The first choice for green apartment homes in Silver Spring, MD.

At The Blairs in Silver Spring, MD, we are dedicated to providing our residents with the greenest living environment possible. Our commitment to sustainable green building practices has led us to some amazing accomplishments.  First, The Blairs created Blair Towns, America's first community of LEED® Certified apartment homes - but that wasn't enough.  The Blairs is also dedicated to operating our buildings in the greenest way possible.  Blair Towns recently achieved the World's first LEED® Platinum certification for Operations and Maintenance.  In 2012, the other buildings at The Blairs achieved America's first campus wide LEED® Gold certification for Operations and Maintenance.

Green Facts about The Blairs:

• We are very proud to invest 100% of our energy usage costs into wind energy projects through the purchase of Renewable Energy Credits (RECs).  This makes The Blairs a 100% carbon neutral community.
• The Blairs recycles 63% of it's trash annually and we offer a complementary composting program for our residents, which dramatically reduces our community's impact on landfills.  We also use energy saving CFL light bulbs in all common areas of our buildings and have recently installed new building systems that reduce the building's energy consumption by an impressive 50%.
• The Blairs is a 100% smoke free community and we only use low or no VOC paints, carpeting and other materials to provide the highest indoor air quality possible.

Helpful Green Tips:

Turn off lights.  Install low-mercury bulbs, turn off lights when you leave a room and use task lighting to reduce energy costs.

Order renewable energy, support the environment.  Green power is available to some residents through PEPCO Energy Services.

Wash laundry in cold water instead of hot, to help reduce overall energy costs.

Wash only full loads in the dishwasher or laundry and be sure to use the right water level for laundry to help reduce water consumption.

Don't leave the water running when you wash dishes or brush your teeth to reduce water consumption.

Recycle! Recycling decreases the production of materials from raw resources and minimizes impact on landfills.  This provides more space to recycle within the community and cuts trash truck emissions.

Before buying new furniture or other household items, first check your local Craigslist® or Freecycle® to help reduce waste.

Don't buy bottled water.  Drink tap water.  Use a Brita filter and reusable water bottles to help reduce waste.

Use earth-friendly cleaning products and re-usable rags instead of paper towels to help support the environment and reduce waste.

Put a stop to junk mail. Cancel unwanted mail and pay bills online to reduce waste in landfills.

Buy local and organic. Go to farmer's markets for meat and produce, join a CSA food-share to support the local economy and help reduce carbon emissions from food transport.

Buy house plants for your apartment. House plants reduce toxins in the air for better indoor air quality and provides a friendly atmosphere.

Go outside as much as possible. People spend, on average, 90% of their time indoors, so take a walk outside whenever possible.

Buy earth-friendly cleaning products and recycled paper products at local stores. 

• Seventh Generation - www.seventhgeneration.com
  • Ecover - www.ecover.com
  • Earth Friendly Products - www.ecos.com
  • The LEED Program - www.usgbc.org

For a more detailed guide to sustainable purchasing, click here.