Apartments.com survey examines recycling and energy conservation practices

within apartment communities

    CHICAGO, May 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Renters are going green as a recent
 Apartments.com survey indicates more than sixty-three percent of survey
 respondents who live in an apartment community recycle regularly. In
 comparison, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that 32% of
 the entire U.S. population participates in recycling programs.
     Of the renters who do recycle, fifty percent live in an apartment
 community that offers a recycling program for residents. Property managers
 and apartment owners support environmental issues in numerous ways as
 survey respondents indicate the following eco-friendly products and
 services are provided by management companies: recycling bins and
 receptacles (34%), energy efficient lighting (10%), water saving showers
 and fixtures (10%) and insulation in windows and doors (8%).
 Environmentally friendly communities are in high demand as twenty-six
 percent of renters state they would pay more in rent to live in a building
 that makes efforts to conserve and recycle. When asked to choose between
 identical apartments with the same monthly rent, one being eco-friendly and
 the other not, more than sixty-four percent of renters would choose the
 "green" apartment.
     A significant number of survey respondents indicate that they
 personally make conservation efforts regardless of the presence of a formal
 recycling program within their rental community. Fifty-nine percent of
 survey respondents recycle plastic, fifty-seven percent indicate that they
 use energy efficient light bulbs, fifty-six percent recycle paper, aluminum
 and glass and forty-six percent use a timer to set their heating/air
 conditioning to run only while someone is home.
     There are many easy ways for renters and property managers to help
 improve the quality of the environment. Mindi Picotte from Ideal Bite, a
 Web site, newsletter and blog that provides eco friendly tips and
 resources, offers these simple ways to live in a "greener" apartment:
      1.   Use energy efficient light bulbs.
      2.   When appliances are plugged in but not turned on, energy is still
           being used.  Cut energy bills by up to forty percent by using a
           power strip.
      3.   Burn soy candles to avoid pollutants and smoke marks on walls.
      4.   Use an organic cotton shower curtain paired with a nylon liner to
           cut down on mold buildup and eliminate harmful gases found in PVC
           coated curtains.
      5.   Instead of reaching for bottled water, fill up a non-leaching, lined
           aluminum bottle with filtered tap water.
      6.   Purchase a potted plant in lieu of using an electric air purifier.
      7.   Eliminate junk mail and paper waste by removing names and addresses
           from junk mail lists.
     Renters and property managers alike can find additional information on
 how and what to recycle as well as more tips on energy conservation in the
 "Housekeeping" section of Apartment Living on Apartments.com
 (http://living.Apartments.com ).
     As part of its monthly "What Renters Want" research series,
 Apartments.com surveys renters on various topics. For more information on
 these surveys or to receive a copy of additional survey results, please
 contact Lisa DeVries at ldevries@Apartments.com.
     About Ideal Bite
     Ideal Bite offers bite-sized ideas for light green living. Easy
 eco-living tips are presented in a short, sassy and free email each
 weekday. From organic wine to eco-friendly fashion, the Daily Tips provide
 level-headed advice for people who want to do the right thing without
 giving up creature comforts. The mission is to create a more sustainable
 world by connecting enlightened companies with Ideal Bite's 115,000+
 subscribers who want to vote with their dollars by making small changes
 that add up. Far from eco-perfect themselves, the editors candidly share
 humorous trials and tribulations in the blog. The secret sauce is a
 spoonful of "incremental environmentalism" with a keeping- it-real
 attitude... a perfect mix that empowers subscribers to align their values
 with everyday decisions.
     About Apartments.com
     Apartments.com is the most visited national apartment Internet listing
 subscription service with more than 50,000 unique addresses representing
 more than two million rental units from managed properties, newspaper
 classifieds and for-rent-by-owner properties. With personalized searches,
 highly visual ads featuring 360-degree virtual tours, professional
 photography, and comprehensive community listings, Apartments.com makes it
 possible for renters to access apartment rental inventory from across town
 or across the country. Leads from highly qualified ready-to-rent prospects
 are delivered to Apartments.com customers, increasing closure rates and
 decreasing the average cost of leasing an apartment. The site's foundation
 of solid partnerships with the local and national Web sites of more than
 10,000 affiliate and strategic partners across the country include the
 Chicago Tribune (www.chicagotribune.com), The Washington Post
 (www.washingtonpost.com) and the Los Angeles Times (www.latimes.com).
 Apartments.com is a division of Chicago- based Classified Ventures, LLC.
 
 

SOURCE Apartments.com