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December 2016
In this frenzied time of year, one of my favorite things is to sit down at night to write the thank you notes to all of you who have made year-end donations. I get to express my gratitude to each of you, not only for financial support but also for believing in YVSC and our ability to continue building a sustainable and resilient community. Your confidence in us is well placed.
In 2017, we have new and expanded projects that will address food waste, energy efficiency for low-income families, and hard-to-recycle materials. Read on for more information on what we have planned for the new year.
Happy Holidays and a Healthy 2017!
Sarah B. Jones
Executive Director
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Plant the Seeds of Sustainability in Our Community
Support YVSC with a Year-End Donation
Although things may feel uncertain for our environment nationally, one thing is certain here in the Yampa Valley--
YVSC wi
ll co
nti
nue to fight climate change locally,
no matter what happens in Washin
gton. We
will keep on bringing
our community together to increas
e energy efficiency, waste diversion and carbon sequestration--reducing our collective carbon footprint and our impact on the climate.
Will you join us to preserve the things we all love about the Yampa Valley--our heavenly snow, serene forests, pure air and clean water--so that future generations can enjoy same quality
of life tha
t we do today?
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HUGE thanks
to all of you who have already made Colorado Gives Day and year-
end donations to YVSC! Your support will engage individuals, school children,
business owners, local government and event coordinators in making life in the Yampa Valley more sustainable. Thank you!
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How Much Food Do You Waste?
YVSC Recruiting Families for Food Waste Challenge
Did you know a family of four throws away 40% of food, wasting approximately
$1,500 of food per year?
YVSC is tackling this economic and environmental issue in 2017 by partnering with the EPA's "Food: Too Good to Waste" campaign. Virginia Till from the EPA will present at Creekside Cafe on January 24 at YVSC's Talking Green to kick off YVSC's local Food Waste Challenge.
As part of the Challenge, we are recruiting 50 families to participate in a pilot program that will track preventable food waste in the home. Each family will be provided with a bucket for measuring preventable food waste, such as uneaten food from meals, spoiled produce, or leftovers that have been in the fridge too long. YVSC will also support Challenge participants with waste reduction tips, fridge signs, recipes and menu planning resources. The challenge will be 6 weeks long from February 27 - April 10. If you are "up for the challenge," please contact Cameron at cameron@yvsc.org t
o sign up today.
Will you join the food waste movement?
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Talking Green: Food Too Good to Waste
5:30 - 7 p.m.
Creekside Cafe
with Virginia Till, EPA Region 8
Wasted Food = Wasted Resources
By making small shifts in how we shop, store and pr
epare food, we can toss less, eat well, simplify our lives, save mon
ey and keep the valuable resources used to produce and distribut
e food from going to waste. Virginia Till, EPA Recycling Specialist - Sustainable Food Management Lead, will present on the EPA's Food: Too Good to Waste campaign an
d provide tools and information you can use to reduce the amount of food--and money--you throw away.
Thank you to Creekside Cafe for hosting!
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Support YVSC When You Shop for Holiday Gifts on AmazonSmile
AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support YVSC when you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at
smile.amazon.com
, Amazon will automatically donate a portion of the purchase price to YVSC, but you do need to start at
AmazonSmile
and choose YVSC as your charitable organization. Click here
for instructions and more information about the program.
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10 Tips to Making Your Holidays Easier on the Planet
In this season of celebration, decoration, gift giving and travel, Americans generate more waste and use more energy. Between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, the volume of household waste increases 25%, and 33% more food is thrown away during the holidays.
Reduce your environmental footprint this holiday season with
YVSC's Guide to Greening Your Holidays:
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Make your holiday feast a Zero Waste gathering
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Use LED holiday lights
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Cook with local food
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Buy gifts locally
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Stop junk mail
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Out with the Old, In with the New
Holiday Hard-to-Recycle Guide
If you find yourself the recipient of a brand new TV, phone or gadget this year, you'll need to recycle your old one. Below are resources for recycling electronics and other common holiday discards:
Electronics:
YVSC offers free collection boxes at several locations throughout the community for
small
electronics only. Boxes are located at the Steamboat Springs middle and high schools, the Wells Fargo bank lobby, and at YVSC's office at 141 9
th
Street, Suite 102. Items accepted
must be tablet-size or smaller
and are limited to tablets, cell phones, cell phone batteries, charging cords, MP3 players, digital cameras and inkjet and laser printer cartridges.
Larger electronics, such as laptops, computers, monitors, televisions, VCRs, desktop phones, printers, fax machines, etc., can be recycled locally for a fee at the following businesses. (Call first for items accepted, fees, location and drop-off hours.):
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G & S Mountain Recyclers (970-736-2364)
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Waste Management (970-879-2400)
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Mogil's On the Mountain (970-879-9333)
- D & D Enterprises (970-870-1767).
Options for electronics recycling outside of Routt County include the following:
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Best Buy stores throughout the Front Range accept many electronics for free, but for some items a $25 fee applies. Please check the website for fees and call the specific store to confirm drop-off details
.
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Holiday lights:
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Ace Hardware is collecting holiday lights for recycling by G & S Mountain Recyclers. The bin is located at the front of the store. No need to remove bulbs in
the light string.
Christmas trees:
After the holidays, you can recycle your tree and wreath at the Howelsen Ice Arena at 285 Howelsen Parkway from December 25 - January 31. Please remove all lights, decorations and wire.
For more information about additional hard-to-recycle items and an A - Z Recycling Location Guide (in Spanish or English), click here.
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2017 Cen$ible Energy Rebates Open January 1
The
Cen$ible Energy rebate program provides cash rebate
s for energy-
saving LED lights, four types of Energy Star-certified appliances, programmable thermostats, energy audits and post-audit air sealing. Rebates are available for Yampa Valley Electric Association members to improve energy efficiency in their homes or small businesses.
This popular and beneficial program will open again on January 1, 2017. Items purchased as far back as 6 months are eligible for rebate funding. Save your receipts and
fill out a form online
for rebates. Please visit
www.CensibleEnergy.org
for full details.
For questions, email
suzie@yvsc.org
. A list of other energy efficiency resources is available online
.
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Building/Energy Efficiency Codes Update
The Routt County Regional Building Department continues to make progress toward the proposed upgrades to 2015 energy and building codes. However, the previously proposed January 1, 2017 adoption date has been extended.
- Construction community members with comments or questions are encouraged to contact county building official Ben Grush at bgrush@co.routt.co.us;
- To review the significant code changes summary documents online, click here;
- For prior local Code workshop handouts click here and scroll to the bottom of webpage.
YVSC continues to partner with and assist Routt County officials to organize workshops and gather information as needed. To subscribe to YVSC's Green Building email list and receive updates on educational events, please email Suzie Romig at
suzie@yvsc.org
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Upcoming Events
Talking Green: Food Too Good to Waste
Tuesday, January 24
5:30 - 7 p.m.
Creekside Cafe
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Yampa Valley Sustainability Council |
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