Ocean Health Starts With Us

Every effort counts when it comes to going green. It's the Aquarium cafes' cups, straws, and lids made from corn and utensils made from potatoes, which are compostable and biodegradable. It's the line of green products offered in the Aquarium's shops. It's the bike racks installed on Pier 3 to encourage people to pedal to the Aquarium. And, above all, it's through everyday thoughtful choices that Aquarium staff and volunteers preserve and protect our planet.

Choosing recycled paper and, in turn, recycling it gives a second life to a product we use daily. The member magazine, Watermarks, is printed on paper that is 100% post-consumer waste, manufactured using wind power, and exceeds all EPA standard for recycled content.

Through Waste Management, the Aquarium recycled more than 52 tons of plastic, glass, aluminum, cardboard, and paper in 2010.

The Aquarium also participates in a battery recycling program. Staff can recycle used alkaline and lithium batteries, instead of throwing them in the trash, which end up in a landfill and leak toxins into the earth and waterways. Americans purchase nearly 3 billion dry-cell batteries every year. If all those batteries were simply discarded, they would fill more than 600 large school buses. In 2010, the Aquarium recycled 550 pounds of batteries, keeping toxic materials such as lead, nickel, cadmium, and mercury out of landfills.

When CDs, DVDs, and handheld devices wear out, the Aquarium works with a company called GreenDisk to recycle this "technotrash" instead of clogging landfills and contaminating soil and ground water with harmful chemicals. In 2010, the Aquarium recycled 460 pounds of technotrash.

Outdated computers, printers, and other equipment are donated to CDM eCycling, which refurbishes any reusable equipment, and then donates it through its Second Life program to charities and other nonprofit organizations that otherwise could not afford this technology. In 2010, the Aquarium diverted 2,500 pounds of electronics from the landfill through eCycling.

Aquarium staff members look forward to office supply swaps and book swaps. Staff members bring in office supplies, books, DVDs, and CDs they no longer want, and browse their coworkers' castoffs.

When you walk across the exterior harbor footbridge, do you feel a little spring in your step? We used 98,342 plastic milk jugs to renovate it!

The Aquarium Animal Programs staff repurposes toilet paper tubes, used towels, plastic bottles, old phone books, and other materials for education programs and animal enrichment.

We turned 53 wetsuits into 575 bottle cozies, available in our gift shop, which kept 92 pounds of neoprene out of landfills.

In a period of just six months, staff saved 500 corks—that's 10 pounds of corks—from ending up in a landfill. They were shipped to the TerraCycle company free of charge. TerraCycle is an organization that is saving millions of corks, as well as other "trash," from going into landfills by "upcycling" used corks into cool products that are sold nationally at major retailers.

Did you know that part of the Aquarium’s roof is green? A green roof was installed on a portion of Pier 3 just behind the Australia exhibit. Green roofs provide many benefits. They reduce heating and cooling loads on a building, and reduce stormwater runoff by acting as a sponge. Pollutants and carbon dioxide are also filtered out of the air. Finally, green roofs provide habitat for plants, insects, and birds that otherwise have limited natural space in cities.

The Aquarium installed a 40,000-gallon cistern to harvest rainwater for landscape irrigation.

In 2010, the Aquarium installed a manmade floating wetland in the harbor. Floating islands have the potential to provide the same benefits as traditional wetlands, and this island is a pilot to see if this could be a successful and cost-effective way to improve harbor water quality. Natural wetlands act as filters that pull excess nutrients from the water, and we expect the plants in the floating island will act in the same way. We will be monitoring the water quality surrounding the islands and documenting the abundance of animals that utilize the new habitat area.
» Watch a video of the animals thriving beneath our island

Compost bins are in the Aquarium' cafes for guests to use after eating, and our staff also participates by composting rather than throwing biodegradable materials in the trash. In 2010, 31,050 pounds of food waste was composted into nutrient-rich soil. That's 15.5 tons!

Aquarium staff members are encouraged to do their part to help save our planet. Each year, every Aquarium employee gets a paid day off to participate in a conservation event like the Fort McHenry Field Day wetland cleanup.

» Learn how you can join us at our conservation events.

Staffers also help support a number of other conservation efforts, including Earth Day, Baltimore Green Week, and International Migratory Bird Month.

Every month, the Aquarium recognizes and rewards three staff members who embody its conservation ethos and conserve natural resources by walking, biking, carpooling, or taking mass transit to work.

Staff members have the option to join a community-supported agriculture program that delivers organic, locally grown produce right to the Baltimore venue.

With all the heaters, chillers, pumps, lights, and climate controls in the Aquarium’s multiple buildings, energy consumption can add up. So wherever possible, we install power-saving lights and bulbs. In 2010, we replaced the neon in the Aquarium's iconic blue wave on the side of the building with LED, which decreased energy consumption by 70%.

In areas that aren’t used often, the Aquarium has installed motion sensors that turn off lights automatically when they’re not needed.

Energy-thirsty incandescent bulbs in the Aquarium’s office areas were replaced by energy-stingy compact fluorescent lighting.

Power-generating water valves are installed in Aquarium restrooms, which create and store power to operate these automatic valves, eliminating the need for batteries.

The Aquarium participates in Earth Hour, an annual event that calls people and organizations to turn off their lights for an hour to call attention to world climate change. Learn more at myearthhour.org.

The National Aquarium serves only sustainable seafood in our cafes, and also introduced a dinner series that celebrates ocean-friendly seafood choices. Fresh Thoughts: A Sustainable Seafood Dining Series consists of elegant evening events that feature educational cooking demonstrations by guest chefs and seated dinners overlooking the Aquarium’s coveted view of the Baltimore Harbor.

The Aquarium provides the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Pocket Guide for our visitors, which guests can pick up inside our buildings.

The Aquarium's Marine Animal Rescue Program (MARP) rescues, rehabilitates, and releases marine mammals and turtles.

Read more about MARP and the animals that have successfully been returned to the wild here.