Virtual City Created for Recycling Awareness

The number of Indiana’s cities increased by one when the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) incorporated Enviroville – the state’s greenest and first virtual city.

While Enviroville’s population had stood at just two citizens, Mayor Roscoe Raccoon – the hairy hizzoner — caused the city population to swell at the Indiana State Fair where he recruited Hoosier kids to become Envirovillians.

Mayor Roscoe said, “Like every other city, mine has some environmental challenges, but I’m sure that once I have more citizens, we’ll be making great progress and showing our fellow Hoosiers how easy it is to balance their needs with nature.”

Environmental Ed serves as the city’s green guardian, alerting citizens to challenges and pointing out solutions.

Enviroville is a town like any other you might wander across during a tour of the Hoosier heartland. Except that in Enviroville, citizens are alerted to environmental hazards lurking in your kitchen and backyard, as well as the local gas station, grocery store and school. They’re also shown a way to eliminate or lessen the hazards.

Through Enviroville, children are taught things such as:

•The average person uses two gallons of water to brush their teeth, an amount which can easily be reduced by turning off the faucet while brushing;
•Dumping household cleaners and other chemicals down the drain can result in contamination of Hoosier lakes, rivers and even ground water;
•It’s important to keep pets clean and to clean up any spills of pet food or water in order to reduce pests in the home. Some pests can aggravate childhood illnesses, such as asthma, or carry disease; and
•Washing your fruits and veggies before eating will make sure that any pesticides or chemicals used in their growth doesn't end up in your system.

To become an Enviroville citizen, visit Enviroville.IN.gov today.