St. Louis Green
 

St. Louis Green

This website is brought to you by St. Louis Green, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and your place for everything green in the St. Louis region.

Our Mission

Empowering others to learn about and implement sustainable lifestyles.

Our objective is to give you the opportunity to learn more about sustainability and how you can simply change your daily decisions for a greener lifestyle.

 

Our History

St. Louis Green, Inc., was founded to address a need in the St. Louis community for information about green businesses, green products, and green events. Founder and Executive Director Craig Jung noticed that people were looking for information and education about sustainable lifestyles, so in 2007 he created StLouisGreen.com, your place for everything green in the St. Louis region. The organization has grown quickly to address other “green” issues and needs in the St. Louis community.

In 2007–2010,  St. Louis Green:

  • Helped the St. Louis Cardinals start a volunteer-supported recycling program at Busch Stadium, in conjunction with its “4 A Greener Game” program".  The St. Louis Cardinals expanded its program to include waste diversion, composting of food waste, and donation of edible leftovers to Operation Food Search.
  • Helped the St. Louis Rams start a volunteer-supported recycling program at the Edward Jones Dome,  in conjunction with its “Rams Green Team”.  
  • Represented green education at many events, and used its booth and presence to educate the public about sustainable lifestyles.
  • Started the Holiday Light Recycling Drive to keep used holiday lights out of the landfill and to promote the use of energy-efficient LED holiday light strands.
  • Created and distributed podcasts, videos, TV segments, and website content to educate kids and adults about sustainability at home and at work.
  • The StLouisGreen.com website has grown to an average of 4,000 visits and 17,000 page views per month. The website has many sponsors which contribute to the long-term viability of St. Louis Green and provides funds for its educational programs. 

 

Programs

St. Louis Green is dedicated to promoting sustainable lifestyles through the following programs:

StLouisGreen.com is the organization’s resource center and directory for

  • Local green non-profits, businesses, products, and services
  • Green events and activities
  • Educational articles on ways to green your life at home and work
  • Green jobs, green education, and volunteer opportunities stlouisgreenjobs.com

 

The Holiday Light Recycling Drive collected over three tons in 2009-10 and eight tons in 2010-11 of holiday lights to recycle.  That’s 11 tons that stayed out of the landfill! People are encouraged to recycle old holiday lights and extension cords. All unworkable holiday lights, whether from your tree or outdoor decorations, can be taken to participating Wal-Mart stores and other locations during store hours. Over 65 locations participated in 2010-11. St. Louis Green also worked with its media partners to educate the public about the importance of recycling, using radio, TV, print media, blogs, and podcasts.

On October 14, 2011 StLouisGreen.com aquired the Furniture and Metal to Food Program from Operation Food Search.  This isn’t your typical acquisition, more of a move to grow, expand and better service the existing program, which we thrilled about and so is each agency.  This will allow each entity increased exposure and a vehicle with which to expand our recycling efforts.  The functionality of the programs will remain the same and a minimum of 10% of the gross cash proceeds and 100% of all in-kind furniture and metal donations will continue to benefit Operation Food Search and their mission to feed the hungry.

Green Education for the general public includes educational content on StLouisGreen.com, blog posts, podcasts, radio interviews, TV segments and video. 

 

 

What is 'Green'?

'Green', also known as sustainability, allows a product, process, or event to meet current needs while minimizing the negative impact on the environment. Our success in implementing sustainable principles will determine the ability of our children and their children to meet these same needs.

What is Sustainability?

On an individual level, living sustainably means your everyday activites do not negatively affect the environment. It means using less of just about everything -- except reusable materials.

A few examples:

These are small steps:

  • Take cloth bags with you to the grocery store to bring your groceries home, instead of using the store's plastic bags (which end up in a landfill)
  • Use a mug at work instead of a styrofoam cup for your morning coffee
  • Ride public transportation to work if possible
  • Put a hold on your newspaper delivery during vacations
  • Use energy-efficient light bulbs in your home

 

Larger things to consider:

  • Try carpooling
  • Can you power your house through an alternative energy?

 

For a more in-depth look at sustainability, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability