Watering your garden with the kids’ used bathwater? That’s a Green Hero! Congratulations to winner: Jeff Stransky!

London Drugs and 660News asked Calgarians to nominate individuals who take recycling beyond the blue bin. Recycling and being green can be a thankless job. We think people who go take the extra time to make green choices deserve some recognition.

Lise Stransky nominated Jeff.  Here’s what she wrote:

Jeff is one of my roommates (okay, full disclosure, he is also my husband), He is very quiet about his green ways, but his actions and choices have a huge impact. Here are a few reasons why he is my Green Hero:

• He is passionate about composting. He manages two earth bins in our backyard, making sure all our compostable materials are returned to our yard.
• He rides his bike, takes the bus, or runs to and from work.
• He uses a handkerchief instead of kleenex.
• He doesn’t just recycle. He re-purposes and reuses as much as he can. Gum containers, peanut butter jars. boxes and bread bags are all diverted from the recycling bin and given new lives in his work room. He has been known to cut up his old clothes for use as cleaning rags.
• He quietly goes through our recycling bin and garbage to double check that I haven’t put anything in there that doesn’t belong (or can be re-purposed – see above)
• He uses a weed puller instead of chemicals to pull out dandelions.
• He advocated for a manual lawnmower instead of an electric or gas lawn mower.
• He buys used instead of new whenever he can.
• He questions products that claim to be green, researching them to ensure they live up to what they claim.
• He avoids chemicals, and shaves with a razor and chemical free soap.
• He helped champion the removal of Keurig cups at his work, supporting a greener alternative.
• He has the Environmental Working group app on his phone, so he can check the chemical levels and safety of products before we buy them, including sunscreen, lotion and vegetables
• Finally, he rescues the bathwater from our sons’ baths for use in the garden, hauling it outside from the tub in huge pails in order to water our veggies.
• He is committed to living with a small footprint and minimally impacting our earth so it remains healthy for generations to come.Wow!   Way to go Jeff!  Thanks for being a Green Hero!

  And a BIG “thank you” to all who submitted their Green Hero nominees!