Durham Toronto Health Services is working towards providing the most eco-friendly staff in the health industry.   We are joing forces with other green-minded businesses in the Greater Toronto Area to best help us achieve our eco-health goals.  We are a member of Durham Sustain Ability – Eco- Business and  Green Certified Business.  We are working on some new green initiatives for 2010 that will benefit our Health Care Facilities clients, Our Staff, and the general public. Stay tuned for more green updates.

Recycling is a very important step in the process of the green revolution, may be the most important step.   

Reducing the amount of litter you are throwing away is a good start; also you can cut out the amount of junk you throw away by recycling a part of it. Some pieces of the things you throw away can make a really good decoration parts. It is such a pity to let all the stuff that you can reuse, go down the drain.   

The rest of the things that you can’t recycle yourself, send them to a recycling center and they will take care of them.   

There are also some things that cannot be recycled, so be sure that you don’t try to recycle them because doing so may expose some harmful substance that they may contain. And don’t send them to the center either because they cannot do anything with them besides throwing them away.   

Do some research first of what things can be and what things cannot be recycled. Else you might find yourself in the position of trying to rebuild a product that cannot be recycled.   

Another good step in recycling things is to actually buy them from people that have already built some products out of scratch. That way you will be encouraging everybody else to do the same thing and people will eventually buy your own products.   

Used water can also be recycled. You can do that by using the water from your shower or from washing your dishes to flush the toilet, for example. Or better yet, you can use it to water your plants that way you are completing the whole cycle. (This is possible only if you are using degradable soaps that do not affect and the surroundings in any way.)   

If you are left over with some materials that are organic and biodegradable, don’t hesitate to use them as fertilizer for your garden. In the process of recycling, everything that can be reused should be recycled. Even if you don’t own a vegetable garden, don’t hesitate to give the compost to a friend or a neighbor that needs it.   

Electronic appliances can also be recycled; in fact they are the most common way of recycling. There are companies that can take care of your electronic products, and can turn them into spare parts for new, working appliances. Many companies might even offer you a discount for one or more of their products if you give them an old TV or a fridge or anything else that is made out of electronic components.   

Let’s say that you have a piece of furniture that you don’t need anymore because you have ought a new set, but you still don’t want to throw away the old one. What would you do with it? It is very simple. There are many charity centers that will be more than glad to receive a donation.   

That way you will save the old furniture from trashing and you will fill out your list of good deeds.