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| Celebrate America Recycles Day |
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Nov. 15 is America Recycles Day, the only nationally-recognized day dedicated to promoting and celebrating recycling in the U.S. To mark the occasion, many Hampton Roads cities and counties will host outreach and recycling collection events this month. It's our hope that celebrating recycling and all the wonderful things it does for the region and our environment will inspire you to "recycle more, trash less" all year long. Here's a quick rundown of some of the events:
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Nov. 11 - Residents of
Hampton, James City County, Poquoson, Williamsburg
and
York County
can recycle their unwanted electronics at Cooper Elementary School in Hampton.
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Nov. 18 - In
Chesapeake
, residents can bring old electronics, household hazardous waste and documents for shredding to Tidewater Community College.
Norfolk
residents can do the same at the waste management facility on Pineridge Road.
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Throughout November - In
Suffolk
, bottle tops are being collected at various city drop-off sites to create a work of art. In
Virginia Beach
, residents can recycle electronics, metals, oyster shells and all kind of things every Tuesday through Saturday during the month of November and throughout the year at the Virginia Beach Landfill & Resource Recovery Center.
For details of any of these America Recycles Day celebrations, or to find one near you, check our "Let's Talk Green" blog post at this
link
.
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| Don't Blow It! Use our Leaf Cleanup Tips Instead |
Lovely to look at as they drift from the trees, autumn leaves left to accumulate on the ground can have negative effects on the health of Hampton Roads waterways. Leaves should never be raked or blown into the storm drain, which can cause street flooding. Once the leaves enter the storm drain and begin to decay, they also release nutrients that contribute to excess algae growth in waterways. To keep such consequences at bay, please keep these tips in mind when managing autumn's golden splendor:
- Unless leaves are near a storm drain, ditch or waterway, let the leaves "fall where they may." A leafy carpet is an important habitat and food source for wildlife including turtles, frogs, lizards and many insects. Leaves also will naturally decay and return nutrients (aka fertilizers) to your soil. Who wouldn't love no-cost, labor-free fertilizer?
- Mow over your leaves to create finely chopped mulch and then leave them in place. You'll like how easy it is to do, and your lawn will love the mulch!
- Put your fallen leaves into a compost bin. Come spring, your garden will be thankful for the extra fertile soil.
- Don't blow it! That is, don't blow your leaves into the storm drain. Check with your locality to find out how and when leaves will be collected (bagging, curbside leaf vacuuming, etc.). Then rake or bag leaves and other yard debris and place them at the curbside on your designated pickup day.
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| Make it a Clog-free Season |
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It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. You know, last year's holiday dinner? When the bounty of potato peels, turkey scraps and leftover dressing exceeded the temperament of your kitchen disposal? There is nothing merry or bright about having to call a plumber on Thanksgiving Day. But it's an all-too-often necessity when cooking fats, oils and grease get backed up in your kitchen drain.
"You have to be careful of not cramming your disposal full, or using it as a garbage can to get rid of food waste," advised Craig Blessing, owner of Blessing's Plumbing, located in Virginia Beach. "The food particles will become solid, clogging up the pipe and completely closing it off."
Blessing recommends wiping plates and serving containers with a paper towel before rinsing or washing in the sink, and to avoid putting greasy leftovers, scraps and cooking oil down the kitchen drain or disposal. Standing grease or cooking oil, for instance, can be poured into a can to freeze, before tossing safely in the trash.
And it's not just the kitchen pipes that can ruin a holiday party. The pipes connected to your commode can get stopped up with feminine hygiene products and so-called flushable wipes. Take this plumber's advice: "These are truly not flushable."
Blessing has one more reason to be careful what you put down your drains. "Plumbers often charge a holiday fee, plus a flat rate emergency fee on Thanksgiving and Christmas days," he said. "When it's all said and done, that could add up to big dollars for a homeowner - and a fight between the hosts."
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| Rockin' It! Meet the R&B Subcommittee |
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Who keeps the askHRgreen.org campaign rocking and rolling? The Recycling & Beautification (R&B) subcommittee does! It's one of four subcommittees we are featuring in
Green News
over the next few issues, providing a behind-the-scenes look at the people who power the askHRgreen.org programs and promotions. Like the other subcommittees, R&B is represented by city and county government employees who work throughout Hampton Roads, and they support a number of programs you may recognize, including:
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The Great American Cleanup - promoting local organized spring clean-up and spruce-up events associated with this national Keep America Beautiful program
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America Recycles Day - getting the word out about region-wide recycling collection events held on or around Nov. 15
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Recycle More, Trash Less - encouraging area residents to fill up their recycling containers with
more
recyclables, resulting in
less
trash and waste headed to local landfills
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Cigarette Litter Prevention - educating the region's smokers to help reverse the attitudes and behaviors about cigarette litter
In addition, the subcommittee is putting the finishing touches on a 2018 litter awareness campaign. Targeting schools, organizations and businesses, Team Up 2 Clean Up will launch soon with an online toolkit filled with downloadable rack cards, posters and how-to instructions for groups to stage their own clean-up initiatives. We'll keep you posted. In the meantime, we'll leave you with a look at one of our favorite R&B promotions, the whimsical "Recycle More, Trash Less" video that entertained online followers this past year.
Just press play!
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You know what's coming; it will soon be the time of year when evergreen trees start to appear. In our January issue, we'll have info about when you can place your used, natural Christmas trees curbside or where to take them to specified collection areas. Most city and county offices in Hampton Roads recycle the trees into mulch
that is then used to spruce up city and county median areas, parks and plantings. This is one holiday tradition we really like!
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