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Garage

  • Heating or cooling your garage should be done with a separate system from heating and cooling your house.
  • Air seal the garage from the house. Investigate the garage ceiling to ensure the joists are blocked off above all walls common to the house. If there is a door to the garage from the house, check the weather stripping and door sweep. Air seal around trim, electrical boxes or any other penetrations.
  • If there is a heated room above the garage, make sure there is insulation in the garage ceiling. Make sure the insulation in the garage ceiling is in full contact with the flooring above. Seal any electrical boxes in the garage ceiling.

Curbside recycle bins

  • King County prohibits the disposal of TVs, computers, monitors and cell phones, fluorescent bulbs and tubes in the garbage or at King County transfer stations or at the household hazardous waste facilities (King County Waste Acceptance Policy).
  • The City of Seattle Prohibits the disposal of bulbs/tubes, computer monitors, TVs or any other device containing cathode ray tubes (CRTs) in residential or commercial garbage or at Seattle transfer stations. (Seattle Municipal Code 21.36.025 – Unlawful Disposal; 21.36.026 – Household Hazardous Waste; 21.36.029 – Small Quantity Generator)

Driveway

  • Trees provide numerous important functions on your property, including shading to reduce the cooling needs of your home and storm water management through the interception of rain on leaves and branches. Be sure you or your contractor follow best practice guides for protecting all site trees during your project.
  • First costs often drive decisions for many products, but high maintenance and replacement costs can end up swallowing any savings from a lower first cost. Consider the warranty of your driveway material, the maintenance requirements before making your choice.
  • Pervious pavement requires engineering to ensure sufficient sub-surface materials are designed and installed properly to account for the structural loading and the water infiltration rates desired. Note that there are maintenance requirements (periodic vacuuming), but the benefits of improving storm water management are very compelling.
  • Green Product Buying GuideDownload PDF 500 K

Additional resources

Indoor air quality and leakages

Recycling and Composting

  • "Recycle More. It’s Easy to do" – from the King County Solid Waste Division
    Offers tips and resources related to home recycling.
  • Recycling Page – from the King County Solid Waste Division
    Offers links to all kinds of information on recycling, waste reduction, and food scrap composting.
  • Compost your food scraps in your curbside bin
    Find tips on how and what to compost in your curbside food and yard waste bin.
  • Household Hazardous Waste Collection Options – from the King County Solid Waste Division
    Provides information on how to best dispose of household hazardous waste
  • The Story of Stuff external link
    The Story of Stuff Project’s journey began with a 20-minute online movie about the way we make, use and throw away all the Stuff in our lives. Five years and 40 million views later, this website includes a community of 750,000 changemakers worldwide, working to build a healthy and just planet.

Alternatives to Asphalt/Concrete: Pervious Surfaces and Low Impact Development (LID)

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