Bulk Purchase Collectives - Information
Rain Barrel Purchase Collective
The barrels are here! Read the press release
Citizens for a Green Mount Airy is forming bulk purchase collectives, both for the dual-flush toilets that Dan Andrews spoke about at our water conservation workshop on July 21 along with another order of rain barrels. Here is some info:
Rainbarrels catch rainwater from the downspouts of your house's gutter system. The water you catch can be used to water flowers, gardens, lawns, or wash cars - basically any outdoor water use you can think of. Since outdoor water usage represents the second highest form of water consumption, using rainbarrel water saves you money while saving one of our most precious and vital natural resources. Catching rainwater also helps local ecosystems because after a storm there's less of a burden on storm drains, meaning that you won't flood streams or otherwise contribute to corroding ecosystems.
We will be purchasing our rainbarrels and parts from Aquabarrel (www.aquabarrel.com) based in Gaithersburg. Their design is slightly better, more durable, and longer lasting than the barrels we had constructed for the workshop, for a competitive price. The total cost per barrel will be about $40 ($20 for the plastic 55-gallon drum, $3 for shipping, $3 for pre-cut holes, $14 for parts). This is as opposed to commercially available rainbarrels, which cost anywhere from $100-$200. If you want to join, all you have to do is let Tim know how many barrels you want by midnight on August 11th and pay upon pickup, which will be in Mount Airy sometime during the week of the 13th.
The owner of Aquabarrel, Barry, has offered us a deal on products that no one else offers: inline and offset downspout diverters and debris collector/filter units. He has set up a discount code "fma20off" on the order form and is offering a 20% discount for these items when the discount code is used. Your special discount code will be active from 8/6/2007 through 9/1/2007. See http://www.greenmountairy.org/barrelflyer.pdf for more info.
Update: if you're a Mt. Airy town resident and you join (or already have joined) this buying collective, you will receive a 50% discount as part of a new rainbarrel pilot program that the Mayor and town council are sponsoring! Yes, that's a complete rainbarrel for Mt. Airy residents at a cost of $20 per barrel!
Second update: the barrels are in! We ordered 100 total and they are now available for pickup. Call Tim at 301.471.2960 or email him at tim@greenmountairy.org to set up a pickup time. Also contact him if you'd like to buy any of the extras that we have ordered. See this press release for details on the collective.
Dual-flush toilet purchasing collective
For the dual-flush toilets, we'll be receiving a 40% discount which puts the toilets at $240 each - competitive with some normal models! This is a great way to get ahead and purchase this breaking technology that is just starting to enter the U.S. We are buying the TOTO "Acquia" model. This model is a highly efficient dual-flush toilet that is very innovative and helpful for our town's current water situation - there is a flusher for solids that is 1.6 gallons per flush as well as a flusher for liquids that is .9 gallons per flush - a great new technology that is already in wide use in Australia, which has serious water problems, and Europe.
Some numbers to consider:
3.5 Gallon/flush Toilets:
8 flushes per day x 365 days x 3.5gpf = 10,220 gallons/year
10,220 x 0.0147 cents per gallon = $150.00 +-
Dual Flush Toilets:
(liquid waste) 4 flushes per day x 365 x 0.9gpf = 1314 gallons
(solid waste) 4 flushed per day x 365 x 1.6gpf = 2336 gallons
1314 + 2336 = 3650 gallons/year
3650 x 0.0147 cents per gallon = $54.00 +-
Using dual-flush toilets saves approx. $100.00 per year on your water bill and also reduces wastewater treatment costs (and septic field use) - which is good for you and the town, economically and environmentally! Note: non-residents are eligible both to join the dual-flush collective and receive the 40% discount.
Please email Tim Richards at tim@greenmountairy.org or call him at 301.471.2960 if you are interested in joining this collective or want more information.
Renewable energy certificate/ 'green tag' collective
We're working with a few companies to get the best possible deal on a bulk purchase of renewable energy certificates or "green tags." These allow you to purchase wind or other renewable power from a supplier, even if your utility doesn't have renewables of its own. Stay tuned for details on our purchase; in the meantime, visit Green-e for more info.
Back to news