In the United States, we waste 1.7 trillion gallons of water each year. Washing dishes, showering, flushing toilets, washing clothes, and watering yards are common household activities that use large amounts of water. Today, 3.6 billion people live in areas where water is considered a scarce resource. Southern California is just one of the many areas that can face severe droughts.
Here at West Fifth Apartments, we strive to do all we can to protect the environment by preserving water and reducing unnecessary waste. Here are a few examples of how we live a more environmentally sustainable lifestyle at West Fifth Apartments.
We Save on Water
Since Ontario is predisposed to droughts, we do all we can to conserve our water supply. For one, our property has drought-tolerant landscaping, which means we use plants, such as succulents, that don’t require considerable amounts of water. We’ve also installed a drip irrigation system and substituted grass and mulch with decorative stone. This allows us to save thousands of gallons of water each year!
Indoors, we live sustainably by saving water with our plumbing system. A standard toilet uses about 3.5 gallons of water each time it flushes, but not ours! We have low-flow toilets, which use up to 20 percent less water and save up to 13,000 gallons of water each year.
We Save on Paper and Plastic
At West Fifth Apartments, we save on plastic with our water bottle refill station on the property, which reduces plastic waste and encourages our residents to practice sustainable living by using a refillable bottle.
Also, we choose to go paperless by making everything—rent payments, service requests, applications, and notices—available to residents in their online portal. Not only is this an added convenience, but it eliminates the need for redundant paper waste as well.
In our community, we strive to provide quality services to help make your life as a resident a little easier. Visit our new resident portal to pay your rent online, enter a maintenance service request, browse our calendar for upcoming activities, and much more!
We Encourage Recycling
One of the best ways to live sustainably is to recycle. We have recycling bins in our office, and we encourage all residents to recycle in their homes. Items you can recycle include plastic bottles and containers, empty cans, paper, and flattened cardboard. Food, liquid, plastic bags, plastic wrap, or cups with wax or plastic coating are not considered recyclable.
In Ontario, you can take your recycling to OC Recycling. This modest change in habit can make a massive difference for our planet.
We’re Excited to Announce Organic Waste Recycling!
Organic waste recycling will be coming soon to our local community, and we can’t wait to participate! This initiative will help keep millions of pounds of food waste out of landfills and turn them into compost and renewable natural gas. You can learn more about organic waste recycling here. We’ll keep you up to date as this program expands throughout the state.
We want to do everything we can to take care of the environment and practice sustainable living. If you are looking for an apartment complex that cares as much about the earth as you do, West Fifth Apartments is the perfect place for you!