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Rock Art Brewery swaps out black plastic can carriers for recyclable version
Black plastic has been in the news lately. The reason: Most if it is no longer recyclable in Chittenden County. One Vermont company has already taken steps to make sure they are literally on the green side of the equation — Rock Art Brewery of Morrisville will be changing their non-recyclable black plastic can carriers to green. “The news came at just the right time,” says Renee Nadeau, Rock Art Co-Owner. “We were just about out of the black ones, so we placed an order for green.” The new color will appear on the shelves as the black ones sell out. Rock Art has been brewing beer for 19 years and have designed their process and packaging to enable them to keep their environmental footprint to a minimum. “We recycle our water, we minimize packaging, and use recycled paper for our case boxes,” says Nadeau. If you haven’t yet heard, most black plastic is no longer recyclable in Chittenden County because the recycling markets — global companies that buy our material — no longer want it. You can’t un-black black, which limits what it can be recycled into. We depend on the money we make selling recyclables to pay for the recycling program, including operating and maintaining CSWD’s Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), paying the people who work there, and providing blue recycling bins and tools at no charge to residents and businesses. Recycling is definitely not without cost. Fortunately, black plastic makes up only 6/100ths of a per cent of what we receive at our recycling facility, and we’re hoping that number shrinks even farther as consumers increasingly choose products thoughtfully packaged in recyclable materials. What can you do? Seek alternatives to black plastic packaging and products. There are many out there and every purchase you make validates the decisions manufacturers have made for their product design and packaging choices — including the right ones. Rock on, Rock Art Brewery!
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Got an opinion about CSWD programs? Come tell us what you think!We do our best to offer programs, tools, and facilities to meet your disposal needs and our collective waste reduction goals. Many great ideas for how to do this have come from people like you: residents, business owners, students, snowbirds, and visitors — we welcome great ideas from everyone. We’re hosting a fun brainstorming session, complete with raffle prizes, munchies, an opportunity to meet CSWD staff and our new General Manager Sarah Reeves, and to get the latest info on recycling and composting. Come with ideas, questions, or just your curiosity. WHEN: Thursday, October 20, 5:30 – 7 p.m. If you can’t make the meeting but still want to share your thoughts and ideas, please visit our online program feedback page and tell us what you think! Wait: Who is CSWD again? The Chittenden Solid Waste District is a county-wide government entity created by the State of Vermont in 1987, along with a slew of other entities around the state. Each of the 18 towns in Chittenden County belongs to CSWD and appoints a representative to our Board of Commissioners. Click here to find out who your town’s representative is. That board charts our course and determines how we fulfill our mission to manage the waste stream generated by the residents, businesses, and visitors of Chittenden County. Our primary focus is to use economically and environmentally sound methods to reduce and manage this stream. |
| Give yourself a gift now that will bear fruit — literally! — this spring
When you add compost from Green Mountain Compost to your lawn and garden now, the slow-release nutrients in that compost will be fully available and ready to give a boost to those roots by springtime. Give a gift to your plants now and your future self will be doing a happy dance when you see your plants getting a head start in the spring!
Here’s the scoop on how to do it: Work 2-4 inches into your vegetable and perennial beds and apply it around trees and shrubs. And don’t forget the lawn! Improve your lawn without chemicals by raking in a quarter to a half inch of compost from Green Mountain Compost. Next spring, you’ll be able to confirm what a genius you are now. Were now? Will have been now? Either way, smart move on your part.
Compost, topsoil, mulches, and mixes made right here in Chittenden County:
Bags available at all CSWD Drop-Off Centers
Bags, bulk, and deliveries available at local garden centers and:
1042 Redmond Road, Williston
Hours: 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Monday – Saturday
For more information or to schedule a delivery, call (802) 660-4949
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The Rover is making its final visits for the season
The Rover is CSWD’s mobile household hazardous waste collection unit that stops once in each town and accepts household hazardous wastes from residents. The Rover accepts household hazardous wastes such as paints and stains, automotive fluids, hobby supplies, pesticides, fertilizers, household cleaners, and similar items with the words “Danger,” “Caution,” “Warning,” or “Poison” on the label, including items on this list of household hazardous waste items. NOTE: The Rover is available at no charge to Chittenden County households. Fees apply to residents from other towns.
The Rover Schedule:
October 8: St. George Town Center 9:00 – 1:00
October 15: Bolton Fire Station 9:00 – 1:00
Need more info? Call our Hotline at 872-8111 or visit cswd.net Can’t make it to the Rover on any of these dates? Bring it to CSWD’s Environmental Depot any time of year! 1011 Airport Parkway, South Burlington.
Wednesday-Friday 8-2; Saturday 8-3:30.
The fine print: The Environmental Depot is available free to Chittenden County residents. Some fees apply for businesses and out-of-District residents. |
Orange is the new green
Color in the treetops means that Halloween is drawing near. When you’re picking out the perfect pumpkin and deciding how to decorate it, we ask you to follow these two steps to make sure he can be composted after his starring role on your porch:
Step 1: Decorating: Use only decorations made by Mother Nature herself. If you use paint, carve a big frown because that Jack O’ cannot be composted and must be sent to the landfill. Now THAT’S scary!!Step 2: Disposal. When the fun is over, you can give your old pal the heave-ho into the compost bin only after you have removed all the candles and wax and any artificial decorations. Yep, that goes for beeswax candles, too! When you bring your pumpkin to CSWD Drop-Off Centers or Green Mountain Compost in Williston for composting, we turn it into the rich, dark soil that next year’s pumpkin crop will sink their roots into so they’re big and plump and ready for their big moment when Halloween rolls around again next year. |
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What landlords, property owners and tenants need to know about CSWD and state disposal laws
State and local laws exist to make it more convenient for everyone to make smart disposal decisions no matter where they live — and to help everyone take part in the State of Vermont’s goal of reducing the flow of material to the landfill.Information: Landlords are required to provide recycling instructions when tenants move in, and at least once a year thereafter. Flyers, posters, and stickers are available for on request from CSWD. If trash collection services are part of your lease, then recycling pickup services must also be available. If the residence is in the City of Burlington, check their online recycling page for more info. Recycling: It’s mandatory throughout the entire state of Vermont. Check out our online list of mandatory recyclables that can go in your blue bin or cart. Landlords and property managers are required to provide an equal number of containers for mandatory recyclables if they provide trash containers available to the general public (bathrooms are excluded). Landfill bans: Certain items are not allowed in the trash. Take a scroll through our landfill ban page, or visit CSWD’s A-Z list to find the best, most economical choices for disposal. Need a recycling bin? Come on in! Recycling bins are available at all CSWD Drop-Off Centers and many town offices. CSWD does not provide carts. Mostcurbside trash haulers offer them. Disposal options: Got questions? Need help? Drop us a line:
E-mail: mkeough@cswd.net Call: (802) 872-8111 Visit: cswd.net
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What do art and compost have in common? The answer could be worth $500!
Enter the annual International Compost Awareness Week poster contest and you could be in the running to win 500 buckeroos! Three divisions: Grades 3-7; Grades 8-12; College/adult. Check it out — your art could represent compost awareness nationwide!
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Send your kids back to school a little lighter in the lunchbox! by Rhonda Mace, CSWD School & Youth Outreach Coordinator
The average student sends 68 pounds of lunchbox trash to the landfill each year — and that’s just single-use wrappers, juice boxes, bags, utensils, cups, bowls, and the like. Multiply that by thousands of students and 180 days a year, and … well, where’s a 6th grader when I need one? Let’s just say this: It adds up pretty darn fast.Simple changes like these can make a huge difference in your wallet and your landfill footprint:
– Reusable containers reduce the number of single-use plastic baggies you have to buy and your kids have to send to the landfill. – Buy in bulk and save money. Single-serving products can cost many times more. – Clean your aluminum foil and use it again — recycle it when it’s worn out. – Use reusable water bottles — they’re cheaper than bottled water. – Use a cloth napkin to reduce paper waste. – Reuse plastic utensils or use reusable metal and wood utensils instead. – Challenge your family to say NO to drinking straws! – Squeeze your own yummy juices and lemonade at home. You can even freeze some in a bottle to double as a cold pack. – Be sure to ask your child to bring home what they don’t eat; you can always re-pack it the next day or compost the leftovers. Besides, it’s good to know what they are NOT eating at school to avoid wasting foods they just won’t eat.To some busy parents, it’s a tough but compelling argument to make in the face of the convenience of tossing Go-Go Squeez, a bag of chips, and a Lunchables in a bag. But the savings in time does come at a cost to the wellbeing of your kids and the planet.Here’s how a class in California made it happen: The first graders in Miss Goldfien’s class brought in waste-free lunches for a week. Lunches could contain only reusable or recyclable packaging and utensils. The kids put sandwiches, fruit, and chips in reusable containers; drinks came in a thermos or water bottle. Reusable cloth napkins and silverware rounded out the bag. Once they learned how easy it was to adopt new habits, many of the kids continued bringing in waste-free lunches even after the program ended. |
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Back by popular demand: Free backyard composting workshops at Green Mountain Compost!
Are you compost-curious? Do you have trouble imagining how to make composting work for your household? There are many ways to go about it and we can help you develop a method that fits your needs. Discover the benefits of “closing the loop” with your own household food scraps in this interactive, hands-on demonstration of a healthy backyard compost system — one that works for you all year ’round!
WHEN: Thursday, October 6, 5 to 6 pm.
WHERE: Green Mountain Compost Edu-Shed (1042 Redmond Rd., Williston)
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED: This is a popular class and space is limited —
Here’s what you’ll learn:
– What type of bin is best for you – find free bin plans here.
– Where to locate your bin – What to put into your bin (and what to avoid!) – How to manage your bin – Troubleshooting – Harvesting your compost – Alternatives to a backyard bin (pick up service, or drop-off composting) – And more!
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Wanna be a waste-buster at home, at school, at work — everywhere? We’ve got the tools for you! We all know by now that it’s the law for everyone everywhere in Vermont to make sure that recyclables are recycled, and don’t end up in the landfill. A little effort goes a long way towards making sure your home and workplace capture those recyclables. We’ve developed tools to help you do just that, wherever you are. Check out our waste reduction resources web page for a slew of signs, container labels, informational flyers, and effective containers and let us know what you need. You can also download files and print your own signs and flyers, customizing them for your use. Don’t see what you need? Drop us a line and we’ll see what we can do to get you something that works for you. Call (802) 872-8111 E-mailinfo@cswd.net. |
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Replacing your mercury thermostat? Bring it to CSWD for a $5 rebate!
Sometimes it takes a little cold snap to focus attention on our home heating systems. If you’re planning on updating your mercury thermostat to something more efficient, remember — it DOES contain mercury, a highly toxic substance that is banned from landfill disposal. You can tell if your thermostat contains mercury by removing the face and checking for a sealed, glass capsule containing a silvery fluid. Bring that thermostat to any CSWD Drop-Off Center or the Environmental Depot and we’ll give you a cool $5 rebate coupon! The rebate is sponsored by the Thermostat Recycling Corporation (TRC) to encourage proper disposal. The fine print:
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Great opportunities for youth environmental leadership development Kids these days already know everything about everything, so the University of Vermont has created a college of knowledge to help them put their awesome ideas into action to protect our resources and generally save the planet. If only these programs had been around when we were kids — the job would be done by now! Check it out, sign ’em up, and get ’em going. Our planet could sure use the help: Teens Reaching Youth: Environmental leadership for grades 7-12, where teens teach younger kids about environmental responsibility. Application deadline:November 15. |
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CSWD CALENDAR
Thursday, Oct. 6: Free backyard composting workshop at Green Mountain Compost. See story above for details and registration info.Saturday, Oct. 8:The Rover, CSWD’s mobile hazardous waste collection unit, visits St. George (see story above for more details). Monday, October 10: Columbus Day Holiday
CSWD: All CSWD facilities except for the Materials Recovery Facility will be closed in observance of the holiday. Facilities will be open during their regular business hours before and after the holiday.
Burlington: Recycling will be picked up on Columbus Day in Burlington. CallBurlington Public Works at 863-9094 if you have questions about their collection schedule.
Private transfer stations and recycling facilities (All Cycle, Casella, McNeil, Myers, etc.): Please call those facilities directly for holiday closure information. Visit the CSWD large loads web page for a list of facilities and contact numbers. Saturday, Oct. 15: The Rover, CSWD’s mobile hazardous waste collection unit, visits Bolton (see story above for more details). Thursday, October 20: CSWD feedback and brainstorming session. Come tell us what you think about how we’re doing our job, share ideas, or just come to find out more about who we are, what we do, and how we can help you keep more resources out of the landfill. See story above for details. Wednesday, October 26: CSWD’s Monthly Full Board of Commissioners Meeting, 6 p.m., Williston Town Hall (7900 Williston Road) |