This Saturday,  support a great cause while getting rid of all those refundable bottles and cans cluttering up your garage!

Every year, the Milton Community Youth Coalition sponsors a week-long volunteering program for Milton High School students called Alternative Spring Break (ASB). ASB is a focused community service project that builds leadership skills as well as providing the ability to learn new skills and build new friendships. About 35 students apply annually, with just 12 selected for each trip.

This year, Milton ASB students will help rebuild Joplin, Missouri, which was devastated by EF-5 tornadoes in May 2011.

ASB participants conduct fundraising activities to cover the expenses for the trip, and CSWD is happy to host bottle drives at the Milton Drop-Off Center on Saturday, February 25, and Saturday, March 10 to help fund this worthy cause. Both drives will take place during regular DOC hours:  8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

If you represent a not-for-profit organization that would benefit from a Drop-Off Center bottle drive, please contact Amy McVey at 802-872-8100 x220, or send her an email via our Contact Form. Just choose the “Request a bottle drive” option from the drop-down list.

For more information about Milton ASB, see the Milton Community Youth Coalition website.

All CSWD facilities will be closed Monday, February 20, in observance of Presidents’ Day. Regular schedules will resume on Tuesday, February 21.

This includes trash and recycling Drop-Off Centers in Burlington, Essex, Hinesburg, Milton, Richmond, South Burlington, and Williston, as well as CSWD administrative offices and Green Mountain Compost.

The Materials Recovery Facility will be operating on a normal schedule.

CSWD does not pick up trash or recycling. Residents should contact their hauler or Burlington Public Works (802-863-9094) with questions about holiday schedules.

Ever think of your recycling bin as a love letter? In honor of Valentine’s Day, send a message of love to Planet Earth by filling your recycling bin rather than your trash can this week. At the end of the week, you will be amazed at how little trash you have to send to the landfill. If you’re confused about what goes in your bin, here’s a little primer:

Plastic food & beverage containers: bottles, dairy tubs, jugs, plastic take-out/leftover containers — just be sure to rinse out any leftover food. NO-NO’s: NO paper milk/juice cartons, NO juice/soy boxes, NO Styrofoam.

Metal food & beverage containers: cans, pie tins, aerosol cans  — all should be empty and rinsed out NO-NO’s: NO non-food/beverage metal objects. Recycle these FREE at CSWD Drop-Off Centers.

Glass bottles & jars: Rinse ‘em out! NO-NO’s: NO dishes, NO windows, NO other glass household items.

Paper: Junk mail, office paper, cardboard, dry-food boxes (cereal, crackers, etc.). NO-NO’s: NO Waxy paper inner-bags, NO plastic/wax-coated paper such as frozen/fridge food boxes or milk/juice cartons, NO wet or food-soiled paper.

If you would like more information, please call our Hotline at 872-8111, send us an email, or visit our online recycling page or visit our cool A-Z List, where you can enter the name of whatever you’re trying to get rid of and we’ll let you know if there are options for reuse or recycling to keep it out of the landfill!

The art is in, the judging is tomorrow, and this Saturday ALL the amazing Creative ReUse Showcase artwork will be on view at Adams Farm Market at 986 Old Stage Road in Williston from noon to 3:00.

More than 50 works of reuse art will be on display from students representing seven Chittenden County High Schools:

Champlain Valley Union
Colchester
Essex
Mount Mansfield Union
Rice Memorial
Rock Point School
South Burlington

Come see how these creative and crafty students are helping starve our landfills by creating art that is inspiring, thought-provoking, and even useful!

Organized by the Chittenden Solid Waste District, the Showcase aims to promote recycling and waste reduction throughout the community. When we see art made from items that most of us would have thrown in the trash can without a second thought, it helps us realize that, in many cases, waste is a choice we make without even thinking.

If you miss the Open House, there’s still time to catch the show:

March 1 through 27: Category winners and other selected Showcase works will be on display at Frog Hollow, Vermont State Craft Center, on Church Street in Burlington.

March 27, 6 to 7pm: Public reception and Awards Ceremony at Frog Hollow.

Many thanks to these Showcase sponsors for their continued support!

Adams Orchard Farm Market
Advance Music Center
Bolton Valley Resort
Burlington City Arts
Boutiliers Art Center
Casella Waste Management
ECCO Clothing Store
Frog Hollow, Vermont State Craft Gallery
NRG Systems
The Outdoor Gear Exchange
Small Dog Electronics

CSWD is teaming up with UVM Recycling and UVM Eco-Reps to present a free showing of the movie “Bag It” (is your life too plastic?).

Try going a day without plastic. Plastic is everywhere and infiltrates our lives in unimaginable and sometimes frighten­ing ways. In this touching and often flat-out-funny film, we follow “everyman” Jeb Berrier, who is admittedly not a “tree hugger,” as he embarks on a global tour to unravel the complexities of our plastic world.

What starts as a film about plastic bags evolves into a wholesale investigation into plastic and its affect on our waterways, oceans, and even our own bodies. We see how our crazy-for-plastic world has finally caught up to us and what we can do about it. Today. Right now.

In Chittenden County, you have lots of options for recycling plastic bags, but your blue bin is not one of them! The best option for reducing our dependence on plastic is to think “upstream” and always choose durable, reusable items instead of disposables whenever possible. Examples are everywhere: Washable fabric bags instead of single-use plastic; reusable water bottles (filled from the tap) instead of single-use bottled water; travel mugs for coffee and tea instead of single-use paper cups; durable, washable utensils for events instead of disposable plastic utensils. The list can go on and on, limited only by your imagination and resourcefulness!

If you do use plastic bags for your groceries — who hasn’t left their reusable bags in the trunk? — please bring those bags back to the grocery store. Those bags will either get recycled into new plastic bags, or they’ll be used to make composite lumber for things like decking, picnic tables, benches, and playgrounds.

When you  go to the “Bag It” showing, be sure to ask about UVM’s bottled water ban.  The Catamounts will become one of the first institutions nationwide to end the sale of bottled water on campus and mandate that one-third of drinks offered in vending machines be healthy options. The decision marks the advent of a long-awaited systematic sustainable beverage policy after years of lobbying by students and the greater campus community.

Bag It Movie Showing Details

WHEN: Thursday, February 9, 7 p.m.
WHERE: University of Vermont, Main Campus, Lafayette Hall, Room L207. 94 University Place, Burlington VT (east side of the UVM Green). Parking at Visitor Lot at Top of College Street
HOW MUCH: It’s free! So are the raffle prizes! Sign up for a chance to win a backyard SoilSaver compost bin and other prizes.
MORE INFO: See our Events Happening Now page.

If it has a triangle with a number in it, doesn’t that mean it’s recyclable??

We get this question all the time, and not just about  Styrofoam™.

Today, though, we’ll focus on this seemingly inescapable material that is technically known as “expanded polystyrene,” and which has been in use in the United States since the 1930′s.

Polystyrene symbol

Without getting all chemistry-nerd on you, we’ll just say that polystyrene is a type of plastic made from petroleum. This kind of plastic is labeled with the symbol you see here. Unfortunately, just because a plastic item has a “chasing arrows” triangle and a number, that doesn’t mean it’s recyclable everywhere! We’ll get to that in a minute.

In its basic form, polystyrene is a hard, fairly rigid, often clear plastic that’s used for all kinds of products: plastic cutlery, CD jewel cases, license plate frames, smoke detector housing, and even Petri dishes–to name just a very few. With a little more chemical wizardry, this same plastic can be expanded until it is 98% air, resulting in expanded polystyrene (EPS).

Most folks know EPS by its DOW Chemical brand name: Styrofoam™. The reason EPS has become so ubiquitous is that it has great insulation and cushioning properties, and it can be molded into just about any shape you might need.

The problem–from a recycling perspective–is that it’s tough to accumulate enough of this air-filled material to make it worth collecting, sorting, and marketing for sale. Plus, because it’s 98% air, you’ve got to have a special machine that will heat the material sufficiently to “densify” it into compact blocks. Otherwise, it just doesn’t make make economic or environmental sense to ship it hundreds (or thousands) of miles to markets that will reprocess it into a form that can be manufactured into new products.

Phew! Now you know why Styrofoam™ and EPS in all its forms can NOT be recycled in Chittenden County. There are a very few areas in the U.S. that are finding ways to recycle this material, but they are big cities with different economics.

If you are really committed to keeping your EPS out of the landfill, check out the mail-in option offered by Recycle Tech.

Otherwise, please dispose of this material with your trash, NOT with your recycling.

Thanks!

Michele Morris, CSWD Business Outreach Coordinator

The deadline for entries into the 16th Annual CSWD Creative ReUse Showcase is JANUARY 26, not February, as previously posted! If you are a Chittenden County high school student (or know one), don’t miss out on this opportunity for prizes, public acclaim and the chance to sell your work of art!

The deadline for entries into the 16th Annual CSWD Creative ReUse Showcase is February 26, right around the corner! If you are a Chittenden County high school student (or know one), don’t miss out on this opportunity for prizes, public acclaim and the chance to sell your work of art!

Even better, you’ll be helping starve our landfills by creating art that could be useful, inspiring and thought-provoking.

Just be sure to follow the instructions and submit the easy online entry form on the CSWD Creative ReUse Showcase page and your artwork will be entered.

Organized by the Chittenden Solid Waste District, the Showcase aims to promote recycling and waste reduction throughout the community. When we see art made from items that most of us would have thrown in the trash can without a second thought, it helps us realize that, in many cases, waste is a choice we make without even thinking.

Many thanks to these Showcase sponsors for their continued support!

Adams Orchard Farm Market
Advance Music Center
Bolton Valley Resort
Burlington City Arts
Boutiliers Art Center
Casella Waste Management
ECCO Clothing Store
Frog Hollow, Vermont State Craft Gallery
NRG Systems
The Outdoor Gear Exchange
Small Dog Electronics

All CSWD facilities will be closed Monday, January 16, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Regular schedules will resume on Tuesday, January 17.

This includes trash and recycling Drop-Off Centers in Burlington, Essex, Hinesburg, Milton, Richmond, South Burlington, and Williston, as well as CSWD administrative offices and Green Mountain Compost.

The Materials Recovery Facility will be operating on a normal schedule.

CSWD does not pick up trash or recycling. Residents should contact their hauler or Burlington Public Works (802-863-9094) with questions about holiday schedules.

Have you added de-cluttering to your list of New Year’s resolutions? Here’s a quick list to help you fulfill that resolution so you can get on to more interesting ones, like getting outside to play more and spending more time with friends and family.

- CSWD’s A-Z List: Just type in the item or material you want to get rid of and you’ll find the best way to do it here. If it doesn’t appear, try the search box located near the top of each web page. Still not getting the info you need? Call or e-mail our Hotline (872-8111; info@cswd.net).

- CSWD’s ReUse Page: Here you’ll find companies, organizations, and groups interested in receiving a variety of items still in good condition that you may no longer need: household goods, architectural and renovation materials, sporting goods, clothing … you name it!

-  CSWD’s Drop-Off Centers: We take lots more than trash and blue-bin recyclables at our 7 Drop-Off Centers located in Burlington, Essex, Hinesburg, Milton, Richmond, South Burlington, and Williston. Chittenden County residents and businesses from any town can use any location. Items we accept include appliances, batteries, books, cardboard, cell phones, clothing, electronics, fluorescent bulbs & tubes, food for composting, yard & garden trimmings, leaves, mercury products, motor oil & filters, propane tanks, scrap metal, tires, reusable items, and more. Fees, limits, and specifications apply to certain items. We also accept reusable items at our ReUse Zones (at the discretion of CSWD staff).

- CSWD’s Environmental Depot: We accept hazardous leftovers from households and qualifying businesses. Materials accepted include automotive supplies, hobby supplies, health & beauty aids, home improvement supplies, household cleaners, garden supplies, and more. Bring your leftover latex paint and it might even be reblended into fresh, premium paint called Local Color, made and sold — 2 gallons for under $20! — right here at the Depot. We accept hazardous materials from households at no charge; some fees apply to businesses. The Depot accepts materials only from Chittenden County residents and businesses.

- Electronics: Thanks to the Vermont E-Cycles program, most Vermonters and some businesses qualify for FREE recycling of their electronics! That means your computer and peripherals and your old TV may cost you nothing to recycle. Visit CSWD’s Electronics Recycling Page to find out if you and your electronics qualify for this program.

- CSWD’s Green Mountain Compost facility: Formerly known as Intervale Compost Products, we relocated from Burlington’s Intervale to the foothills of the Green Mountains. We’re working harder and smarter than ever to offer you an alternative to throwing what we consider a valuable resource — your kitchen scraps — into the landfill. Bring kitchen scraps to any Drop-Off Center or to Green Mountain Compost, and we’ll take them at no charge. You will cut the amount of trash you toss out by about a third, which means you could save money on your trash bill! We’ll even give you a free compost pail and transport bucket if you want to give it a try. Stop by any Drop-Off Center and ask for one!

- CSWD’s Hotline: CSWD staff is available Monday-Friday, 9-4, to answer your questions. Here’s how to contact us: Call 802-872-8111 or E-mail info@cswd.net. Go ahead — try to stump us!