.

Here are a few ideas:

Low Cost

• install a low-flow showerhead and faucet aerators (an indoor water efficiency kit is available at local environment days http://www.toronto.ca/environment_days/activities.htm)

• caulk around leaky windows and install plastic film over windows

• compost with worms

• install compact fluorescent light bulbs

No-Cost

• take shorter showers

• wash clothes in cold water and dry on racks (if you have a common laundry area, you can put up signs encouraging cold water use)

• For a list of energy-saving tips for tenants, go to http://www.ontariotenants.ca/apartment_living/electricity-savings.phtml

Your building

Interested in improving the energy efficiency of your building? Talk to your building manager or condo or co-op board, and check out these City of Toronto programs that can help your building improve its energy performance:

• TowerWise Program http://www.toronto.ca/taf/towerwise.htm - This program offers loans to new and existing buildings that wish to become more energy efficient. Loans are paid back using the utility cost savings that result from a better-built building.

• Better Buildings Partnership http://bbptoronto.ca/ - This program promotes and implements energy efficiency and building-renewal retrofits in industrial, commercial, institutional and multi-residential buildings

• If you have questions about recycling in apartments go to http://www.toronto.ca/garbage/multi/index.htm

This fact sheet was produced by Green Neighbours 21 - April 2010