Find our 50+ earth-friendly and easy-to-implement ideas to create a more sustainable world... one person, one household, one neighborhood, one community at a time.
Turn Garbage to Gold By composting your kitchen scraps & landscape clippings. Finished compost can be used to enrich you landscape & garden soil. And help you save on water & fertilizer. Backyard Composting
Get a Free Showerhead & Faucet Aerators!Mesa offers a great water-saving kit when you use our online Know Your H2O Water Calculator. Once you see your results, you’ll be able to order your kit! Free Water-Saving Kit
Mesa Seed Library Allows library cardholders to check out 3 seed packets per month for free. Choose from a wide selection of vegetable & herb seeds. Available at Mesa Main, Dobson Ranch & Red Mountain Libraries. Free Seeds!
Make Your Own Monarch Puppet! Find templates for a Monarch paper airplane or Monarch-on-a-stick, a trivia challenge & more at this great SW Monarch Study Educator Resources page. Make Butterflies
Your Toilet Have a Case of the Jiggles? When toilets leak, it’s water & money going down the drain. Do this quick test with food coloring to see if your toilet flapper is working properly. Let the kids help! Leaky Toilet
Ask the Recycle Right Wizard! Knowing what is & isn’t accepted in the blue barrel can be confusing. Find our easy search tool & type in the item in question to find out how to dispose of properly. Recycle Wizard Knows
Spring (or Fall) Cleaning Around the House? Learn what hazardous materials we accept at our facility & learn how to box them properly so it’s ready to deliver. Household Hazardous Materials
Be a Leak Detective! It's the perfect time to check your home for leaks. Our online guide walks you step-by-step through the process of detecting leaks indoors & out. This is a great kids’ activity. Find & Fix Leaks
Use Lawn Chemicals Correctly. Fertilizers & pesticides can wash into storm drains & pollute our water supplies. Learn more in this fun video from Sparky our eco-spokes-dog. Safe Lawn Care
Become a Locavore Commit to eating local foods & reducing your food miles by growing your own herbs & vegetables or shopping from local farmers. Stay healthier, too. Eat Local Food(PDF, 29MB)
Stay Cool by the Pool while keeping our environment safe! Proper draining or backflushing is important. You also need to dispose of pool chemicals properly. Tell us all about it, Sparky! Safe Pool Care
Create a Bird or Butterfly Garden! Have you considered making your yard a destination for wildlife? Our guide shows you the simple things you can provide like food, water & shelter. Plant Butterflies
Be Clean & Green! Our natural recipes for home & garden use household ingredients like baking soda, vinegar & lemon juice. Many store-bought cleaning products bring toxins & chemicals into our households. Watch the Videos
Be Kind to a Tree! Visit our All About Trees page for detailed info on tree selection, planting, pruning & care. When we take care of our trees, they take care of us by providing oxygen & shade. All About Trees
Meatless Mondays are good for the environment because they help reduce the demand for resources and greenhouse gas emissions. Find healthy & delicious plant-based ideas & recipes. Eat Less Meat
Binge-Watch Our Landscape Videos! Check out our Water – Use It Wisely Drab to Fab Backyard Rehab 10-part Video Series to see the steps to take for installing a landscape. Drab to Fab Landscaping
How Much Water Should You Be Using? Visit our online 'Know Your H2O' Water Calculator, tell us details about your home, & we’ll show you how much water you should be using indoors and out. Home Water Calculator
Do Your Doody! Check out Sparky, our eco-spokes-dog to learn why picking up pet waste is so important in this seriously funny video. Remember, only rain in the storm drain! Pick up Pet Waste
How Much & How Often to Water! We've got the details on how to water your landscape if you have a lawn, a desert landscape, or fruit trees. Check out our interactive guide & flipbook – all AZ-focused. Landscape Watering
Plants for the Arizona Desert. We've got over 200 trees, shrubs, groundcovers, cacti & more featured on our plant selection site. Browse by category to find just the right plant for your landscape. Landscape Plants
Get Free Water from the Sky! Did you know that you can harvest 400 gallons of water from 1/2" of rain? Find links & the best resources on how to capture this beneficial source & channel it to your plants. Rainwater Harvesting
Electrify Arizona is a great site to visit to learn more about electric vehicles (EVs) and how they work. You’ll find types of EVs, charging basics, cost savings, incentives, and more! EV-101
Tip Tank Fun for all ages, this is our Water – Use It Wisely online matching game that gives great water-saving tips while you play & try to keep the fish tank full of water. Keep the fish smiling. Save the Fish
Wayne Drop Adventures! Follow our Water – Use It Wisely mascot across AZ as he visits lakes, rivers & more to explore our water sources. The guide offers Q&A, too.Wayne's Adventures
DIY Plumbing Fixes Dripping faucet? Leaky toilet? We can help. Get instructions on how to fix common plumbing problems at home. Thanks to our partners at EVIT for their expertise. Watch our Plumbing Videos
Keep Your Landscape Water-Smart with our landscape video series featuring Noelle Johnson (AKA, the AZ Plant Lady). Learn about plant selection, fuss-free plants & maintenance. Watch our Landscape Videos
It’s For the Birds! Take it from the experts at Audubon on how to make your yard beautiful & bird-friendly. Native plants help birds thrive right where you live – even using container gardening. Bird-Friendly Yard
Make a Positive Impact on the Planet Find our 10 simple actions you can do now & in the future to help build a sustainable community. Rethink, support & connect with elected officials. Make a Difference
Grass Removal Savings! Replace grass with desert plants & you may qualify for up to $1,100 on a future project with Mesa’s Grass-to-Xeriscape program. You’ll cut your water use in half & have a colorful landscape. Grass Removal Incentive
Cut Your HOA Water Bill! HOA customers may qualify for incentives on future grass conversion projects & additional incentives for updating irrigation equipment. HOA Incentives
Get Living Green News right in your inbox!Get earth-friendly advice & info each month. Visit our eNotifications page, submit your email & select Living Green Events. Living Green News
Take Back Your Meds! Mesa offers MedReturn boxes at 4 police stations. Never flush prescription or non-prescription drugs down the toilet where they can contaminate water supplies. MedReturn
Mow Down PollutionRecycle your old gas-powered mower & get up to $200 in vouchers for the purchase of a new electric or battery-powered mower or other garden equipment. Electric Mower Incentive
Bike Maps & More! Check out our awesome bike & pedestrian program with both City & Valley-wide bike maps, safety tips, bike education classes for kids, SpokeLife Mesa magazine & more! Map Your Bike Ride
Swap Shop for Mesa ResidentsOur Household Hazardous Materials facility collects items that still have a useful life. Find paints, fertilizers, cleaners, propane tanks & more. Limit of 15 items per household. Swap Shop
Support Local Growers! Join the 'Farm To Mesa Market' now on Sundays in downtown Mesa, located at 1 N. Macdonald at The Post. Reduce your food miles & eat healthier. Farm to Mesa Market
Become a Landscape Watering Expert! We'll send you watering schedules & landscaping tips. Visit our eNotifications page, submit your email, & select Watering Reminder. Watering Reminder
Green Your Barrel! Does your landscape generate a lot of green yard waste (grass, leaves, & plant trimmings)? Recycling yard waste reduces the amount going to the landfill. Materials are turned into compost. Green Yard Waste Barrel
Plant Some Shade! When you plant a tree, you’re helping to cool our community. DYK, Mesa has a goal of planting 1,000,000 new trees by 2050. Help us meet that goal. Plant a tree, then record your tree on our map. Record Your Tree
Monarch Haven & Reading Sanctuary! Visit our pocket park located at Red Mountain Library. We have provided plants for Monarchs & other pollinators & even have a labyrinth for humans. Monarch Garden
Read Labels when purchasing garden or cleaning products & select those with natural or plant-based ingredients whenever possible or look for the SaferChoice label. Safe Household Products
Call 811 Before You Dig when planting a tree for Arbor Day or just to plant shade & fresh air for your yard! It's free & easy!An underground utility line is damaged every 6 minutes. Call Arizona 811
The Stuffbrary! Library cardholders can check out household items like cake pans, play kits, hiking equipment & more. Stuff is available at all locations, though some items are branch-specific. Check Out Stuff
Lessen Your Water Bill How much water does your household use compared to how much you should use? Read your water bill, know your expected use & take control of your water usage. Your Water. Your Impact.
Recycle e-WasteOld computers, phones & other electronics contain polluting materials such as lead & mercury. We accept appliances & electronics at our Household Hazardous Materials facility. Accepted Items
Leave the Car at Home Metro Light Rail, Mesa Downtown Buzz, Local Bus Services & more are available to get you around town where you need to go without a gas-guzzling car! Learn more from Transit Services. Public Transit
Recycle Cooking Oil at our Household Hazardous Materials facility where we’ll make sure it gets a 2nd life as a biofuel or other uses. Never dump down the drain where it can cause nasty sewer backups or an expensive plumber bill. Fat, Oils, & Grease
Paint RecyclingDon’t throw away your old paint. Bring unused latex paint to our facility. We sort it, mix it and make it available free of charge as an earth-friendly way to reuse old paint & beautify neighborhoods. Paint Reuse Program
Landscape Design with water in mind is just one benefit of Xeriscape landscaping. You’ll also find that it thrives in the desert, is low maintenance & provides a home for wildlife. We’ve got all the steps for planning. Seven Principles
Grow a Community & Food through a community garden. Sprout an idea, cultivate partners, produce a sense of place, and harvest enthusiasm. Need help? Visit Mesa Urban Garden, lease a bed or volunteer. Mesa Urban Garden
Green Business CertificationLocal First Arizona has teamed up with Mesa to recognize independently owned businesses that are doing good for the planet through the AZ Green Business Program. Green Business Certification