Steve Rodowick

QUICK HITS:

       Elementary School Teachers; we have a supply of Learning to Recycle with Terry the Trashman books for use in your classroom.  This book, written by a north state Trashman, meets California standards in grades K through 5^th and teaches the basics of recycling to our young readers.  To request copies for your classroom contact us at recycle@buttecounty.net.

       The Durham Recreation & Park District has significantly expanded its recycling program throughout the park system.  Big blue recycling containers are now placed at many locations for picnickers and athletes to recycle beverage containers and more.  Proceeds from the recycled materials will help support the Durham Dolphins Swim Team.

The Paradise Recreation & Park District has recently been awarded a grant to purchase dual recycling/trash receptacles to be placed throughout the ridge park system.  Look for these containers to start showing up at park sites throughout the summer. 

In this issue:

County News – Butte County receives grant to cleanup major illegal dump sites.

Closing the Loop –   A guide to buying recycled content products 

More County News –  Ag oil recycling comes to Biggs

Recycling Profile – Our friend the worm

County News:  Butte County awarded Farm & Ranch Cleanup Grant

Butte County has recently been awarded a $44,000 grant by CalRecycle to clean up four rural properties in an area just west of Bangor.  These four privately owned sites are strewn with over 3,600 waste tires, over 60 cubic yards of household trash and two abandoned mobile homes.  The tires create a safety hazard to the cattle that graze there, a potential breeding habitat for mosquitoes and a fire hazard.  

Scot Johnson, Butte County Solid Waste Code Enforcement Officer, has been working with the property owners of these sites to gain State aid in helping to cleanup years of illegally dumped material.  Owners of isolated areas such as these often fall victim to unscrupulous haulers who take payment to discard trash but never seem to make it to the landfill. 

Scot recommends always using a state registered tire hauler if you need a large quantity of tires removed.  Also, if contracting to have general trash removed, insist on a receipt from a permitted landfill or transfer station before final payment is made.

Closing the Loop: A guide to buying recycle content products

(From U.S. EPA)  Creating a strong market for recycled products is key to completing the recycling process or closing the loop. Consumers close the loop when they purchase products made from recycled materials. Governments and businesses can promote buying recycled products through their own purchasing programs and guidelines.  

Identifying Recycled-Content Products

Product labels can be confusing to consumers interested in buying recycled because of the different recycling terminology used. The following definitions might help clarify any uncertainty regarding manufacturers’ claims. For more detailed guidance, view a summary of the Federal Trade Commission’s brochure Sorting Out Green Advertising Claims or their Official Guidance for the use of environmental marketing claims.

  Recycled-content products are made from materials that would otherwise have been discarded. Items in this category are made totally or partially from material destined for disposal or recovered from industrial activities—like aluminum soda cans or newspaper. Recycled-content products also can be items that are rebuilt or remanufactured from used products such as toner cartridges or computers.

  Postconsumer content refers to material from products that were used by consumers or businesses and would otherwise be discarded as waste. If a product is labeled “recycled content,” the rest of the product material might have come from excess or damaged items generated during normal manufacturing processes—not collected through a local recycling program.

  Recyclable products can be collected and remanufactured into new products after they’ve been used. These products do not necessarily contain recycled materials and only benefit the environment if people recycle them after use. Check with your local recycling program to determine which items are recyclable in your community.     

More County news: Agricultural Oil recycling comes to Biggs

Butte County Public Works Department in partnership with the City of Biggs, has opened a new south county location to collect waste agricultural oil. It is located at 2865 West Biggs-Gridley Road at the City of Biggs Public Works yard. Hours are Monday thru Friday from 7:30 to 3:00. Now farmers and ranchers in the south portion of Butte County have a convenient location to deposit waste oil and filters for recycling.

This service is made available at no cost to the Ag community.  Farmers and ranchers can bring up to 55 gallons of waste oil per trip to the recycling facility. 

This program was made possible by a grant from the California Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery. (CalRecycle)   For more information call 879-2352.

Recycling Profile – Our friend the Worm

Collectively they recycle more greenwaste and food waste than all recycling programs in the country combined.  They started recycling eons before sustainability was fashionable.  They work for free and are highly productive and prolific.  They are man’s best friend.  (Sorry Fido)  They are worms.

The role that worms play in the breakdown of organic materials was first documented by Charles Darwin in 1881.  However it was not until later in the 20^th century that worms’ contribution to curbing the buildup of greenwaste and enhancing soil composition was fully realized.  Vermicompost is a nutrient rich fertilizer that has been shown to suppress disease in crop plants.  Vermicompost is probiotic, and stimulates the growth of microorganisms, unlike traditional pesticides, which are antibiotic and inhibit such growth. Vermicompost works to create a stronger plant whereas pesticides just kill the pathogen.

Today, vermicomposting has become a highly utilized means to process greenwaste from municipal curbside greenwaste programs and create a superior soil amendment that is in high demand, particularly in agricultural areas such as Butte County.  They also are effective in small backyard composting and under-the-kitchen-sink food waste composters.

If you are interested in starting your own vermicomposting project, there are a number if resources available to help you get started.   Here are some links for more information:

http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/organics/worms/              http://compost.css.cornell.edu/worms/basics.html

http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_h/h-164.pdf                     http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/explore/reduce/worms.htm

Recycling Road Show

Would your club, classroom or organization like a presentation about current trends in recycling and waste management?  Our staff will speak at your school or function about local recycling and waste issues and be happy to answer questions about local and national waste trends.  Call 879-2352.

Coming in the Summer 2012 Issue:

• California’s new Mandatory Commercial Recycling Program
• Clean Boating: Oil and Water really don’t mix.
• Neal Road Recycling & Waste Facility’s Landfill Gas to Energy Project
• The new Paint Product Stewardship program

Questions, comments, suggestions?  Email us at recycle@buttecounty.net.  We will try to respond as soon as possible.

 Consider the trees and your tired, over-worked printer.  Please don’t print this newsletter.

The Spring 2011
Butte County Recycling E-Newsletter
has arrived !

It is available at :  www.RecycleButte.net

Spring has sprung!  Time to clear out the garage, get the yard in shape and clean up that cold weather grime that has collected over the last few wet weather months.  In this issue we will discuss lower impact ways to accomplish your annual spring cleanings tasks.  We can call it Greening your Spring Cleaning.

IN THIS ISSUE:

In the Home: Greening your Spring Cleaning.

Special Waste: Batteries, batteries and more batteries.

County News: Neal Road Recycling & Waste Facility update

Recycling Profile: The Habitat for Humanity RE-Store

Do you have an idea for a recycling subject?  Or would you like to submit an article for this E-newsletter?  Send in your ideas to: recycle@buttecounty.net.

Backyard Composting Guides are available upon request.  Email us at recycle@buttecounty.net or pick up a copy at the County Public Works office at 7 County Center Drive in Oroville or at the Neal Road Recycling & Waste Facility.

April 22^nd is the 41^st Anniversary of Earth Day. We can do a lot to make sure the Butte County portion of the earth (and beyond) is well cared for.  Locally, we can minimize the waste we produce and reuse or recycle what we can.  We can also adopt our favorite county road or volunteer to clean up some public space.  Contact us at recycle@buttecounty.net for information on Butte County cleanup programs.

Steve Rodowick
Butte Recycling Coordinator