Sustainable Living for the Savvy Consumer

In honor of Earth Month, we’re joined by Larissa Johnson, Residential Energy Program Manager at Montgomery County’s Department of Environmental Protection. She shares how simple, sustainable choices—like reducing home energy use, preparing for warmer weather, cutting food waste, and spotting greenwashing—can help residents save money. 

With practical tips, easy habits, and helpful County resources, this episode shows how greener living can also be more affordable. If you're looking to make smart, sustainable choices without stretching your budget, this conversation offers clear, actionable ways to get started. 

Have a question or suggestion for a future episode? Send an email to consumerconnection@montgomerycountymd.gov.

Transcript

Earth Month Meets Lower Bills

Michelle Escobar 0:10

Welcome to Consumer Connection, a podcast brought to you by the Montgomery County Office of Consumer Protection. I'm your host, Michelle Escobar. April is Earth Month, a perfect time to explore how sustainable choices can also be smart financial options for consumers. Want to spend less and live greener? Today, we'll walk through simple ways to save energy, reduce waste at home, and make sense of those eco-friendly claims so you can feel confident about the choices you make. Joining me is Larissa Johnson, residential energy program manager with the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection. Her goal at DEP is to make sure every utility payer in the county is taking advantage of the resources available to use less energy, transition from fossil fuels, and keep money in their pockets. Larissa, welcome. Yay! So excited to be here. Thank you for having me. Me too. And I'm really excited because I know I'm gonna learn something today. So thank you. Tell us a little bit about your role at DEP.

What Really Drives Home Energy

Larissa Johnson 1:25

Yeah, so my role as the residential energy program manager is to make sure all residents know about the different programs to help them conserve energy, to be more efficient with their energy, to electrify their homes, to switch to renewable energy, and then also how to access energy assistance programs. So we run a program called Montgomery Energy Connection. It is easy to find. It's Montgomery Energy Connection.org on the internet. And what we did was we took all the information from about 30 plus different websites and put it all into one place for Montgomery County residents. So if they have any questions about anything electric, they can go to that website and find the answer.

Michelle Escobar 2:03

Oh, that's awesome. Um, so let's talk about energy. Yes. Let's talk about it because that is the biggest um uh driver of your monthly utility costs, right? And so I can remember um my parents saying, shut that refrigerator door, because I say it today as well, too. Um turn off the lights behind you. Um what you what what uses the most energy in your homes and how can you, you know, save a buck?

Larissa Johnson 2:33

Yeah. So the first thing I want to say is, and people get so mad at me when I say this, but the cheapest form of energy is the energy that we do not use. So conserving it. So exactly what your parents said, closing the refrigerator door, turning off the lights, conservation or not using it is the best way to reduce your costs. So whatever that looks like in your home. And then being energy efficient would be the second thing. So for instance, lighting, lighting accounts for about 10% of our total electricity bill. So you want to make sure that you're switching to the most energy efficient light bulb, which are LEDs now. So light emitting diodes. And you want to make sure you're switching to those because they last, they last a ridiculously long amount of time. And the beautiful thing is in the county, we have things called illumination stations at libraries. So people can bring us their old incandescent and compact fluorescent light bulbs, and we swap them out for LEDs at no cost. So I would definitely say now when you talk about what uses the most electricity in your home, it's 100% heating and cooling your home. So making your home comfortable is what's going to cost the most.

Free Checkups And Deeper Audits

Michelle Escobar 3:34

Yes. And I know for me, and I want to get to that. Um, but for me, um, we were just talking about the empower. Um uh, and and I think that that goes with the energy. Um, because I wanted to ask you about um, I had gotten uh energy analysis and I didn't even know that there was a difference, that there's one that you pay for, and then there's one that comes free. I did the free one. Um and it was and it was still very good for me. Um they gave me these like power strips that um turn off the television when you know the other things, when the television off, it turns off the other things around that's plugged up to it. Um I'm really bad at unplugging stuff. And so anyway, I just really wanted to to know is that something that you recommend? Like, yes.

Larissa Johnson 4:22

Yeah. So the Empower Maryland program is a program that has existed in the state of Maryland for many years. And it is a surcharge on your electricity bill. So one thing that you want to make sure that you're telling consumers, and especially what I tell residents, is that it's not free. So none of these programs are free because we are paying for them through our utility bill through a surcharge. So we always say the quick home energy checkup is at no additional cost. So we really encourage residents to make sure that they're getting that quick home energy checkup so that they're recuperating the money that they already put into the program. So what you said is a contractor comes to your home, they're gonna give you, they're gonna look at your apartment or townhouse or home, and they're gonna see like where you can start saving energy very quickly. They'll switch out your LEDs to, or excuse me, they'll switch out your light bulbs to LEDs, they'll give you high-efficiency shower heads, faucet aerators, the power strips, they give you those. They also will wrap your hot water heater, all at no additional cost. And that will start lowering the amount of energy you're using. Also, what they do with a quick home energy checkup now is a smart thermostat. So they'll they'll install the smart thermostat for you, which is a huge savings, of course. Then there's one step above if you own your home or if you want to pay for the updates that are gonna happen in your home because it costs $100 and it's called a home performance with energy star audit. And that is a comprehensive look at your home. So that takes about two to three hours. A contractor comes to your home, they do a door blower test, they have thermal cameras, they check your ventilation, they check your insulation, they go in your attic, they go in your basement. It's really comprehensive. And then at the end of it, you get a you get a report, a multi-page report that says, here are the recommendations based on what they found. So for instance, I was telling you when I did this with my home, um, I we bought in 2020 and our attic had three inches of insulation. And for code, you needed 30. So we had to get 27 inches of insulation blown into our attic just to get it up to code. And that's just because insulation flattens over the years, you know? So um, so that was something that we found out through the home performance with energy star audit. And then because of the Empower program, we unlocked rebates. So there was money available for us to actually do the work. So that was pretty great that we didn't have to pay full cost for the insulation, but we also found out about it through this program. And we're only able to access that money if you do the home performance with Energy Star Audit.

Michelle Escobar 6:48

And so take advantage now, because especially warmer weather's coming, you never know. Take advantage now because we don't know how long that that program may or may not last. Yes. So all right, yeah, todayful. Like called a day.

Thermostats Fans And Summer Comfort

Larissa Johnson 7:02

And I will say a lot of people are shocked because ventilation, like fans in your attic, is something that we don't think about all that often. But fans in your attic is one of the easiest ways to help reduce costs because you know, heat rises. So you're gonna push that down, especially in the colder months. And then um, and then fans also take the air out and move it to the ends of the room, you know, so it brings it up and goes like this, or it brings it in and goes like this. So I know you cannot see that in the podcast. But if you watch it on YouTube, they are gonna be able to see it. But air goes two different directions and your fans go two different directions, and that will determine like how the air is moving in your home. And that's why fans are so amazing as we get into the warmer months. You know, we always say keep your thermostat at 68 in the winter, 78 in the summer. And I know people listening to this are like, ugh, are you for real? Yes, we're for real. That's just because for every degree, you increase or decrease your thermostat, depending on the season. So in the winter, 68 degrees, if you keep your thermostat at 72 degrees, that's a four degree difference. You're looking at the potential of for every degree multiply by three. So you're looking at a 12% increase on your electricity bill just by keeping your thermostat at 72 degrees instead of 68. So that's like the rule of thumb is like 68 degrees is the recommendation. You don't have to keep it there, but just know that every time you increase that thermostat a degree, you're looking at paying more. Yes. That's just how it works, you know? So that's what I always tell people. But I we want you to be comfortable in your home, of course. So take advantage of these programs, take advantage of the county programs. Um, we also have a program called Electrify MC. That is amazing because the county actually gives you money to help you electrify your home. It is a direct incentive. So you don't have to sign up for any rebates, you don't have to do anything, you just work with an instant with the contractor. They help you electrify and then you get money off on the total cost. And so how do they, how do, how would the uh consumers take advantage of that? Sure. By just going to our website, Montgomery Energy Connection.org. And then you would go to um electrify my home, I think we call it. Like how do you electrify your home?

Michelle Escobar 9:13

And so then when you say electrify your home, uh what does it include? Is it does it include like the LED bulbs too?

Electrify Your Home And Go Solar

Larissa Johnson 9:19

So this is a little bit different. So electrify MC is um in a it's a it's another program. So what we want everyone to do first is make sure they're using as as little energy in their home as possible. So that's gonna come through the quick home energy checkup and the home performance audit. Then when people are, when people have done that, then if they're interested in just getting fossil fuels out of their home. So maybe especially this winter, if they get propane delivered or oil or anything delivered to their homes, maybe they're like, wow, that was really expensive. And I want to go from that appliance to an electric appliance, that's where we're coming in. Or if you have a gas stove or if you have a gas fireplace, anything like that, yeah, or a hot water heater or heat pump, you want this is the program to help you electrify so that you are getting the getting all of the fossil fuel um items out of your home. Okay. So this is this is like the step up. So when I talk about when I tell people what to do, I don't tell people what to do, but when I when I remind them of the things that they should be doing, it's always to use as little energy as possible to make sure it's as efficient as possible to electrify your home when and if you can, and then to switch to renewable energy sources. So those are the four steps. I didn't do it that way. I went renewable, then I did the home performance audit, and then I electrified. So I don't encourage that because you want to make sure, like when you electrify your home, they do something called a manual J, which they come into your home and they do an assessment and they say, based on your home, this is how much energy you are using in your home. So let's make sure that when we switch from a fossil fuel or gas, whatever, to an electric, that we're getting you the most efficient thing as possible. So I know it's it's very complicated. I will tell you the average American thinks about electricity nine minutes a year. I know. So it's usually when the electricity is high or the utilities go out or something. But um, I think about it every day. So that's why I'm here. Yes. And that's why we have this website and with all these amazing programs. And I do want to make sure because it is coming up to summer, if you are interested in renewable energy, the county promotes a program called Switch Together. So we have been participating with a nonprofit organization called Solar United Neighbors since 2014 on doing solar co-ops. You've probably heard of this. So solar co-ops are an opportunity for people to put solar on their roofs, but at a discounted price because residents all go together.

Michelle Escobar 11:47

Yeah.

Larissa Johnson 11:47

And so, especially now that the federal tax credits are gone for solar, this is pretty much the only way you're gonna get it at any type of discount, as opposed to doing it by yourself and getting three different quotes. When you go through the solar switch program, that all happens automatically. Yeah. You know, so you don't have to. So I will say when I did my solar panels in 2020, I did it through the solar switch program, the switch together program.

Michelle Escobar 12:11

A co-op is always such a good idea, I think.

Larissa Johnson 12:13

It was. We're talking about like the average is six thousand dollars cheaper than if you were to do it by yourself. Yeah. So it's a big discount. And then there's financing available not through the county, but through Montgomery County Green Bank. So there's there's a lot, there's a lot. And that's why this website is so important because it takes all of that information from all those different websites and puts it all in one place for folks. That's awesome.

Michelle Escobar 12:35

That's awesome. So, as I'm thinking, when you were mentioning the fan, um, I never knew that a fan could make such a difference until I actually was installing one. And then I I read counterclockwise is for the summer and clockwise is for the fall or something for the winter. Wait, what? So, yeah, I mean, you're you're explaining it. Well, let's prepare our homes for this warm weather. Because I know for me, um, wintertime, I'm like, okay, you know, family put your sweats on and good luck with keeping warm. But the but during the summertime, it's like, no, but at AC needs to get come on. So how can um how can we uh keep that cool air in our?

Larissa Johnson 13:19

I mean, the old school recommendations that probably your grandma or you know, abuela and whatever have have always said, like, close the curtains, you know, when it's sunny out, um, to keep the air cool inside. Use fans, keep your thermostat. I I want to just remind people to keep their thermostat set at a set temperature. Unless you're going away for long periods of time during the day, then that's when you fluctuate your thermostat. But if you're in the house all day, just keep it at one temperature. Um that's just gonna help with energy costs. And then fans, um, drink lots of water, of course. And um, yeah, and then close those curtains.

Michelle Escobar 14:00

And these, these um wanted to go back with um the um the analysis. The um I had one done and they gave me a smart thermostat. And um, so these things, so these this advice that you're giving is good for renters as well. Oh, yes, yes. Okay.

How To Avoid Energy Bill Scams

Larissa Johnson 14:20

Yeah, 100%. Smart thermostats, the way that they work is especially if you have it controlled to your your phone, if you can do that. What you do is if you're gonna be gone at work for eight hours a day or whatever your whatever your day is, your shift or whatever, you can change your thermostat so that it's not at that high rec, you know, it's not at 68 degrees, you can put it down to 65 degrees because the lower you go, the less money you're paying, right? So if you increase your thermostat above that 68 degrees, you're paying more. But if it's below that 68 degrees, you're not because you're not heating your home. The thing that I want to just tell folks is like one mistake that I made back a few years ago when I was living in an apartment is I would leave for work and turn my thermostat off. I would just go zero. Worst idea ever, highest electricity bill I ever had in my entire life. Because when I would get home, I would then put it back up to 68 degrees. So it had to work twice as it had to work harder to get back up to 68 degrees from zero, you know? So that's why I'm saying you want to lower it a little bit when you're not home, but not tremendously. So you're not probably gonna go 20 degrees less than when you're home, because you have to think about how much energy it's gonna take to get it back to that 68 degrees. That makes so much sense. The thermostat, and usually with smart thermostats, they'll tell you like it'll have in and instructions that say, like, hey, if you're leaving for this amount of time, lower it to like 65 or in the summer, 75, whatever it is. And then they'll say, if you're leaving for like a few weeks, here's what to do. You know, like there's different things for depending on how long you're gonna be out of the house.

Michelle Escobar 15:49

I wanted to hit one more thing on the utilities um at energy. Um I've had uh people come knock on my door and say, you know, we'll look at your bill and you know, we'll help you save on your energy. Um can you tell me a little bit about that? And like what's that all about? So there is a no, yeah.

Larissa Johnson 16:13

So there is a program, like we said, Empower Maryland has a program, the Quick Home Energy Checkup and the Home Performance with Energy Start audit. I will say that they do not normally go door to door to get that from you. So, like you'll learn about it through podcasts like this, you'll learn about it through the insert in your mailer, you'll learn about it at our tabling events, and that's where you want to sign up for it, or call your utility directly, and then they'll have the contractor schedule a day to come so that you know when they're coming. If someone's coming to your house door to door, just say thank you, no, thank you. Um, especially if they ask to see your electricity bill, because what we saw and the reason why third-party suppliers are a big issue here in the state of Maryland is that people would come to your door, look at your electricity bill, take a picture of it, and then switch you to another utility company without you even knowing just because they have your information. So do not share your, please do not show anyone your bill. Um, yes, and and just say thank you, no, thank you. Thank you for that.

Michelle Escobar 17:14

Because that, that, that, that, that was really huge. Yeah. I haven't gotten those, those uh knocks lately, but that was really big for a moment there. And I'm sure that they're probably still doing it. Especially, especially now that we're not sure about the empower, like is keep up with that because it may or may not, you know, in existence. It'd be in existence and then someone come knocking at your door.

Larissa Johnson 17:34

I think it's anytime anyone calls you or knocks on your door and you're not sure, say thank you, no, thank you, and then call the utility company directly. Or if you've already been in touch with a contractor, call them back. Like let's say somebody called you and said, Oh, we need to reschedule, but you're like, wait, what? Or if they ask you like for any of your important information, like again, the quick home energy checkup is no additional cost. You don't have to give them any information, no credit card information, nothing. You don't have to give them any of that. So if anyone asks for that, just say, oh wow, that's so interesting and hang up. And then call the actual contracts. You know, just say, oh my gosh, thank you so much for calling me. And be skeptical, but just know that there are programs that do exist to help us lower our costs. And that is what we're here at the county to do, too, is to make sure you know the difference between real and um fake scams and real and fake opportunities, but there are opportunities, and that's the big part. And we want to help people lower their energy bills, especially at a time like this. Our electricity costs are astronomical right now.

Water Bills Leaks And Simple Kits

Michelle Escobar 18:38

Yes, absolutely. Let's move on to water. Oh boy. I have gotten calls or complaints. Water bill is so high. And one of the first, well, the first thing that I usually say is, are you sure you don't have any leaks? Yes. So um, talk to me a little bit about like how we can save in water.

Larissa Johnson 18:58

Yeah, so one of the things, um, so water is not done by the utility in the same way. I mean, it's WSSC, so it's not the county and it's not the state. But I will say what we try to do at the county level is really provide folks with things that they're not going to get through other programs. So we have water saving kits that are available to residents. So in that kit is our tablets to see if you have leaks in your toilet or anywhere in your bathroom, right? We also have um a toilet tank bank, which you probably heard of this before back in the day. Again, um, people used to put bricks in their toilet tank, and that was to displace water. So every time you're flushing the toilet, you're using less water. So now we have toilet tank banks. You fill with water, you take the top off, you drop it in there, and it still displaces the water, but it's not going to impact the ceramic in your toilet. It's not going to have any negative impacts. And it doesn't, it doesn't degrade, it doesn't break, break down. Like if sometimes people have put like their water bottles or something in there. That's not a great thing. That plastic will start breaking down. So um the other thing in our water kits is also um a little drip, a drip kit thing. I don't know what to call it, a drip cup, right? So like if you think that your sink is dripping, you can actually put that there and it'll tell you how much is dripping in a day. So then you can figure it out. And then you could put either tape around the faucet aerator and that comes in the water kits, or change your faucet aerator. There's so many things that you can do that are like DIY projects to help with water issues. But if it's something huge, of course, you might have to get a plumber in or something like that. But um, yeah, it's really just like how much water are you using? You know, um, how are you washing your dishes? Are you using your dishwasher if you have one? That's gonna help tremendously. Um, are you washing your clothes with cold water? Are you washing your clothes with hot water? So there's a lot of things that you can be doing. Um, and and of course, back in the day when we used water, when we used to wash our clothes with lye, you needed hot water. Now you do not. Every detergent will activate with cold water. And that's a huge, that's a huge money savings, too, because hot water costs money to heat it and then to for the water. And then another thing in our water kits is a shower timer, which no one wants to hear this. You're so reminding me of my childhood.

Michelle Escobar 21:22

Don't use all the hot water. Um, you don't take an hour in the shower.

Larissa Johnson 21:27

Yeah. So our shower timers are five minutes. So these kits, they're not very big, but they're super helpful for residents and they're available through the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, or you just email us and we can send you that. So I mail things to residents all the time. We also have them when we're at um at tabling events too.

Michelle Escobar 21:48

So I always got to mention a scam. What about um water filters when a salesperson says your water's contaminated? Oh boy. You need a water filter. Oh boy, oh boy.

Larissa Johnson 21:59

Yeah. So again, I would contact your WSSC and see if they have someone who can come out and actually test your water if that's a concern for you. Um, always go back to the source. People, you know, they gotta make, they gotta make a living too. You know, they're just they're selling something. Um, but is that something, something you really need? Exactly. And so always go back to the source to find out is it is this legitimate or not?

Food Waste Meal Planning Composting

Michelle Escobar 22:24

Yeah.

Larissa Johnson 22:25

Yeah.

Michelle Escobar 22:26

Um, let's talk about uh food waste. I've been I've been guilty of making, especially in the past, of making big meals and forgetting what's in the in the in the refrigerator. Oh yeah. So what I started doing is like leftover meals, right? Um and then what really um, you know, even during the holidays, my family, we make it a point of like, okay, let's just make enough and then everyone can take, you know, for one day, but let's just try not to waste the food. But what really got to me is when I started um composting. And um I'm like, man, I'm really like there's putting stuff in there where I'm like, okay, so I think what about that program, like the program? Tell us about like ways that we can save, like not waste food, and not wasting food means more money in our pockets.

Larissa Johnson 23:16

Of course, everything is about more money in our pockets. I will say, so I run the energy program. And then at the Department of Environmental Protection, we have a whole nother side that does waste management, but there is a person who does composting, and what she will recommend is you know, to use exactly what you just said, use what you can. Can you do a second meal? I know for my husband and I, we do Thursdays or always clean out the fridge Thursday. You know what I mean? Like just like look at everything that's in there and what can you make with what's in there? Um, and then participating in the composting program. So there is a residential composting program that's in the pilot phase. So it's not available to everyone in the county. There are programs that folks could pay for. So if you wanted to do something like compost crew, or if you just Google really compost plus Montgomery County, you'll find these companies that are available and they can, they'll give you a container and then they come and pick up the scraps from you every week.

Michelle Escobar 24:11

Yeah.

Larissa Johnson 24:12

And that's available for apartments, townhomes, and single family homes. Um, but if you can compost in your backyard, the tricky thing with composting is food waste is high is not recommended for backyard composting. That's usually for yard waste, because as you can imagine, food waste brings pests with it, you know, and all sorts of cute little furry animals that you may not want in your backyard. Um, so yeah. So the other part is, and I will tell you, I there are places within the county to do that. The city of Rockville has drop-off locations for your compost. So if you kept your own bucket and then you could go to like the Rockville Senior Center and they just have it there. So you don't have to show an ID, which is nice, but you can still compost and and bring it somewhere that's going to be um processed properly.

Michelle Escobar 24:58

And so then do county residents get to um later purchase the compost that they need it or how does it oh leaf grow you're talking about?

Spotting Greenwashing And Real Proof

Larissa Johnson 25:06

So that's from that's from yard waste. But yes, you can come you can purchase leaf grow at different garden centers throughout the county. I do know that if you participate in a program like Compost Crew or any of those um groups, they will provide you with a bag of compost at the end like right before this the spring season as part of your um subscription.

Michelle Escobar 25:29

Yeah. And so I've gotten um uh complaints about um uh people promising services promising um uh power washing and that they're green. They, you know, they use green, um, they use all these like um buzzwords. It's green, it's eco-friendly, um, it's natural. Um people come and clean your homes and they're using like eco-friendly um uh detergents and things. Um are those bud buzzwords or how can we how can we really um know that we're doing some green, getting some green services?

Larissa Johnson 26:07

Yeah, so this is, I mean, it's tricky because like where do you go for that? There is a green business certification program in this in Montgomery County. It's run now through Bethesda Green. So you could look up to find out if the business is green business certified. That's one way. Um, you could check better. I mean, I would contact probably you, the Office of Consumer Protections, to see if there's been any um complaints about that company or anything. But unfortunately, we don't have a database that says here are all the official green businesses out there, except for the green business certification. But even that, they have to know about that green business certification to become a member, you know what I mean, to be listed. So it's tricky. I would say, again, do your due diligence and Google, look it up, you know, research.

Michelle Escobar 26:53

Any questions that you think, for example, um if we're gonna purchase the the at from from my consumer protection uh point of view, it's um ask them how is this green? How is the service green? Yes. Um, is it what is the process? Right. Um, so because if they can't explain it to you, yeah, then you know, um that's that's a problem. They're not probably not not green. Um with the power washing, and I'm not sure if you know um much about this, but with the power washing, I think also to make them green is the um where's the water going? Um, because then it goes into like our drainage systems, it goes onto your lawn, it goes so um all these things you have to think about um before you're hiring like these green businesses.

Larissa Johnson 27:39

Yes, and that's really important, especially in April for Earth Month, just thinking about that, you know, that the water that we're using is going somewhere, especially in our yards and things. Yes. And of course, Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, we have a whole watershed program too that talks about pet waste and why it's important to pick up your pet waste, even in your backyard. Yes, because again, you're talking about runoff and the rain coming down. And so the nutrients from that pet waste are gonna go into your soil, they're gonna make it to our waterways. So it's really important to pick that up and like, yes. And we have a program in Montgomery County called Rainscapes that also helps people um make sure that their homes are able to um absorb the rainwater and things like that. So they plant native gardens, or if you want rain barrels in your backyard or in your front yard, wherever you want them, there's a program to help people do that called Rainscapes.

Michelle Escobar 28:30

That's excellent. Yeah.

Larissa Johnson 28:31

So there's money and there's money there to help you do it. See, and there are professionals and a vetted list of contractors to work with for that program.

Michelle Escobar 28:41

What's the difference between biodegradable and compost compostable? Compostable.

Larissa Johnson 28:48

Compostable. Oh boy. You are really making me work today. Um yeah, I'm I'm oh boy, I'm gonna have to leave that your escalate. Um but I mean compostable breaks down, biodegradable breaks down. I'm not exactly sure. That's that's above my pay grade. Okay. No problem, unfortunately. I know a lot about it. But that one I would have to, oh goodness, I'm gonna have to go back and find that out. I want to know too.

Michelle Escobar 29:13

Because that's just something that we see in on products. Of course.

Key Takeaways and Closing

Larissa Johnson 29:17

And so it's like, okay, what is I will say what I do know from our recycling side of the department is that the numbers on the bottom of your plastics are really important. So one through five is it means it's recyclable. If it's a six, it's a polystyrene. So it's not gonna, it's not gonna be recyclable. So unfortunately, a lot of like solo cups and things that we bring to parties, if you turn them upside down and they have that number, the number six is not recyclable, unfortunately. So one through five, that's what you want to look for. All right. Yeah.

Michelle Escobar 29:52

One more question. Ten more. That's a fun one. Okay. If you had an energy saving superpower, what would it be?

Larissa Johnson 30:01

Oh gosh. Oh gosh. If I had an energy saving superpower.

Michelle Escobar 30:07

I can go first if you want. Yes, will that help? Yes. So mine, see, I'm not fair. I'm not playing fair because I had time to think about this.

Larissa Johnson 30:15

This was sprung on me.

Michelle Escobar 30:17

Okay, yeah. But mine would definitely be um that phantom energy drainage. Oh I would want to know exactly where it is because I I don't know what it is. And I and I am really bad about this. Like, I don't know why I'm afraid to unplug stuff. Oh, yeah. It just stays in the plugs all day, every day. Yeah.

Larissa Johnson 30:38

I don't know why I do it. It's not a huge deal for most items, believe it or not. Like I did the math a few years ago because cell phone chargers, we were telling people to unplug their cell phone charger. Now, I will say if you leave your cell phone charger plugged in and it's not charging your cell phone, I mean, yes, you do have electrons going up and down that that cord, but realistically, it costs about 25 cents a year to keep your cell phone charger plugged in.

Michelle Escobar 31:02

See, that's good to know.

Larissa Johnson 31:03

I know, but and I so I don't want to tell you not to unplug. Yes, please unplug your cell phone charger if it's not charging anything because it's just wasting energy. Absolutely. But 25 cents is not a lot for you or for me. But when you multiply that times the 1.1 million people in Montgomery County, and then you talk about all the different things, like it's not just their cell phone, it's their tablet, it's the and then some things when they're plugged in are drinking taking a lot of energy. Refrigerators, you can't unplug those. I did hear yesterday, I did a presentation and a gentleman said he unplugs his refrigerator all day and then he won't open it. And I'm like, please don't do that. Because again, if you unplug it and then you go to plug it in, it's using more energy to get your refrigerator back up to temperature. So just, but just know that in the kitchen, that is the biggest energy user is your refrigerator. So that's why your parents said, Don't you dare stand in front of that refrigerator with the door open. That's why. Um, all right, but if I had a superpower, my superpower would be more like um that no one would have to pay high electricity bills, you know, that there would be some way to like make sure everyone's house was as energy efficient as possible, especially specifically renters. Like I feel like it's so frustrating when you're renting a space as I have done, and I have no say over what type of windows I have. I have no say over the insulation in the house. Um, so I would want to make, I would want to take the burden off the person living in that house or in that apartment and um yeah, make sure that everything was as energy efficient as possible.

Michelle Escobar 32:32

That's awesome. I love that.

Larissa Johnson 32:36

Yeah.

Michelle Escobar 32:36

Larissa, thank you. Thank you so much so much for being with us today. Yeah. Sustainable living doesn't have to cost more. Small changes like switching to LED light bulbs, sealing drafts, or fixing quiet leaks can save energy, water, and money all year long. Even understanding date labels or planning meals can cut down on food waste in a big way. And when something is marketed as green, it pays to ask a few key questions. What makes it greener? Is there real proof? Will it last or be repaired or recycled? Those answers help you avoid paying extra for claims that don't hold up. In the end, it's about choices that make your home more efficient and your spending more intentional. Thank you for joining Consumer Connection and have a wonderful Earth Month. Don't forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and keep an eye out for upcoming episodes where we'll continue to bring you important updates and insights on consumer protection. Have a topic in mind for a future episode or a question for our team? Drop us an email at consumerconnection at Montgomery CountyMD.gov. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with your friends and family and stay in the loop with OCP by searching the hashtag MCGOCP on social media. Remember, knowledge is key for safeguarding your consumer rights. Stay informed, stay protected, and stay connected. Until next time.

Announcer 34:20

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