Happy Thanksgiving!
Check out
this article
for tips on how to make this year's feast more environmentally-friendly.
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Council Meeting: 2017-18 GHG Inventories, GHG Targets & Accounting, and More
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Tuesday, December 3, 6:30pm
(exact time of item TBD)
City Hall Council Chambers,
500 Castro St., Mountain View
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Please join us! We will be presenting our final 2017 and preliminary 2018 community greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories to the City Council. We will also be making recommendations for updating our GHG reduction targets, considering consumption-based emissions, using carbon offsets, and setting a carbon neutrality target. The meeting agenda, which includes the two Council reports (Items 8.1 and 8.2), is available
here.
We hope to see you on December 3 to provide your input or just listen to the discussion.
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Energy and Water Saving Rebates for Multi-Family Property Owners
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Monday, December 16, 10am-11:30am
City Hall Council Chambers,
500 Castro St., Mountain View
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Attention multi-family property owners and managers! Join BayREN for a FREE workshop to learn more about rebates for multi-family building upgrades, no-cost consulting to find the best energy and water savings, and upcoming regulations. The workshop includes a presentation and a Q&A session for you to ask experts about your particular situation. Learn more
here and register for the workshop
here.
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Income qualified residents who ow
n a model year 2004 or older vehicle can receive up to
$9,500
to retire their old vehicle and purchase or lease a new or used electric vehicle. Funding is available for electric vehicle charging equipment as well. You can also get for a pre-loaded Clipper card (up to $7,500) for turning in your old vehicle. Incentive options vary depending on income and zip code.
Check to see if you are
eligible for the Clean Cars for All program and apply
HERE.
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SunShares EV and Solar Energy Partnership --
Extended!
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Is 2019 your year to switch to solar energy or buy an electric vehicle (EV)?
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Due to popular demand, the deadline for the Bay Area SunShares program has been extended to
November 30, 2019
! If you haven’t already, sign up at
www.bayareasunshares.org
before November 30 to access discounts on installing solar and purchasing an EV.
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When you sign up, you receive:
- A free, no obligation solar evaluation of your home by a pre-vetted solar installer.
- A 15% discount on installing solar.
- Access to discounts on EV and battery storage purchases.
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Are you a
renter
? SunShares can help as well, by providing information about your clean energy options.
If you’ve ever thought about installing solar power or buying an EV, but don’t know where to start, SunShares is here to help!
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We know that many of you take small and large actions to improve your lives, your community, and the planet, and we want to highlight those stories!
One Mountain View resident told us about his recently-completed home remodel to make it
carbon neutral
. This involved adding insulation, eliminating natural gas hookups, adding an outlet for an EV charger, and replacing his old gas water heater with a
heat pump water heater
(see image)
. Way to go!
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Have you recently made energy efficiency upgrades to your home, incorporated a new zero waste habit into your life, or found an alternate mode of transport that you love? Send a photo and/or a short blurb to
sustainability@mountainview.gov
and we may feature it in an upcoming newsletter!
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Sustainable Repurposing with FabMo
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Looking to take one new action to fight climate change? Something that people may not think about when considering greenhouse gas emissions is textile waste. As fabrics
slowly degrade in landfills, they release methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
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We recently spoke with Holly Welstein from FabMo, a creative reuse non-profit that has been based in Mountain View for the last 10+ years. FabMo collects fabric scraps from showrooms around the Bay Area that would otherwise be headed for the landfill, and offers them back to the public for various uses. Repurposing these fabrics into bags, crafts, or patches gives these fabric scraps a new life, avoids methane emissions, and leaves you with fun new items. Check out FabMo’s
Facebook page for some project ideas.
P.S. Our Sustainability Fellow, Kira, attended a FabMo event at the Mountain View Public Library in October. She had never used a sewing machine before or even sewn much at all, but was able to make a bowl cozy with the assistance of the folks from FabMo and the library!
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This section will share program updates, upcoming events, and all news related to Zero Waste. Contact Recycling & Zero Waste staff with any questions about the Recycling & Zero Waste program at
recycle@mountainview.gov or (650) 903-6311.
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Zero Waste Plan Adopted by Council
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City Council approved the Zero Waste Plan at their October 29, 2019 meeting. The Plan describes actions the City can take to meet a 90% diversion from landfill goal by 2030. Development of the Plan involved input and valuable feedback obtained from stakeholder interviews, a public workshop, and a City Council study session. There are 39 initiatives outlined in the final Plan, ranging from short- to long-term through 2030. You can read the full plan
here
.
The Zero Waste Plan will serve as a guide for the preparation of new collection, processing, and landfill disposal service agreements to replace the City’s current agreements, which expire in 2021. At the October 29 meeting, Council directed staff to negotiate with the current service providers (Recology for collection, SMaRT Station for processing, and Waste Management Kirby Canyon for disposal) to continue services after 2021. Staff will report back to Council with an update on negotiations in June 2020.
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Give the Gift of Good Times
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Think outside of the box this holiday season! Instead of buying stuff that eventually ends up in the landfill, gift your friends and family experiences that inspire memories that last forever. Here are some ideas to give a gift of good times:
For the performance lover:
get tickets to a concert, theatre, or comedy show. Some symphonies even perform movie soundtracks in concert.
For the adventurer
: purchase an annual State or National Park pass, or book a campground for a weekend.
For the sports fan:
get tickets for their favorite team, or to a minor league or college game.
For the exhibit lover:
buy a pass to a local museum, or get tickets to pop-up exhibit events.
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Reduce Your Holiday Food Waste
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Whether you’re sticking to traditional holiday meals or getting creative in the kitchen this year, you can minimize your food waste and keep your friends and family well-fed by following these tips.
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- Freeze vegetable peels and meat bones to make stock. Keep a bag or container of scraps in the freezer as you prepare meals throughout the holidays, then use to make stock or broth for a homemade soup.
- Roast leftover or soft veggies and add to soups or sides.
- Use up overripe fruit by baking it into a pie or bread.
- Ask guests to RSVP to get an accurate headcount to shop and cook for. Use this guest-imator to calculate how much food you need.
- Encourage guests to bring their own reusable containers to take leftovers home.
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Holiday Collection Reminders
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Recycle your holiday tree!
Single-family homes with individual cart service may set out holiday trees on their compost day between December 26, 2019 and January 17, 2020. Multi-family homes with shared trash and recycling containers must pre-arrange a one-time free tree collection on their property. Property managers can set up collection with Recology at (650) 967-3034. Visit
mountainview.gov/holidays
for more information about holiday tree recycling.
There will be no trash, recycling, or compost collection services on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day. If your regular collection day falls
on or after
the holiday, collection will be delayed by
one day
that week. Use the
Collection Widget
to check your holiday collection schedule.
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Dirty Dozen Item of the Month: Ceramics and Glassware
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The
Dirty Dozen
captures 12 types of items that can mislead anyone trying to recycle right. These items seem recyclable, but actually contaminate the recycling process. Keep these items out of your recycling cart.
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Ceramics and glassware are not recyclable because of the materials they are made from. Ceramics are made of stone, not glass. Different types of glass are made using different chemical recipes of sand, soda ash, and additives. Regional factories in our area, while capable of recycling glass bottles and jars, cannot recycle other types of glass, such as drinking glasses, cookware, window panes, and light bulbs. Wrap broken glassware and ceramic items with paper and put them in the
trash
. If the items are in usable condition,
donate
them to a reuse organization such as
Habitat for Humanity
or
Goodwill
.
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- Saturday, December 7, 9am-12pm
- Mitchell Park Library, El Palo Alto Room, 3700 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto
Interested in learning more about capturing rainwater with rain gardens, rain barrels and cisterns? This can help to conserve water and reduce runoff. At this class, you’ll learn about designing and maintaining these systems, as well as what rebates and resources are available to you. This class is FREE and open to the public! Learn more and sign up
here.
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- Sunday, December 8, 12pm-4pm
- Sunnyvale Public Library, 665 W. Olive Ave., Sunnyvale
Don’t throw it out! Fix broken appliances and other household items with help from volunteers at the next Repair Café. This helps keep items out of the landfill and limits demand for new resources. Learn more
here.
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- Thursday, December 12, 12pm-6pm
- Friday, December 13, 8:30am-6pm
- Saturday, December 14, 9am-11am
- 970 Terra Bella Ave., Suite 5, Mountain View
Thinking about making a new tote bag? Have a hole in your jeans to patch? Feeling crafty for the holiday season? Find fabrics for your creative reuse at FabMo’s December selection events. There is no charge for the fabrics, but donations are welcomed. Appointments can be scheduled
here, but are not needed after 5pm or on Saturdays.
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- Saturday, December 21, 11am-12:30pm
- Bike Fix-It Station outside Mountain View Public Library, 585 Franklin St., Mountain View
Have something wrong with your bike that you want to fix? Want to learn more about general bike maintenance? The Mountain View Public Library is hosting a FREE drop-in bike clinic. Use the tools provided and get help from a professional bike mechanic. Learn more
here.
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Want to stay updated on more Sustainability news and local events? Follow us on Facebook!
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sustainability@mountainview.gov
www.mountainview.gov/sustainability
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