recycling – Page 6 – Sustainable Ewing Green Team

Recycling Double Header This Saturday, Oct 22nd

October 17, 2016October 17, 2016Leave a comment

Join the EGT for a recycling double-header this Saturday, October 22nd! Two recycling events are scheduled for the day which will help you to green your lifestyles thru recycling, the final 2016 Shred Day, and the biannual Rx Take Back Day.

You may dispose of your sensitive documents safely and securely at Ewing’s final Shred Day of the year from 9 – 1 at the municipal building. Document shredding will be done on site. This service is for Ewing residents only and proof of residency is required.

Members of the Ewing Green Team will be on hand to assist.

Date: Saturday, October 22nd
Time: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Location: Municipal Building, 2 Jake Garzio Drive

If your medicine cabinet is filled with expired drugs or medications that you no longer use, and you are concerned about detrimental environmental effects from improper disposal, here is the information that you need to properly dispose of them.

The Ewing Police Department will be participating in the DEA’s twice yearly National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day which will take place on Saturday, October 22, 2016, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. This is a great opportunity for those who missed the previous events, or who have subsequently accumulated unwanted, unused prescription drugs, to safely dispose of those medications. Just go to the Ewing Police Department at 2 Jake Garzio Drive. Enter the main door and make a left to go down the hallway to the Police Department. Ewing Police will have an officer between 10 and 2 to take the items.

All medications are accepted, prescription and over-the-counter, as well as liquids. Hypodermic needles are not accepted. The disposal is handled completely securely; all accepted medications with any labels that you leave on the containers are placed in a large cardboard box, lined with plastic. At the end of the day the contents are taken to the prosecutor’s office. The DEA will pick up and incinerate.

National Take Back Day Information

Date: Saturday, October 22nd
Time: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Location: Ewing Police Department, 2 Jake Garzio Drive

The Ecological Benefits of the Not So Perfect Yard

October 17, 2016November 30, 2016Leave a comment

by Joanne Mullowney

The annual autumn cleanup is almost upon us and we would like to suggest that you channel your inner Environmental Steward by leaf cycling. Hoarding your autumn leaf drop provides numerous benefits for your landscape. It provides raw materials for the compost pile and an insulating winter cover in the garden. It helps with soil building and moisture retention. And, not inconsequentially, it helps save taxpayer dollars by reducing the amount of resources local governments put out for fall cleanup. While you might think that this leaves the yard looking a little less than perfect, less labor may be required as we strive to become Leaf Litter Bugs.

The somewhat messy yard contributes yet another important benefit – habitat for the wild creatures that share our landscapes. Did you know that despite its not so perfect look, leaf litter provides an important foraging space for a wide variety of birds, small mammals and insects? The untrimmed winter garden invites insects to reside in native grasses or settle in hollow plant stems; while birds feed from dried seed heads.

So how do you balance a desire to have a not-so-messy yard (and not irritate the neighbors) with the needs of the interconnected web of creatures that provide biodiversity in your garden? Well, you don’t have to let your whole garden go wild; you can start out small. Just leave a section or two untrimmed or start in the backyard. Or settle some leaves under the branches of your shrubs.

You might try a combination of methods. Rake out some of the leaves from the beds that are simply too overwhelming onto the lawn. Then take your mulching mower and chop them up into small pieces. (Yes, using gas mowers is considered an unsustainable gardening practice, but consider the greater good.) Rake up the chopped leaves and place them back in the garden around shrubs and plants. Not surprisingly, they are greatly reduced in volume and contribute to a more manicured look. Do this as needed until the end of the season and the leaves will break down over the winter providing your soil with valuable nutrients all the while enhancing habitat.

Set yourself a goal of gardening more sustainably while trying to reach a balance between aesthetics and respecting the natural processes occurring in the landscape. After all, Mother Nature doesn’t have anyone carting out leaves to the curb. Our world desperately needs more environmental stewards, eco-gardeners working in harmony with nature and conserving natural resources. We ask you to become a litter bug; a Leaf Litter Bug, that is.

Ewing Green Team To Receive ANJEC 2016 Environmental Achievement Award

September 14, 2016October 17, 2016Leave a comment

The Ewing Green Team is delighted to announce that its annual Build a Scarecrow Contest will receive a 2016 Environmental Achievement Award from the Association of NJ Environmental Commissions (ANJEC). The award will be presented at the organization’s 43^rd Environmental Congress at Mercer County Community College in West Windsor on September 30^th. Accepting the award for the Ewing Green Team will be team member Lisa K Feldman, the contest’s creator.

The annual awards program recognizes successful projects by environmental commissions, nonprofit organizations and school groups that benefit the local environment. An awards committee comprised of ANJEC Trustees and staff members select the winners based on project impact, originality, educational value, innovation, and response to a need. ANJEC has been presenting the coveted annual awards since the mid-1970s.

scarecrowflyerimage — Click on the Contest flyer to access our registration form

The Build a Scarecrow Contest, now in its third year, is a unique example of combining creative place-making with recycling and recycling education. It requires that all entries be constructed of at least 80% recycled, reclaimed, and/or reused materials. According to Ms Feldman, “It’s fascinating to see how creative participants can be with old throwaway items and standard recycling plastic bags, bottles, cans, newspaper and cardboard. Our events produce more than just scarecrows; they are a day for the arts, a day for community building, and a day to keep things out of the landfill. “

The entries were judged by Major Bert Steinmann and other Township notables at the Ewing Recreation Department’s annual Trunk or Treat event. Following the awards the scarecrows are kept on display for the many people using the Community Center to enjoy during the last days of autumn. At the end of the display period participants pick up their scarecrows. Those not picked up are taken apart to be recycled.

For more information about registering to participate in this year’s Build a Scarecrow Contest, go to ewinggreenteam.org/scarecrow-contest. We hope to see you, and your scarecrow, there!

Local Business Holds Shred Day for Clients

June 21, 2016October 17, 20161 Comment

Recognizing Sustainable Business Initiatives

The EGT encourages local businesses to think greener and be greener. Special kudos go to Garry Keel, owner of Money Management Associates, LLC, a Ewing business that specializes in tax preparation and financial management, who recently thought outside the box and held his own paper shredding event for his clients. Garry encouraged his customers to drop off their sensitive documents and hired AutoShred, a Toms River paper shredding company, to shred on-site. He reported: “We shredded 5 large bins of stuff. 10 clients dropped off stuff as well as my own stuff. Very successful event and something that we will do again next spring. “

Document shredding (and subsequent recycling at paper mills) is an excellent way to contribute to waste stream reduction. It reduces the need for landfilling and incineration; prevents pollution caused by the manufacturing of products from virgin materials; decreases emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to global climate change; and conserves natural resources. According to the E.P.A. one ton of paper using recycled fiber saves 17 trees, 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space, 350 gallons of water and 100 gallons of gasoline.

We invite other Ewing businesses to share their green business practices with us.

Ewing Green Business Recognition Program

If your business has implemented changes that embrace greener, more sustainable policies and practices, we want to hear about it. Take our green business assessment and become recognized as a Ewing Green Business. Your business may already be greener than you think. Go through our checklist and discover where you stand in your quest to become a sustainable business. Recycling/waste reduction, energy and water conservation, green landscaping and transportation, and purchasing local, as well as recycled, are all elements that lead to a sustainable business.

For more information contact Evan Crumiller at 609-468-0462 or email us at ewinggreenteam@gmail.com.

Dispose of Your Unused Medications Safely on National Take Back Day

April 26, 2016October 17, 2016Leave a comment

If your your medicine cabinet is filled with expired drugs or medications that you no longer use, and you are concerned about detrimental environmental effects from improper disposal, here is the information that you need to properly dispose of them.

The Ewing Police Department will be participating in the DEA’s twice yearly National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day which will take place on Saturday, April 30, 2016, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. This is a great opportunity for those who missed the previous events, or who have subsequently accumulated unwanted, unused prescription drugs, to safely dispose of those medications. Just go to the Ewing Police Department at 2 Jake Garzio Drive. Enter the main door and make a left to go down the hallway to the Police Department. Ewing Police will have an officer between 10 and 2 to take the items.

Guidelines for Drug Disposal

If you are unable to participate on the day the FDA’s guidelines for proper drug disposal follow:

Follow any specific disposal instructions on the drug label or patient information that accompanies the medication. Do not flush prescription drugs down the toilet unless this information specifically instructs you to do so.
If no instructions are given on the drug label and no take-back program is available in your area, take them out of their original containers and mix them with an undesirable substance, such as used coffee grounds or kitty litter — to make the medication less appealing and unrecognizable — then put them in a sealable bag, empty can, or other container to prevent the medication from leaking or breaking out of a garbage bag.

You should also remove any identifying information on the label to protect your identity and privacy.

Despite the safety reasons for flushing drugs, some people are questioning the practice because of concerns about trace levels of drug residues found in surface water, such as rivers and lakes, and in some community drinking water supplies. However, the main way drug residues enter water systems is by people taking medications and then naturally passing them through their bodies. That said, the FDA does not want to add drug residues into water systems unnecessarily. The agency reviewed its drug labels to identify products with disposal directions recommending flushing or disposal down the sink. This continuously revised listing can be found at FDA’s Web page on Disposal of Unused Medicines.