Resources : Environmental Services : Arlington, Virginia

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Green Tips Library

Water Conservation

How to conserve water in your home and outdoors. Water Conservation >>

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

What does reducing and reusing mean? Learn about buying recycled, reusing, and donating. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle >>

Energy Efficiency at Work

Energy efficiency is the most cost effective approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to managing a building’s operating costs. Energy Efficiency at Work >>

Additional Internet resources to help you learn and live green.

Composting

Learn more about composting rules in Arlington County >>

Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) has useful information on composting, including a description of what compost is, and how to make compost from yard waste.
Check out MasterComposter for information about compost bins, how to compost, and other lawn and garden tips.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) composting website
Composting with worms! Residents can also compost kitchen waste and scraps using worms, a practice called vermicomposting. Read more at Smartgardening.com, or view a helpful fact sheet about vermicomposting (PDF).
Worm Composting for Kids
Gardening and composting go hand-in-hand, especially in school garden projects. Gardening without composting only teaches half the lesson. Find composting resources for schools.

Education Resources

Virginia Naturally is a gateway to statewide environmental education resources including information about volunteer opportunities, educational classes, places to visit, community events, watershed maps, lesson plans, and recreational activities.
Pollution Solutions is a litter and pollution prevention curriculum supplement based on the Virginia Standards of Learning for grades K-12.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Teacher Resources on Solid Waste and Recycling Education (PDF).
Earth Force engages young people as active citizens who improve the environment and their communities now and in the future. Earth Force trains and supports educators in programs that enable young people to lead community action projects focused on creating sustainable solutions to local environment issues in the community.
Learn about earth-friendly alternatives that reduce waste in landfills, including recycling and composting with this composting curriculum for grades 3 - 5.
The Watershed Action website offers one stop help in planning and organizing service-learning projects to prevent water pollution in your watershed. Within this site you can access everything from scientific background information or curricula to local experts or stencils for painting storm drain signs.
Want to educate kids about water? These free materials from University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, Environmental Resources Center can provide you with the information you need to get started.
Give Water a Hand, a national watershed education program designed to involve young people in local environmental service projects. Also available in Spanish.
Magnificent Groundwater Connection groundwater activity guide is applicable to a wide range of subject matter and the topics include basic concepts on the water cycle, water distribution, treatment, and stewardship. This page includes five sample lesson activity plans.
The Water Sourcebooks explain the water management cycle showing how it affects all aspects of the environment, with 324 activities for grades K-12 divided into four sections: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12.
World Water Monitoring Day helps watershed leaders, educators and trained volunteers to educate students and citizens how the actions of individuals in a watershed can impact environmental quality and human health.
Earth Friendly Kids' Activities

Environmental Data Sources

Arlington Watersheds Map (PDF)
Water Quality Monitoring Data from Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (Use the HUC code 02070010 to access Four Mile Run area of the Potomac).
Additional water monitoring data is available in the Annual Stormwater Managment Program Monitoring Report (PDF) or the Volunteer Monitoring Data Report.
USGS' website Water Resources of the United States provides access to water-resources data collected at approximately 1.5 million sites in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Four Mile Run watershed information from Northern Virginia Regional Commission.
Arlington Soils Map (PDF)
Arlington Soil Survey Repor (PDF)
Map of Topography in Arlington (PDF)
Arlington Geology Map (PDF)

Environmental Purchasing

Check out the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Energy Star Products if you are considering a major appliance purchase. These energy saving appliances will save you money on your energy and water bills!
Find the most fuel efficient car for your needs at EPA's Green Vehicle Guide.
Even if you have tried to reduce and reuse as much as possible, sometimes you do need to buy something new. In that case, remember that in addition to recycling at home, a great way to help the environment is by purchasing products made from recycled materials! Check out the EPA's Buy Recycled website to learn how you can tell if products have recycled content and what manufacturers make them.
RecycleStore is part of a nationwide effort to increase the purchase of recycled-content products.

Grasscycling and Lawn Care

Did you know that your lawn can help prevent pollution from entering Arlington's streams and the Chesapeake Bay? Find out how to create a lawn that helps protect water quality (PDF).
Tips on keeping your lawn green and the bay clean from Virginia Department of Conservation & Recreation (PDF).
Erosion or drainage problems in your yard? Read You and Your Land: the Homeowner's Guide to the Potomac River Watershed.
Test your soil before fertilizing! Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) will test your soil and tell you if you need any fertilizer, and what type. All you need to do is send them a sample.
Are you looking for a quick and easy way to a beautiful lawn? Try grasscycling, or leaving your grass clippings on your lawn as you mow to fertilize the lawn. VCE also offers master gardener classes.
Read VCE's Pesticide Management Guide.
Smartgardening.com is a great gardening website run by Los Angeles County.

Green Building/Energy

The US Green Building Council is the nation's foremost coalition of leaders from across the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to live and work.
National Geographic has created this Green Guide with information about living green and sustainability.
Energy efficiency information for homes and businesses.
Design and construction information from Building Green, an independent company committed to providing accurate, unbiased, and timely information designed to help building-industry professionals and policy makers improve the environmental performance, and reduce the adverse impacts, of buildings.
Recycle construction and building materials with Loading Dock. The Loading Dock accepts all kinds of materials, including paint, lumber, plumbing fixtures, doors, cabinets, windows, caulks, moldings, and other reusable materials from the home building industry.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) website has a lot of useful information on saving energy.
Tips on Saving Energy and Money at Home (PDF) from DOE.
General bibliography of resources for churches to pursue energy efficiency and conservation.
The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing energy efficiency as a means of promoting both economic prosperity and environmental protection.
Find energy-efficient product manufacturers. This website is devoted to serving professionals whose work promotes sustainable design and construction.

Recycling

Learn more about recycling in Arlington County >>

Donating to charity and community groups for reuse.
Reduce your junk mail, and save some paper! Find out more about reducing your junk mail.
Arlington chapter of Freecycle, a donation/exchange website.
A very good starting point for information on solid waste management and recycling is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Solid Waste.
Good information source for recycling programs within the region is Metropolitian Washington Council of Governments.
The state agency responsible for recycling within the Commonwealth is the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
The national association of recyclers located in Alexandria, VA is the National Recycling Coalition.
An association of public and private solid waste professionals and a good source of information is the Solid Waste Association of North America.
A wealth of information on plastics recycling is available from this trade association American Plastics Council.
Based in Arlington, and a good source of information regarding reuse and recycling programs for computer and electronics equipment, is the Electronics Industry Alliance.

Non-Profit Organizations

Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment (ACE) is a non-profit organization in Arlington. Their website includes a variety of information on Arlington's environment and volunteer opportunities.
The purpose of the OurEarth website is to raise awareness, educate the public, and ultimately make it easier for everyone to be environmentally responsible.

Stormwater

Create a rain garden at home to treat and filter stormwater runoff from your house or driveway.
Consider capturing rainwater and using it to water your lawn and plants, using a rain barrel.
Erosion or drainage problems in your yard? Read You and Your Land: the Homeowner's Guide to the Potomac River Watershed.
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality's Stormwater Management Program website has useful information about Virginia's stormwater management laws.
The Chesapeake Stormwater Network contains a wealth of training materials for stormwater designers, plan reviewers and others on how to comply with the new state stormwater regulations in VA, DC, MD and WV.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) fact sheet on Managing Urban Runoff and Nonpoint Source Pollution: The Nation's Largest Water Quality Problem serve as a good introduction to some of the problems created by urban runoff.

Water & Wastewater

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Wastewater Management.
Find out about Arlington's drinking water and view a report on Arlington's drinking water quality.
Find out more about drinking water quality from EPA.
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Wise Water Use Campaign
United States Geological Society's website Water Resources of the United States provides access to water-resources data collected at approximately 1.5 million sites in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
American Water Works Association