NewsFlash
December 2015   Click the icons above to find us on Facebook & Twitter!
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How to keep your holiday spirit out of the landfill
1. Choose live, local Christmas trees. Here’s why:
2. Declare your tree a tinsel-free zone – decorate your tree naturally.
Instead of tinsel, which is difficult to remove, and spray-on snow, which doesn’t come off, decorate your tree with items found in nature, such as the fluff from a milkweed pod, or pine cones from the forest. We can accept natural trees for free recycling only if they are completely free of anything Mother Nature herself didn’t install. If that is not possible, we will accept them as bulky trash (and send them to the landfill), at a charge of $1 per foot in height at CSWD Drop-Off Centers. Not a happy ending!
3. Use recyclable or reusable wrapping paper.
In Chittenden County, most paper wrapping paper is recyclable.
Here’s what to stay away from:
The best material to use for wrap is something your recipient can reuse, such as a bandanna, a tea towel, a reusable cloth gift or shopping bag … the possibilities are endless.
If you still want to use wrapping paper, complete the recycling loop by purchasing wrap made with recycled paper. Let your favorite retailer know you’re looking for it and they’ll know that there’s a demand for it.
Recycling tip: Speedy recycling starts on your living-room floor on the Big Day:
– Take off ribbons and decorations for reuse or trash.
– Sort recyclable paper into your recycling bin (NOT in a plastic bag).
– Put trash — non-reusable ribbons, plastic and metallic paper and wrappings — in a trash bag, and you’ll get ‘er done as you go!
4. Use recyclable, reusable, or biodegradable gift decorations.
Ribbons and bows are big no-nos. Most are made of plastic and cannot be recycled. A better option would be to tie on an ornament that can be used on your tree, a knick-knack that will be enjoyed for years, or pinecones that can be composted or returned to the forest after use.
5. Regift!
Save gifts that aren’t quite what you need for someone who will appreciate them. If you can’t think of anyone you can pass it on to, bring it to a local charity or resale store, or a ReUse Zone at a CSWD Drop-Off Center and someone else will be glad to make use of it.
6. Collect your food scraps for composting, and unused food for donation to a food pantry.
After your big meal, keep your plate scrapings and prep scraps out of the trash and stash them instead in a FREE food scrap bucket available at all CSWD Drop-Off Centers and Green Mountain Compost. When the bucket is full, bring it back to CSWD or opt for food scrap pick-up options. Either way, we’ll use your scraps to make compost.
We accept all types of food scraps: meat and bones, veggies, dairy products, egg and seafood shells — anything edible. Toss in greasy take-out pizza boxes as well. Stop on by any Drop-Off Center or Green Mountain Compost and we’ll give you a kitchen counter-top pail to peel your carrots into, and a 4-gallon bucket for bringing it back to us. Donate unused food to a food pantry. Got extra unopened containers of non-perishable food? Find a pantry near you and talk to them about sharing your bounty.AmpleHarvest.org can help you locate a nearby donation opportunity. 7. Remember: “The best things in life aren’t things.”
Instead of giving an object, give an experience, such as a horseback-riding jaunt, skateboard lessons, movie tickets, or a promise to spend time together doing something you know your recipient loves to do. An online tool calledsokindregistry.org offers fun ways to make gifts more personal and timeless.
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Two great gift ideas for the gardener on your list
1. Gift card Give a winter gift that will pay off all year long!
When the weather warms up, your favorite gardener will be ahead of the game with a gift certificate from Green Mountain Compost. They’ll have the freedom to choose from any of our high quality soil products – like compost, raised bed mix, topsoil, mulch, seed starter, and potting soil – to make sure their spring is as bountiful as possible.
PLUS: Any gift certificate over $100 will net you a bonus of 50% off of delivery of 3 yards or more! (Delivery discount valid through April 15, 2016.) PLUS: Any gift certificate over $125 will also land you a Green Mountain Compost baseball cap! Order a gift certificate worth $150, $100, $25 – or name your own amount! We’ll fill out the gift certificate and drop it in the mail — to you or directly to the recipient. When you make this purchase, you are supporting the program that makes it possible for our community to keep food scraps out of the landfill! Green Mountain Compost: Local. Sustainable. Wicked Good.
Call 802-660-4949 to place an order. You can pay with credit card, check, or cash.
2. Backyard composting bins
Want to give your household the gift of homemade compost? Check out these two great backyard compost bin options from Green Mountain Compost (available to Chittenden County residents only):
What’s so great about compost, and why should I give my loved one a pile of dirt?!We’re so glad you asked: Healthy soil contains spongy crumbs of humus and particles held together by fine, fungal strands. Compost adds structure that improves aeration, water retention, and drainage. Till it in to restore balance to all kinds of soil: sandy, compacted, or clay.
Work it into your soil and your plants will reward you with bouquets of flowers, baskets of veggies, and greener grass on your side of the fence. |
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Waste reduction laws support best practices
Now that recycling is mandatory throughout the state of Vermont, smart businesses everywhere are preparing now to be in compliance with upcoming CSWD and Vermont recycling laws:
The law:
Landlords and property owners are required to inform their tenants about mandatory recycling at least once a year. The tools:
CSWD has free flyers, posters, and container stickers to help you help your tenants keep mandatory recyclables out of the trash. Contact: Marge Keough, CSWD Community Outreach Coordinator: mkeough@cswd.net or (802) 872-8100 ext. 234 The law: The law:
Businesses that ship materials for disposal or recycling outside of CSWD’s system of licensed facilities and haulers (for example, paper sent directly to a broker for recycling) must begin reporting the material, amount, and destination to CSWD biannually. Reporting for January 1, 2016 through June 30, 2016 is due by August 29, 2016. The tools: An easy, online reporting form will be available at CSWD.net by February 1, 2016, CSWD will also provide an Excel template on request. Contact: Michele Morris, CSWD Business Outreach Coordinator: mmorris@cswd.net or (802) 872-8100 ext. 237. The law:
Publicly accessible trash cans must be paired with recycling bins (restrooms are exempt). The tools: CSWD has grant funding available to reimburse a portion of the purchase price of qualifying recycling containers. Visit our online grant funding page. We also have stickers available at no cost for new and existing containers. Contact: Michele Morris, CSWD Business Outreach Coordinator: mmorris@cswd.net or(802) 872-8100 ext. 237 The law:
As of July 1, 2016, any business that generates at least 26 tons of food leftovers or scraps per year (1,000 pounds per week, or about three 64-gallon carts) is required to keep that food out of the trash. Options include donating quality food to a food shelf, sending to a local farm for animal feed, or sending it for composting or to a biodigester. The tools: CSWD can provide free technical support and tools to help you set your facility and staff up to divert food scraps from the landfill. Contact: July Sanders, CSWD Business Outreach Specialist: jsanders@cswd.net or(802) 872-8100 ext. 248. CSWD’s business outreach staff can help all businesses in Chittenden County find the most effective and efficient way to comply with Vermont and CSWD’s waste reduction laws. Give us a call — we’re here to help!
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Need food scraps for your farm animals?
Hey farmers, homesteaders and residential gardeners, are you finding yourself wishing you had more food scraps for your livestock or compost pile? You are in luck! More and more area restaurants are keeping their food scraps out of the landfill and sending them to composting facilities, energy-production facilities, and agricultural operations … that means that many might be considering looking for you to pick up this free feed.
Here’s how it works: The business collect the food scraps, you provide guidelines and commit to picking it up, and the animals chow down on it! The happy result is that it stays out of the landfill and everybody wins.
CSWD can help connect you with the right businesses. Contact us today!jsanders@cswd.net or 802-872-8100 x248
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Single-use batteries will be recyclable in January!
Flashlights eventually fade to dark. Clocks inevitably run down. Even the Energizer Bunny’s drum beat has to dribble to a stop sometime. When single-use batteries give up the ghost, the only way to get rid of them has been to toss them in the trash — until now! Starting January 1, 2016, CSWD Drop-Off Centers and the Environmental Depot will begin accepting alkaline single-use batteries for recycling. To date, we have been able to accept only button-cell, lithium, rechargeable, lead-acid, and NiCd batteries for recycling. We are now adding single-use batteries to the roster of recyclable batteries.
Vermont is the first state to pass a product stewardship law that requires manufacturers of single-use batteries to pay for the collection and recycling of their products. An organization called Call2Recycle is overseeing the state-wide program, setting up nearly 100 collection sites. Since 1994, Call2Recycle has kept 100 million pounds of used batteries out of the landfill across the country.
All seven CSWD Drop-Off Centers and the Environmental Depot will accept single-use and other types of batteries free of charge, beginning in January.
★ DO NOT
recycle batteries of any kind in your blue recycling bin or cart.
They cannot be recycled with bottles, cans, paper, and other mandatory recyclables. They must be brought to a Drop-Off Center or the Environmental Depot for recycling. More details will be coming soon to cswd.net.
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Bring some warmth to those who need it
The temperature is dropping and that too-small winter jacket in the back of your closet isn’t going to get any bigger — howzabout donating it to the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program (VRRP)? Since 1980, these folks have been helping refugees from around the world feel welcome — and warm! — while they make a new home and a fresh start. Several local schools are accepting winter wear for donation to VRRP thanks to the CVU Refugee Outreach Club and the Vermont Interscholastic Council.
WHAT: New or gently used winter hats, gloves, scarves, jackets, snow pants, etc
WHEN: Through December 10, during school hours WHERE: To the lobbies of these Chittenden County schools: Allenbrook School Browns River Middle School Champlain Valley Union High School Charlotte Central School Essex High School Hinesburg Community School Jericho Elementary School North Country High School (and community)
Mater Christi Rice High School St. Francis Shelburne Community School South Burlington High School} Williston Central School You can find out more about the Refugee Outreach Club on their Facebook page and a story in The Citizen.
Looking for other options? Check out these local clothing reuse options.
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Are you going to ReCEMBER?
ReCEMBER is a month-long series of craft workshops where you and your family can learn how to upcycle used goodies into holiday gifts from local artsy experts. It’s good for your wallet, good for the earth, and good fun!
What does “upcycle” mean? Good question! Upcycling happens when you take something made for one purpose and, once it has served that purpose, you transform it into something fresh and new. All it takes is a sprinkling of imagination and a little help from the upcycling fairies at ReSOURCE in Burlington.
The fun starts on Giving Tuesday, December 1st at ReSOURCE, 266 Pine Street, Burlington, from 5-8 pm, with music, free food, raffles, and plenty of upcycle crafting. Bring the family, make a gift, eat good food, and leave a donation if you can. The upcycling workshops take place every Tuesday through December, during store hours at the Burlington, Barre, and Morrisville locations. Donations gladly accepted to help support the program.
For more information, visit ReSOURCE online or email ReSOURCE’s Crafter-In-Residence, Whelley McCabe, at katewhelleymccabe@gmail.com.
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Stop the flow of junk in your mailbox
If I did nothing, I’d wager that all the unwanted catalogs and junk mail I receive would fill my house in no time flat. I have registered with various websites that promise to stem the tide of postal junk, which helps … until it doesn’t. I have found that you do have to renew your efforts occasionally, as names and addresses are traded briskly among retailers. It just doesn’t feel right to keep accepting catalogs and junk mail that go straight into my recycling bin. It’s great that I can keep it all out of the landfill, but what a waste to have it go unused and into the recycling bin in the first place.
The latest entry into the junk mail reduction fray is actually an 8-year-old website called Catalog Choice. The site was recently acquired by an organization called Story of Stuff, a nonprofit dedicated to changing “the way we make, use, and throw away stuff.”
When you sign in, you can see who you have already asked to stay out of your mailbox and lodge complaints against those who refuse to comply.
It’s an easy-to-use tool for getting companies to leave you alone — until, that is, they’re sending you something you actually ordered.
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