Sustainability in Sedgwick County
Background
In July 2007, a task force was created to address sustainability in Sedgwick
County. The county manager’s charge was to begin placing a stronger emphasis and
focus on sustainability within our internal practices as a precursor to
implementing community-wide sustainability policies in the future.
The four core factors that Sedgwick County considers when making community
policy and program management decisions are: Economic Development, Environmental
Protection, Institutional and Financial Viability, Social Equity. These factors
often are interrelated and rather than trying to find a balance among them, we
should search for synergy, as balance implies one area must be decreased in
order to increase another. Making decisions based on these factors will help us
create an organization where decisions are based not only on what makes the most
sense now, but what makes the most sense for the future.
Definition of Sustainability for Sedgwick County
Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs by considering all of the following factors when forming policies and making program management decisions: Economic Development, Environmental Protection, Institutional and Financial Viability, Social Equity.
Economic Development: initiating, promoting, supporting, and facilitating the creation of wealth and employment opportunities.
Environmental Protection: minimizing Sedgwick County Government’s impact on air, water, and land.
Institutional and Financial Viability: making fiscally responsible decisions, while considering the present and future impact to the effectiveness of our organization.
Social Equity: the equitable access to and distribution of public resources to the community via education, partnership, and intervention.
Sustainability Tips by Category
Periodically, Sedgwick County provides tips to help residents live more sustainable lives. You'll find those tips below.
Economic Development - Environmental Protection - Institutional and Financial Viability - Social Equity
Economic Development
- BUY LOCAL – Buy local food and frequent local
businesses whenever you can. Doing so supports local farmers and businesses
while ensuring that your goods don’t have to travel as far using gallons of
polluting fossil fuels in the process.
- FILING TAXES - Need a little extra help
filing your taxes? Visit a local tax office for assistance instead of
working through it on your own. They can help you find deductions you may
otherwise have missed. Plus, the fees you pay help employ a local worker.
- STAYCATION - Strapped for cash but longing
for something fun to do?
Try these activities during your “staycation”:
• Swimming and boating at Lake Afton
• Picnics at Sedgwick County Park
• Activities at Sedgwick County Zoo and Exploration Place
• Head to a baseball game or neighborhood pool
• Take in a movie or live show at a local theater
- HI NEIGHBOR! - Do you know your neighbors’
and their children’s names? Do you have neighborhood gatherings?
Do you have a neighborhood watch group? Connected neighbors make
safer, happier, healthier neighborhoods.
- LEARN LOCALLY - Have you wanted to take an
art class or perhaps learn to use a new computer program? Local arts
organizations, like Wichita Arts, give a comprehensive look at classes,
events, news and even scholarships available in the local art community.
- LOCAL CUISINE AND THINGS - Visit a
restaurant, retail store or entertainment venue owned and operated locally
at least once a month.
- EMBRACE LOCAL CULTURE - When was the last time you attended a local lecture, film, dinner, performing arts event, museum or other public art venue? Local arts sustain our humanity and are integral to sustainability. Support these local groups with your time, resources and appreciation.
Environmental Protection
-
REUSABLE BAGS - Most of us have good intentions to use cloth bags or even reuse plastic bags at the grocery store. We tuck them in cabinets and drawers or store them in the trunk of our cars and then we forget to take them into the store with us. Try this to help you remember: tie a green ribbon to the steering wheel of your car as a reminder to take those bags into the store! And remember, many grocery stores have drop-off recycle bins for plastic bags and give you money back for reusing bags.
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GARAGE SALES - Spring is a popular time to de-clutter our homes and host garage sales. Garage sales are a great way to support the idea of reusing – what’s your trash is someone else’s treasure. And, remember to take what you don’t sell to a local thrift store, instead of throwing it away. This helps reduce what is sent to a landfill and gives someone else an opportunity to purchase affordable items.
-
SAVE INK AND PAPER - You could save money on ink and paper just by changing the font. Do you find yourself printing documents that aren’t meant for public view, such as rough drafts and meeting agendas/notes? Try changing the font on these documents to Times New Roman, which uses less ink than other fonts. Calibri, Verdana and Arial came next on the list of ink-savers. Some fonts are wider than others, which uses more room on a page, causing the text to jump to the next page. So, remember to view your document in print preview to make sure you aren’t using more pages than needed. You also could try reducing the font size, which would use less paper.
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CAR WASH - While you may think you’re doing your car (and your wallet) a favor by hand-washing it at home, the opposite actually is true.
According to the International Carwash Association (yes, this is a real association), automatic car washes use less than half the water used when washing your car at home. The average home wash uses 80-140 gallons of water while the commercial average is 45 gallons. Commercial car washes often reuse water and send the runoff to treatment centers instead of nearby lakes and streams. They also use high-pressure nozzles that require less water usage.
But if you’re dead-set on washing your car at home with the kids, here’s how to keep the impact at a minimum:
• Park on gravel or grass so soapy water soaks into the ground, becomes filtered and recharges groundwater.
• Avoid soaps with labels that read “harmful, danger or poison.”
• Use a nozzle or turn off the hose when you’re not using the water. During a 15-minute car wash, you could use 150 gallons of water if there isn’t an automatic shut-off nozzle.
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PROPANE VS. CHARCOAL - Before diving into this one, we want to point out we are not trying to step on any grill master’s toes. The debate between charcoal and propane is a tough one. Which one produces more flavor? Which is cheaper, faster? And most importantly, which is more eco-friendly? We consulted a recent study by Environment Impact Assessment Review to answer this one. Drum roll, please …
According to the study, “liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is dramatically more efficient than charcoal in its production and considerably more efficient in cooking.” The two grilling methods were defined by their overall footprint, with charcoal using 998 kg of CO2 – almost three times more than propane, which weighed in at 349 kg.
When purchasing a propane tank, make sure there is a trade-in option. Most retailers will let you bring in an empty tank in exchange for a discount on your next tank.
-
NO IDLE - Adopt a personal no idle policy. Idling for 30 seconds or longer uses more fuel than shutting off and restarting your vehicle (not recommended for traffic lights).
Tips:
• Re-think the drive-thru.
Are there many cars in line already? Going inside actually may be faster too.
• Is warming up your car so it’s toasty when you get in really necessary? A car warms up faster when it’s in motion. Think about saving that wasted gas.
• Do you find yourself waiting for your children outside day care or after practice? Turn off the car while you wait.
-
UNPLUG IT - We know by now that chargers and small appliances use electricity when left plugged in, even when they’re not being used. But, did you know video game consoles use nearly the same amount of power when they are turned on and left idle as they do when you are actively playing a game or watching a movie? Save more than $100 a year by remembering to turn off your gaming system whenever you're not using it.
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DON'T THROW IT AWAY! - The average garage contains about 100 lbs. of household hazardous waste. Take what you aren’t going to use to the HHW Facility, 801 Stillwell in Wichita.
Institutional and Financial Viability
- FISCAL AWARENESS - Think of institutional and financial viability as
protecting your pocketbook and saving for the future. What are you doing to
ensure your “institution” remains intact now and for the long haul?
- SAVE MONEY ON INK AND PAPER- You could save
money on ink and paper just by changing the font. Do you find yourself
printing documents that aren’t meant for public view, such as rough drafts
and meeting agendas/notes? Try changing the font on these documents to
Times New Roman, which uses less ink than other fonts. Calibri, Verdana and
Arial came next on the list of ink-savers. Some fonts are wider than
others, which uses more room on a page, causing the text to jump to the next
page. So, remember to view your document in print preview to make sure you
aren’t using more pages than needed. You also could try reducing the
font size, which would use less paper.
- UNPLUG IT - We know by now that chargers and
small appliances use electricity when left plugged in, even when they’re not
being used. But, did you know video game consoles use nearly the same
amount of power when they are turned on and left idle as they do when you
are actively playing a game or watching a movie? Save more than $100 a
year by remembering to turn off your gaming system whenever you're not using
it.
- FILING TAXES - Need a little extra help
filing your taxes? Visit a local tax office for assistance instead of
working through it on your own. They can help you find deductions you may
otherwise have missed. Plus, the fees you pay help employ a local worker.
- INSULATE FOR SAVINGS - Only 20 percent of
homes built before 1980 are well insulated. One of the most
cost-effective ways to make your home more comfortable year-round is to add
insulation to your attic.
Other energy savers: use weather stripping around doors and windows and clean or replace furnace filters monthly.
- STAYCATION - Strapped for cash but longing
for something fun to do?
Try these activities during your “staycation”:
• Swimming and boating at Lake Afton
• Picnics at Sedgwick County Park
• Activities at Sedgwick County Zoo and Exploration Place
• Head to a baseball game or neighborhood pool
• Take in a movie or live show at a local theater
Social Equity
- GIVE BLOOD - Did you know, just by giving blood, you are helping
to strengthen social equity in our community? By giving something of
yourself you are helping others in need. Try to visit your local blood bank
once a year.
- DONATE USED ITEMS - Spring is a popular time
to de-clutter our homes and host garage sales. Garage sales are a
great way to support the idea of reusing – what’s your trash is someone
else’s treasure. And, remember to take what you don’t sell to a local
thrift store, instead of throwing it away. This helps reduce what is sent to
a landfill and gives someone else an opportunity to purchase affordable
items.
- IN THE WORKPLACE - A respectful workplace is
one that discourages gossip and challenges malicious rumors.
- LEARN - Promote social equity in the work
place by making time to discuss and explore differences.
- HI NEIGHBOR! - Do you know your neighbors’
and their children’s names? Do you have neighborhood gatherings?
Do you have a neighborhood watch group? Connected neighbors make
safer, happier, healthier neighborhoods.
- EMBRACE CULTURE - Have you wanted to take an
art class or perhaps learn to use a new computer program? Local arts
organizations, like Wichita Arts, give a comprehensive look at classes,
events, news and even scholarships available in the local art community;
plus, you'll meet new people and gain new experiences!
- FACE-TO-FACE TIME - Using technology to stay
connected has never been easier. Between webcams, social networking sites
and e-mail, it is easy to communicate for business or pleasure with the
click of a button. But remember, social equity includes face-to-face
time as well. If you work in the same building, meet face to face instead of
via e-mail or webcam. If you live in the same city, meet for lunch or host a
game night with friends and family instead of asking them to check your blog
for life updates.
- GIVE BACK - Getting involved in a non-profit organization is a worth-while and fulfilling way to get involved in your community. If you aren’t able to give monetarily, consider giving your time through volunteering. There are many opportunities locally to help build a house, befriend a child, provide assistance during an emergency and more!