The City of Englewood is focused on green initiatives aimed at increasing energy efficiency, conserving resources, reducing our waste stream, and increasing fuel savings for City operations.

Public Programs:

• Recycling at parks and recreation facilities and events - Recycle bins are located at various recreation facilities (including the Recreation Center, Malley Center, Belleview Park, Broken Tee Englewood, and Pirates Cove) so patrons can recycle plastic bottles, etc.
• Keep Englewood Beautiful - Englewood has a board dedicated to environmental concerns. Keep Englewood Beautiful (KEB) is a team of volunteers who work to promote community participation and environmentally responsible behavior through community partnerships. For more information, visit KEB's website.
• Household Hazardous Waste Roundup - Each fall the City holds a drop-off event that helps residents safely dispose of hazardous household chemicals.
• Leaf & Tire Drop-Off - Each November Englewood offers residents an opportunity to drop off their fall leaves and old tires for recycling.

Internal Operations: Here are a few of the green initiatives the City of Englewood has undertaken in its internal operations:

• Recycling efforts
• Single-stream recycling - using grant funding from Keep America Beautiful, we implemented a single-stream recycling program at all City facilities in the spring of 2009. Employees recycle cardboard, plastics, cans, packaging materials, and more, significantly reducing the amount of trash that goes into the landfill. The recycling program is overseen by a team of employees that includes a representative from each department.
• Office supplies - employees have participated in an office paper recycling program since 1999 and have an ongoing commitment to recycle paper and other office supplies.
• Plastic - recycled plastic bags are used in the dog parks and other parks.
• Operational materials - we recycle as many materials as possible from our dally operations, including asphalt (which is recycled for street paving/patching projects); metal from old street signs, traffic signs, and water meters; and fleet supplies such as tires, auto batteries, and motor oil.
• Energy efficiency
• Lighting - The City has installed energy-efficient lighting in all facilities (and even in our traffic signals!)
• Technology initiatives - Several of our departments use enhanced technology to save staff time, energy, and resources on projects like electronic records and forms, virtual servers, and interagency file-sharing.
• Resource conservation
• Water - our Parks Division conserves water by using only nonpotable water for irrigation at the golf course and park facilities and by taking turf management measures to reduce water usage.
• Flex-Fuels - the majority of our police and streets fleets use flex-fuels, a more sustainable fuel option than regular gasoline.
• Environmental Safety
• Ozone reduction program - We participate in the Regional Air Quality Council's program to test gas caps on all fleet vehicles during summer months to reduce hydrocarbon emissions
• Emissions standards - all older diesel equipment has been retrofitted with catalyst and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) systems to meet emission standards
• Cleaning materials - over the last few years our custodial crews have transitioned to environmentally-friendly biodegradable, non-toxic cleaning supplies in all City facilities.
• Soy-based inks - the City's in-house print shop uses all soy-based inks on its printing press (a healthier alternative to traditional petroleum-based inks).