Green News: America Recycles Day...

Posted by in Composting, Energy Conservation, Everday Living, For the home, Green Politics, Green Quick Tips, Reduce Waste on November 16, 2009 | No Comments

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CONTACT:

Skip Anderson

anderson.skip@epa.gov

202-564-9551

202-564-4355

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nov. 13, 2009

Make Everyday America Recycles Day

WASHINGTON – Want to help the environment? Why not spend some time this America Recycles Day, November 15^th, looking for new opportunities to recycle throughout the year? Keeping good recycling habits at home, work, and on the go can help with climate change. By
reusing, recycling, and being smarter in the amounts and types of
materials used, people can save energy, use fewer natural resources,
and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Thousands of Americans across the country are making a difference,
simply by keeping plastic bottles, paper, unwanted electronics, and
other recyclable materials out of the waste stream. The
lifecycle energy savings of recycling rather than landfilling one
aluminum can is equivalent to the energy use of a laptop for 5 hours, a
60-watt incandescent light bulb for 4 hours, or a 60-watt compact
fluorescent light bulb for 20 hours.

America Recycles Day is a great time to think about our role in
creating a sustainable environment by being responsible consumers. Products
are created from raw materials that are transported and processed,
distributed, consumed, reused or recycled, and ultimately disposed of
in a landfill. Each stage of this materials lifecycle creates impacts on the environment. By
making smarter choices, consuming less, and reusing and recycling, each
of us can contribute to a healthier and more sustainable environment.

More information on recycling: http://www.epa.gov/recycle/

More information on America Recycles Day: http://www.americarecyclesday.org

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Going Green: 5 Ways To Go Green For Halloween...

Posted by in Composting, Everday Living, Reduce Waste on September 25, 2009 | No Comments

Go Green: How to make Halloween not so scary for the environment

Similar to hosting a family swap party, you could host a costume swap party
Compost any unwanted candy (remove the plastic wrappers first)
Compost pumpkins and gourds
Buy reusable Halloween decorations instead of one use and done decorations
On November 1, walk around your neighborhood and clean up from the Halloween activities

Thank you for reading and here's to Going Green on Halloween!

If you found this post helpful, please pass it along to a friend.

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Green Quick Tip: Give Dead Plants New Life...

Posted by in Composting, Gardening, Green Quick Tips on September 21, 2009 | No Comments

Go Green: Compost, compost, compost

With fall quickly approaching, I'm sure I'm not alone watching my garden slowly die away. But just don't let those plants sit there all winter slowly rotting away. Give them new life by pulling them out of the ground and adding to your compost bin or compost pile. They will add vital ingredients to your compost and help breath life into your spring plantings.

If you found this post helpful, please pass it along to a friend.

Thank you for reading and here's to Going Green!

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Green Tips: Composting: Composting Basics...

Posted by in Composting on July 1, 2009 | No Comments

Going Green: Composting 101

What's the secret to having beautiful, vibrant flower gardens or large, scrumptious looking vegetables? In a word, compost. If you use compost, your soil has a richer composition that is better for your vegetables and flowers. This healthy and sturdy soil produces the gorgeous flowers and mouth-watering vegetables we all wish we could have in our own gardens. Guess what? It just takes a little know-how about composting and you can have one of those gardens that everyone talks about.

Composting is not hard and the entire family can get in on the act. If you have a family garden, composting will be quite helpful to you. Let’s discuss the benefits of composting as well as how to create a compost pile that can enrich your soil naturally.

Composting is healthy for the environment as it reduces the amount of trash in the landfill. We throw away a lot of food which is the majority landfill waste. Using those food scraps in compost gives precious nutrients back to the soil instead of to the garbage.

Basically, composting is the process of using plant matter and other materials to enrich the soil. You let the items decompose and blend them in with the soil as nourishment for whatever you are growing. You can also use compost as mulch in flower gardens instead of wood chips or pine needles.

Getting started with your own compost pile is not difficult. First, find a place to compost in your yard that will get plenty of sun as well as rain. You can buy a compost bin or make your own compost pile (bins are more neighbor friendly).

Once you’ve chosen your location and storage unit (or none at all), it’s time to begin filling it. Composting problems occur when the wrong things are added to the compost pile. That’s why it’s important to know what you can safely and effectively add.

So what do you include in your compost pile? There are two types of compost materials that fill two needs of the compost pile. First, there are the wood (brown) products. Those include wood chip, straw and leaves. You can also throw those pesky weeds on the compost pile as well. These materials add pockets of space to the compost pile so air can reach everything that goes into it.

Secondly, you have the food material and grasses (greens). Grass clippings, fruit rinds, vegetable waste, and even coffee grounds make great compost. Compost needs to be moist for the bacteria to survive and digest properly. This type of material is what provides the moisture.

As long as your compost pile has air and a moderate amount of moisture, the bacteria, along with insects and worms will do their job. When these two things are absent, you get the yucky foul smell of garbage. Ever wonder why food sent to the garbage doesn’t just decompose? It’s because it doesn’t get air in the garbage pile. So be sure to turn the compost pile over every day with a rake or hoe so all the material gets air.

Compost is ready when the ingredients are not recognizable anymore. It usually takes on a dark brown color once it’s ready.

Use your leftovers and lawn trimmings to grow a beautiful lawn, flowers or vegetable garden by creating a compost pile. You can start anytime. Why not today?

Do you have any composting tips to share?

Here's to Going Green!

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Green Tips: Composting: Grass Clippings...

Posted by in Composting on April 3, 2009 | 2 Comments

Leave grass clippings on the ground, instead of bagging and disposing of them.
This can save on the number of bags being used to dispose of grass
clippings, as well as, chemical fertilizers being used.

“The average home with 4,000 square feet of lawn can reduce
fertilizer requirements by 25%, or about 3 lbs. per year, by leaving
grass clippings on the lawn after mowing. It takes more than a gallon
of diesel fuel to make 3 lbs. of fertilizer. If home owners
“grass-cycled” and reduced their fertilizer use by just 25%, it would
save 1.3 billion pounds of chemical fertilizers and more diesel fuel
than Amtrak uses in six years.” The Green Book
, Elizabeth Rogers & Thomas M. Kostigen

By using less fertilizer, you are also reducing the amount of
chemicals in the ground that can end up in ground water, lakes, oceans and rivers. It is also much safer for kids and pets, if you avoid the chemical fertilizers. When you
“grass-cycle”, the grass clippings decompose quickly and release
nutrients into the yard. Leaving the grass clippings on the ground
also reduces the lawn’s water loss, thus reducing the need to water and
fertilize your lawn. For best results, the grass should be cut when
it’s completely dry, and on the longer side, so short and dry grass clippings
are produced.

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