Waste

• Reduce your waste. When shopping choose products with smaller packages. A more impressive package doesn't mean a better product but more garbage! Choose paper instead of plastic when you have the choice! Go for glass packaging that can be returned, i.e. for beers and refreshments. Do your shopping at open markets where no packaging is used.
• Avoid used plastic disposable products like cups, plates etc
• Say no to plastic bags! Even modern bio dispensable plastic bags may be a potential danger to the environment. Use bags that can be used multiple time for your purchases.
• Avoid bottled water if the local tap water is drinkable. The cost of plastic pollution and the fuel spent for bottle transport is large. If you're outside you could use a water canteen - you'll save money and benefit the environment.
• Don't use kitchen paper instead go for washcloths. Paper is single-use only while in order to be whitened chlorine is used.
• If you're a smoker, carry with you a personal ashtray (i.e. a small marmalade jar) to dispose of your cigarette especially when in a beach.
• Never dispose used cooking oil in the sink. You could put it in a bottle and recycle it in special places (i.e. certain super markets). There are companies that collect it and turn it to biofuel. If that's not possible, put it in a sealed non-recyclable container and discard it with regular garbage. A single liter of oil can contaminate as much as 1 million liters of water.
• Recycle paper, packaging and garbage. You should help so this is done correctly by learning what goes into a blue garbage can and what not.
• Recycle organic waste by turning it into compost. Special garbage cans for gardens and for balconies are commercial available. You can find guides on the internet on how to make one yourself.

Harmful substances

• Make your own ecological detergents! It's cheaper, equally efficient and without running health risks. Using ingredients like vinegar, baking soda and green soap you can clean the whole house. For advice and recipes look here and here.
• Choose eco-friendly detergents (like biological washing powder or certified commercial ecological detergents). Using a larger amount of detergent than the one suggested on the label will only be wasteful and won't have better results.
• Don't use chlorine to clean at home. The environmental cost and possible harm on your health is big when equally good solutions for decontamination exist.
• When batteries run out, keep them to throw them away on the battery disposal points and never throw them away with regular garbage. A battery that reaches the water table could pollute up to 400,000 liters of water!

Saving energy

• Replace electrical bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs. (Careful if they break though! They contain a small amount of mercury that shouldn't be inhaled. Instructions here.)
• Turn off electric devices from the main power button rather than leaving them on stand by. Use a power strip with a switch for this purpose. Turn off the modem and the wi-fi when not using them.
• When purchasing new devices check the energy efficiency mark and visit www.ecotopten.gr. You'll save money and benefit the environment.

Responsible consumption

• Look for the FSC certification in paper products but also in furniture, that certifies that they come from responsible sources and not, for example the Borneo rain forest!
• Buy biological products since no chemical substances harmful to the environment have been used in their production. It's even better if they also have a fair trade certification.
• Buy local season products. In order to reach the market there have been fewer carbon dioxin emissions and they have traveled a smaller distance.
• Reduce the amount of meat in your diet. Meat production results in great emissions of CO2 in the atmosphere compared to vegetables. You look after your health and the environment.

A green balcony provides:

A cool and shady spot during the summer!
Deciduous trees and climbing plants provide shade during the summer whilst during the winter they allow the sunlight to warm your home.

Cooking ingredients!
Basil for your pesto. Oregano for your salad. Bay for your lentil...The list goes on - you can start with the ones you like the most and plant at your balcony the secret of the super chef!

Remedy!
If you got sunburns during the summer, an aloe vera plant is the best remedy.  And last but not least a lavender plant, can save your sweaters during the winter without having to buy anti rust chemicals.

Balcony gardening is easy and cheap. You can start with something simple.

And sure enough..you help our battle for the environment: more oxygen for the city, the need for air conditioning is reduced thanks to the natural shade provided by the plants. Less food miles when using your own peppers in your salads.

You don't have a balcony? You could use indoor plants. They purify the air in your home. Studies say that the air inside an apartment is often way more polluted than the one outside.

• Encourage the place where you work to start recycling programs for glass, aluminum and packaging by placing special bins in key places like for example next to the vending machine etc. Afterwards the contents of the bins must be transferred to their respective waste collection points.
• Encourage your employer to start a paper recycling program. Every employee could collect in a box next to him all the useless paper, which would be afterwards transferred to the special bins.
• The local Municipality will inform you on the recycling program that the area's businesses can run.
• Replace the disposable plastic cups that may be used at the workplace, which are not degradable, with glass or paper.
• Print on both sides. Before printing, you should consider if the text is necessary to be on paper, or just the digital file can do the work.
• Make sure you've turned off the lights, the computer and the rest electrical devices (the coffee machine too) before leaving work.
• Whenever possible, take advantage of modern technology for video conferences and avoid fuel consuming trips.
• Encourage your office to make a parking place and a lavatory for those wishing to cycle to work.

Follow a specific program in order to reduce energy and resources consumption. Inform your schoolmates, your teachers and everyone working in the school so as to ensure the broader possible participation.

Make two-person teams who will be in charge of each area: the classrooms, the cafeteria, the teacher's offices etc.

In cooperation with the school administration, you can contact special crews that will make sure to examine and repair any problem in the electrical and plumbing installations.

Request the replacement of broken windows and the repair of damaged frames so as to prevent heat loss.

Launch a recycling program. Get the  appropriate waste bins for paper, glass and aluminum and place them in key spots (outside of classrooms, in the teacher's offices, next to the cafeteria, in the halls).

Launch awareness campaigns on reducing the usage of plastic products (i.e. disposable cups and plates, plastic binders, etc) and on water and energy saving.

Place signs around the school, with examples that can help everyone to understand the importance of this effort. Write, for example, how many trees need to be cut down to make a ton of paper.

Plant a tree! No matter how little the space available for trees, don't neglect it. Plant trees or bushes and take care of them!

Pack lunch from home: Have you ever thought what buying food from the school's canteen means? Think only of the packaging material used for chips, biscuits, candy bars, croissant and of course for the refreshments!

It's safer... You can do it while reading your favorite book, or listening to your favorite tunes! You can even fall asleep, if you want to catch some zzzs' ....And of course it costs less. ...Then, why hesitate?

Using public transport is a mark of a high quality of life in a city. We have to realize this too though.
Go to maps.google click on "Get directions" then choose "by public transit" and find which route works best for you.

Taking the bus, doesn't only helps your mental health. Have ever though what driving your car every days means to your city? In terms of air pollution, noise, traffic congestion?

Be a pioneer in city transportation! Find smart solutions: you can combine your tour with cycling. Many Metro stations provide special spaces to lock your bike.

Thinking about doing it? Find out here about the many cycling clubs active in Greece. By cycling with them, you're better protected and they can also give you many useful advice.

Here You can find a useful FAQ if you're thinking of taking up cycling.

If nonetheless you have to use the car, follow this advice:

• Share your car with friends of neighbors that are going to the same direction.
• Maintain periodically your car. A well maintained car can save up to 5% of fuel and, obviously, weigh less on the environment.
• Drive ecologically, which means avoid using the brakes and shifting gears for no reason, If you stop driving for over a minute, turn off your engine, check the tire pressure at least once a month to reduce consumption up to 5% and avoid unnecessary loads and using a roof rack.
• Check the car's tire dimension. Using wider tires than the ones suggested by the manufacturer increases fuel consumption and speeds up the decay of various accessories, while it can also worsen the car's handling. Go for tires designed for fuel saving or noise reduction.
• When changing tires, go for the ones designed for fuel saving or noise reduction (noise pollution from cars is enormous and the tires is the main reason).
• Try to keep to a minimum driving off-road - it disturbs the natural environment and has important consequences on the ground. If needed to go off-road, use exclusively forest roads and avoid driving over natural ground. It could cause irreversible damage to some rare species of flora. In any case, avoid driving off-road after sunset.
• If you have to go off-road, maintain low speed - decrease noise pollution and minimize the possibility of hurting an animal.
• If you own an off-road vehicle and drive often off-road, be very careful about your tires. Wide tires, along with those with heavy tread pattern, don't offer much while at the same time, cause a lot of damage on the ground (heavy erosion). Avoid driving over beaches and specially over sand-dunes. Species that live there might be invisible but have an enormous ecological value.
• If you're driving off-road and wish to park, you should mind the distance between your car and the broom-sedge. Their catalysts develop very high temperatures, which could cause a fire, especially during the summer.

Find out more here.

• Consider visiting an ecotourism destination, like Dadia, lake Kerkini, Prepses and so many others of Greece's natural treasures: you can try a different type of vacation that may help you recharge your batteries!
• Never dispose lit cigarettes off the window while on a moving vehicle and never light a fire in a forest area close to trees or boom-sedge.
• Never dispose cigarettes on the sea. A filter takes 1 to 5 years to degrade. It can be eaten by sea-birds, fish and sea mammals with tragic consequences.
• Don't litter the sea or the beaches. Sea turtles for example, eat the plastic bags mistaking them for jellyfish, resulting in them dying by asphyxiation.
• If you come across snakes, avoid them but don't kill them. They too play an important role in the balance of nature.
• If you have to take a bath or wash your clothes when outdoors, make sure you're at least 30 meters away from any water source (lake, stream etc.)
• Don't cut off tree branches i.e. when camping. When leaving, take with you all the trash.
• Don't throw in the sea or the coast the trawl you used for fishing. It could wrapped around a bird's feet or beak and turn into a deadly trap.
• If you notice persons that fish using dynamite, do scuba fishing or go spearfishing at night  - three activities that are banned by law - you should report them to the port authorities.
• Avoid going to coasts that are a sanctuary for endangered species and get informed on the special precautions necessary for protected beaches.
• During your stay in a hotel, you should notify them in order not to change the sheets and towels on a daily basis. This way you contribute a great deal in water saving.
• Wherever you're, don't buy products made of endangered species (ivory, Tortoiseshell, lizard skin, fur coats and food products made of animals or plants that are endangered).