COOL Committee Urges Washers to Go Natural
 Karen Bucky of Longview Terrace lets nature do the work of drying her sheets.Top, the COOL Commitee's line-up at Sundays@Six. |
The town's CO2 Lowering Committee has launched a "Dry Naturally" campaign to promote line-drying clothing as an environmentally and wallet friendly alternative to using an electric dryer. The initiative is part of the group's efforts to help the residents reduce the town's greenhouse gas emissions to 10 percent below the 2000 amount by next year.
Operating a dryer accounts for approximately 10 percent of the average household's electricity costs, or almost $130 annually. To promote drying naturally, the COOL Committee has partnered with the Aubuchon Hardware in Williamstown to create a coupon for $5 off a household's clothesline purchase of $10 or more. The coupon can be used not only toward a clothesline, but also pulleys, drying racks or umbrella-style outdoor lines.
COOL Committee members have been distributing coupons at the downtown's Sundays@Six event and displaying a clothesline setup at their table. With their penguin mascot, they have been encouraging youngsters to decorate wooden clothespins to use on their new clotheslines.
The committee has created an information sheet about drying naturally that can be picked up at Aubuchon or the Milne Public Library, along with the coupon. The COOL Committee is also collecting pictures of people with their clotheslines. You can e-mail your picture to coolwilliamstown@yahoo.com.
 The COOL Committee penguin (Laura Bentz) shares information with Colleen Martin and her boys. |
Many people line try their clothes year-round as it saves energy as well as wear and tear on clothing. Williamstown resident and COOL Committee member Laura Bentz is a big proponent of drying naturally. She spent time in Finland where, she said, no one she knew owned a clothes dryer.
The COOL Committee is also promoting the free home energy audit available through Mass Save (1-866-527-7283 or MassSave.com), and generous incentives that make it more affordable to enhance household energy efficiency.
