Conservation: The management of natural resources to avoid destruction of species and habitats.
Conservation involves maintaining and protecting habitats, controlling the harvesting of natural populations, and seeking to reduce pollution and other threats to organisms resulting from human activity.

What do plastic bottles, old paint, cell phones and manure have in common? You guessed it—they can all be recycled!
And here at The Toledo Zoo, that's just what we're doing. In fact, we not only recycle these items, we recycle just about everything that can be recycled. Over the years, The Toledo Zoo's recycling program has grown from sending plastic and glass bottles to the recycling bin to doing as much as we can to limit our impact on our landfills.

Currently the Zoo sends out much of our waste to be recycled; however, we also reuse and recycle many items right here in-house. For example, trees that are cut down are chipped into mulch for use in our flower beds. Elephant manure is composted to make organic fertilizer.

We often save money through recycling, and the Zoo sometimes even makes money recycling items, such as cell phones. The money we receive can then be put toward recycling items that actually cost money to recycle, such as batteries. And by recycling batteries, we're able to keep more toxic chemicals out of landfills. If you'd like to help, simply drop off your old cell phones at the Visitor Services building and we'll give you a coupon for a free child's admission with a paid adult admission.

There's a lot we can all do to reduce our negative impact on the environment. Here at the Zoo, we have changed many of our light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs, and we're replacing Lights Before Christmas light strands with LED lights that use significantly less energy. We have placed energy monitors on buildings and are looking into energy co-generation possibilities. Through our recycling program, paper reduction, Styrofoam reduction and use of green cleaners where possible, we are doing our part to keep our environment cleaner and healthier.

How Can You Help?
Reduce your impact on landfills and the environment by following the 3 Rs: reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Reduce waste by:
• Purchasing long-term use items rather than disposable items.
• Bring your own bags when shopping to reduce the number of plastic bags that can end up in landfills. Currently the average American family brings home 64 palstic bags each week!
• Purchase products with environmentally responsible packaging.
• Reduce energy usage by replacing your regular incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs.
• Stop junk mail from coming to your mailbox! Click here for more information.

Reuse:
• Reuse coffee mugs at work to reduce Styrofoam in our landfills.
• Reuse canvas bags for shopping to reduce our consumption of plastic bags.
• Use cloth napkins instead of paper, and sponges or rags instead of paper towels. It’s good for the environment and for your wallet!
• Join www.freecycle.org in your area to pass on unwanted but still usable items.
• Use a refillable water bottle and a water filter rather than buying bottled water at the store.
• Avoid using disposable cleaning items that are thrown out and end up in landfills. Instead stock up on reusable dust rags and use regular mops, toilet brushes, etc.

Recycle plastic, glass, aluminum, and paper through Toledo's curbside recycling program. In 2003 we increased our recycling efforts so that 72 million tons of waste did not end up in landfills—almost double the amount from 1990.

Keep up the GOOD WORK!
• See your individual city's website for more information.
• Larger items can be recycled at recycling centers. For a list in Ohio, log onto http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/recycling/locations
• Drop off your old cell phone to the Zoo for recycling and receive a coupon for a free child’s admission with a paid adult admission.

The Toledo Zoo is committed to becoming a role model for the community through ecologically sound, environmentally sensitive, energy efficient and financially responsible green practices. The result of this effort will be the conservation of wildlife by limiting the detrimental impact on the environment and educating our staff, suppliers, contractors, and the community on green practices.

For more information, log onto the State of Ohio's website to learn recycling facts and how you can recycle in Ohio.

Landfill facts

• According to the EPA in 2001, each person in the US generated 4.5 pounds of waste per day. While some recycle and reuse, half of the waste produced ends up in landfills. An area of 10,000 people under these conditions would fill a landfill that is 1 acre by 8 feet deep in just 1 year!

• The highest point in Ohio is said to be "Mount Rumpke,"a 234-acre landfill in Hamilton County.

Items The Toledo Zoo Recycles

Rain Gardens
Raindrops keep falling... but have you ever wondered where those drops go? Most of the time they soak into the soil, but heavy rain or concentrated water flow can overwhelm the soil and storm sewers, causing flooding. Rain gardens are a green way to address this problem while you improve water quality, provide habitat for wildlife and add beauty to your yard.

A rain garden is constructed into a depression for water to flow into. Plants with deep roots (shrubs, wildflowers and grasses) will catch and slow down the water from driveways, downspouts and roads. There are also more cultivated varieties to give your garden a more formal look.

Most rain gardens are fairly inexpensive to install and generally require little maintenance. The Toledo Zoo is planning to install several rain gardens in the coming years, including later this spring by our Butterflies! exhibit. Click here to learn more about rain gardens and how you can have one at your home.

Composting with Worms
We have all become more aware of issues that affect our environment in the past few years. One that is a local and global issue is that of exploding, over-filled landfills. A great solution to this problem is, of course, the recycling of glass and various forms of plastic, and metals. Recycling greatly reduces the tons of garbage placed in landfills every year. Another great way to reduce your household waste is to try composting your organic waste at home. You don't need to live out in the country to compost. You can do it right in your own home, even in your kitchen!

Worm composting (Vermiculture) is a great opportunity for you to reduce your household waste and give back to the environment. The worms reduce your organic waste into rich, valuable compost/fertilizer. The organic compost you can produce in your own home with your own "garbage" would sell for top dollar at any greenhouse. It's great for gardens, potted plants and landscaping. The extra worms produced can be used in the garden and in plants also. (It is not recommended to put worms into forests or natural areas though-backyard gardens are fine).

To get started all you need is a medium sized Rubbermaid bin with some small air-holes punched out of the lid, some shredded paper, a handful of soil, and a little bit of water (just enough to dampen), and a dozen red wriggler worms that can be purchased at local pet shops or bait shops. You must make sure red wrigglers and not your ordinary earthworms are used as they are not suitable for this sort of composting. Provide your worm bin with fresh scraps and overturn the compost every few days in the bin and in several months you will have a considerable amount of valuable compost. It's not recommended that you put any of the following items in the bin like fats, meat, fish, cooked potatoes, rice, pasta, grass or weed seeds or cat or dog poop. We do recommend coffee grounds, tea bags, fruit, vegetable peelings, cereals, corn, newspaper, cardboard, paper products, annual weeds without seed heads, bread, green leaves and cow/horse manure. If done correctly the bin should not smell or draw unwanted pests. It needs to be kept moist, but not wet.

Learn more about Worm Composting and how you can start your own compost bin at home.

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