Getting Green Gets Easier

For those of you out there that have not started recycling, your neighbors and community are making it easier to start.

If easier, contact the Gaithersburg Public Works Department  at 301 258-6370 or email them at publicworks@gaithersburgmd.gov

We hear so much about the need to recycle and yet the question of why we should may deserve an answer. Realize that you are paying for this service as part of your local taxes. Realize too, that according to 2006 EPA statistics, there are only 8,660 curbside recycling programs nationwide. You live in an area that considers recycling important enough to have your tax dollars go to such a service.

It may seem easier to throw out all the packaging that our food and consumer goods come in, into the garbage bin. Yet, if we throw away plastics, paper, aluminums, and glass in the trash, we will landfills up with materials that can be re-used and that not decompose. If incinerated many of these products let out harmful gases into the air.

 According to the Environmental Protection’s Agency website, the reasons why one should recycle are:

• Recycling reduces our reliance on landfills and incinerators.
• Recycling protects our health and environment when harmful substances are removed from the waste stream.
• Recycling conserves our natural resources because it reduces the need for raw materials.

 For those that find getting all recycled bits together a hassle, the City of Gaithersburg rules make it easier these days. You do not have to separate your items; just put it all in your recycle bins. So, on Thursday mornings, you should recycle the following:  

(Remember to put the bins out by 7 am) Leaves and trimmings need to go in paper bags…

The list of what can be recycled has grown.

YOU CAN RECYCLE THE FOLLOWING:

ALUMINUM FOIL (pie plates, foil)

Any aluminum or steel food beverage cans. Examples: soft drink, beer, and juice cans; tuna, bean, and vegetable cans; pet food cans, etc...

GLASS - YES to Spaghetti sauce jars, pickle, mayonnaise etc, beer, wine, etc.

NO to lids, NO LIGHT BULBS, No broken glass. No drinking glasses, no ceramics. 

PLASTICS.

• Narrow-neck plastic bottles that contained food, drink and household products
  examples: milk, juice, water, syrup, vegetable oil, salad dressing, cleaning, detergent and shampoo/conditioner bottles
• Plastic food-grade tubs and lids
  examples: margarine/butter tubs, cottage cheese, yogurt, sour cream, mayonnaise, whipped topping, peanut butter and deli containers, and prescription bottles
• Plastic pails/buckets
  examples: ice cream, detergent, pet food and kitty litter containers
  
  • Plastic flower pots
  
  • Plastic beverage cups

PAPER- Newspaper, magazines, cardboard, all ok. Remember to break down the boxes…

Please note the following:

• Labels and plastic rings around the neck of the bottles are okay.
• Please empty and rinse all containers.
• There's no longer any need to check for the neck or the resin number (the number inside the "recycling" triangle").

The City of Gaithersburg does not  accept

• Any plastic bottle or container that held hazardous automotive or garden products examples: motor oil, antifreeze and pesticides
• Plastic wrap and bags
• Polystyrene and Styrofoam products

OTHER/ CLASSES- GREEN EVENTS;
Beyond The Walls Nature Awareness Programs Summer Schedule

Why: Reconnect with nature while building healthy brains and bodies in a safe and enjoyable setting with rich and educational programs.

Who: Children ages 4 to 9

Where: Seneca Creek State Park in Gaithersburg MD at the Bobwhite Pavilion

When: 9:00am to 3:00pm Monday through Friday

Cost: $450.00 for each two week session + one time $50.00 materials fee

How: Send a deposit of $225. for each session by June 1st, 2009.The balance is due on the first day of the first session your child attends.

What:*Fishing *Arts & Crafts *Tracking * Games *Bird Watching *Songs & Stories

* Drama *Shelter Building * *Scout Skills * Camouflage *Mammals

*Plants & Trees * Insect Investigations *Reptiles & AmphibiansWho: Children ages 4 to 9

Instructors: Amy Beam has 33 years of experience in preschool education and 29 years of experience in Montessori education. She is a board member of Ancestral Knowledge, and is a staff member of the Vermont Wilderness School’s popular Art of Mentoring course. She is the owner/operator of Camp Shady Grove and she developed and coordinates the Beyond The Walls programs.

Ximena Daza is a teaching assistant at the Jefferson School. She holds a Master’s of Science degree in Natural Resources Wildlife Management and is a Field Biologist. Principal researches are in ecology and management of freshwater turtles in the Amazon and Orinoco basin rivers. She served as a public education specialist in researching and teaching seminars related to biology, ecology, and conservation. She is the mother of a nature-loving five-year-old boy!