Living Car Free - Sustainable living for an apartment complex

Thought I might be able to get a few suggestions here....

I help out with an environmental committee at our housing complex and I am trying to think of some new projects we can pursue.

We have, or are in the process of,:
- composting
- rain barrels
- low flow shower heads
- education on : proper haz waste disposal, recycling, reuse, electronics disposal

- working on: pesticide reduction, automatic laundry room lights, energy challenge (to reduce consumption compared to last year)

One issue we have is getting out information to everyone. We publish in a newsletter but don't know how much it gets read. Obviously want to avoid flyering.

Look at vermicomposting. You can do composting right in your own kitchen without having to create a compost pile.

For us, it is easier to do the group composting because of the sheer number of apartments. I do not think we could afford that many individual units but the larger ones have been working quite well.

Look at vermicomposting. You can do composting right in your own kitchen without having to create a compost pile.

So when the dishes pile up and the trashcan is overflowing I can say I'm composting? Great idea!

Thought I might be able to get a few suggestions here....

I help out with an environmental committee at our housing complex and I am trying to think of some new projects we can pursue.

We have, or are in the process of,:
- composting
- rain barrels
- low flow shower heads
- education on : proper haz waste disposal, recycling, reuse, electronics disposal

- working on: pesticide reduction, automatic laundry room lights, energy challenge (to reduce consumption compared to last year)

One issue we have is getting out information to everyone. We publish in a newsletter but don't know how much it gets read. Obviously want to avoid flyering.

Do the bugs know about this?

Remove parking spots and give the space a new function.

Laundry lines. Our building has 3 inside, which is enough to handle about 3 average loads of laundry, and one outside with about the same capacity. The main downside of the lines inside is that they are in the building's basement, so stuff dried there can smell a bit musty. It isn't very well ventilated.

I found that you can hang you clothes till their dry then throw them in the drying for like 5 min and they will soften up and smell like the dryer sheet you threw in. this way you could dry like 5 loads in one dry cycle. rain barrels are nice but what are you planning to do with them? recycle gray water? or promote infiltration? Also the easiest energy reduction is changing everything you can over to energy efficient appliances. Light bulbs are the easiest and make a significant impact.

in the end your talking about being eco-efficient, you really want to be eco-effective. read up on the concept and try to work through efficiency and towards effectiveness.

Laundry lines. Our building has 3 inside, which is enough to handle about 3 average loads of laundry, and one outside with about the same capacity. The main downside of the lines inside is that they are in the building's basement, so stuff dried there can smell a bit musty. It isn't very well ventilated.

I put those white wire shelves with the clothing hanger rods over the radiators in my bedroom and bath. I put my wet clothes on hangers and hang them over the radiators to dry. I can dry two loads at a time this way. Humidifies my apartment too.

In the summer, I put the wet clothes on hangers and hang them from the railing on the fire escape,which also has a two load capacity.

Either way, when the the clothes are dry, they're already on hangers and ready for the closet.

Can you try motion sensors on lights in hallways, parking lot and laundry room? Increasing insulation, weather stripping, caulking, etc. will pay for themselves in a short time, in many cases. Your best bet might be a professional energy audit to discover where the most cost effective improvements can be made.

How about switching the outside lights to solar.

So when the dishes pile up and the trashcan is overflowing I can say I'm composting? Great idea!

Didn't think of that.... Hell, I've been composting for years and didn't know it!

I put those white wire shelves with the clothing hanger rods over the radiators in my bedroom and bath. I put my wet clothes on hangers and hang them over the radiators to dry. I can dry two loads at a time this way. Humidifies my apartment too

We do have radiators here, but the upper floors are carpeted, and the radiators are thin little modern things. Very frustrating. Also the insulation is good enough that our heat rarely comes on. Nickel's building might have a better setup tho.

Remove parking spots and give the space a new function.

If the complex can support those hideous dumpsters and a flotilla of autos, I don't see why a resident couldn't lobby for a few compost bins.


Laundry lines. Our building has 3 inside, which is enough to handle about 3 average loads of laundry, and one outside with about the same capacity. The main downside of the lines inside is that they are in the building's basement, so stuff dried there can smell a bit musty. It isn't very well ventilated.

This is a difficult nut to crack. Drying clothes in a damp basement is only like to decrease the lifetime of the building itself. Wouldn't one of those clothes-drying gadgets on the veranda be better. Most apartment complexes frown on having clotheslines, but that attitude is so 20th century.

http://www.hardwarestore.com/media/product/104775_front200.jpg
http://www.hardwarestore.com/media/product/125550_front200.jpg

Other ideas:
http://housewares.hardwarestore.com/37-186-outdoor-clothes-dryers-.aspx

Thanks for all the advice so let me try to answer...

We aren't in one large building. We are actually a series of six units in blocks spread around the grounds. 2-3 of these blocks are hooked up to one boiler. No one has access to a thermostat and things are kept around 70F.

There are numerous clothing lines throughout the grounds. However, these are only good for the warmer months. We also cannot specify the amount of drying time as it is fixed to the amount of money you enter.

The rain barrels will be used to water the grounds. We have many gardens (personal and community) which require tending to depending on the weather.

Lightbulb replacements are the new CFLs. I am not going to tell everyone to replace their already working lightbulbs as I think that is wasteful but when they go, they will have an energy-efficient replacement.

Roody -- I think that is going to be our main focus. Our grounds management has been working with us and they have been replacing the old screen doors and fixing the main doors so they do not let in a draft. Our committee has been approached to look into alternative energies and I feel that requires optimization of our current situation.

We do have a plan to use motion sensors but there is some issues with the current old wiring setup so a grant is being looked into so we can replace the setup with a more efficient one and get the sensors.

You said you have grounds and community gardens:thumb: What type of landscaping is on the grounds? If you have a bunch of non producing decorative plants, consider replacing them with something that produces. We replaced privets and box woods with blue berries and currant bushes. We do still have a couple of rose bushes and a gardenia, but they are fairly low maintenance. Grass is going away just as fast as I can plow it under.

Aaron:)

A lot of it is open grass because there is a large population of families that live here so we have a lot of fields. I think more could be converted so we don't have to worry about watering so much. We do have a fruit garden but it would be nice if we could expand it.

Green roof? Keyhole gardens?

Grey water recycling? Can be expensive to start up, but the benefits will come with time.

Hmmm green roof and grey water recycling are things I hadn't looked into yet so thanks!

The keyhole gardens look really neat! I had no idea what they were but I can see this being a fun project.

A lot of it is open grass because there is a large population of families that live here so we have a lot of fields. I think more could be converted so we don't have to worry about watering so much. We do have a fruit garden but it would be nice if we could expand it.

Nothing wrong with grass and green space for the kiddies to play, but most places I have seen over do it a bit. We "had" over an acre of lawn that had to be kept up and mowed on a regular basis, along with about 25 acres of field. We are quickly reducing the amount of "lawn". Hope to add goats and sheep in the next year which will do a helluva job of keeping the grass in check.:lol:

Aaron:)

Nothing wrong with grass and green space for the kiddies to play, but most places I have seen over do it a bit. We "had" over an acre of lawn that had to be kept up and mowed on a regular basis, along with about 25 acres of field. We are quickly reducing the amount of "lawn". Hope to add goats and sheep in the next year which will do a helluva job of keeping the grass in check.:lol:

Aaron:)

My son is studying landscape architecture. Seems like most areas they design these days use buffalo grass, which is a fairly low-maintenance, low-water type. He tells me they recommend not mowing it, but letting it grow to its natural height which is about 5-6 inches.

If you need to re-seed in the future...