Happy Earth Day! How Can You Help Your Facility "Go Green"?

In celebration of Earth Day, we've compiled a list of tips for "greening" your facility. These tips, and many more, can be found at at Health Care Without Harm's website.

Minimizing Waste

• Many long-term care facilities are surprisingly similar to office buildings - they produce a lot of paper, cardboard and food waste. Consider implementing programs that encourage employees to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Greening Your Cleaning Products

• Even though their job is to clean, a surprising number of cleaners and disinfectants can lead to poor indoor air quality and even negative effects on residents' health. Consider using less-toxic, environmentally friendly maintenance products.

Healthy Food That's Also Good for the Planet

• Many facilities are choosing to buy fresh food that is grown in the local community using sustainable methods.

Green Buildings

• Building a new facility or adding on to your current one? There are numerous ways to "green" a building. Health Care Without Harm provides tools and resources to get you started.

Buying Green

• Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) encourages selecting products that are less toxic, minimally polluting, more energy efficient, higher in recycled content, packed in less packaging material, fragrance free and safer and healthier for residents, workers and the environment.