Scrimping and Saving

Here's some advice from Sunset on trimming the waste from your lifestyle.

Get rid of junk mail: dmachoice.org; catalogchoice.org; for first class mail marked address return reguested, you can write "refuse" on the envelope. You can track the sender dwon via phone or email and thell them to take you off their list.

Websites: besimpler.com; zerowastehome.blogspot.com

Shop twice a year (April and October) at a thrift store to replace items that are discarded.

Wardrobe: 6 pairs of shoes, 7 tops, 7 pants, 2 skirts

Buy in bulk and bring your own jars, fabric bags, and canvas totes; even cheese and meat go in jars

Freeze bread

Clean up with microfiber cloths instead of paper towels

DIY Data

Good places to start before tackling a homespun, homemade project.
unconsumption.tumblr.com
scrapaction.org
dollarstorecrafts.com
destinationdiy.org (Julie Sabatier)

Conservation Corps gets large

The Conservation Corps of Long Beach expanded into Signal Hill. Yes, recycling is that big. The new Environmental Education Center at 3251 19th Street will process close to 90% of CCLB's recycling operations and host class visits as well. But not to worry, the recycling bins at 340 Nieto will still be there for all of usardent recyclers who want to turn in our bottles, paper or cans.

Scissors Cut Paper, Solar Crushes Cans

Long Beach now has solar powered trash cans! Or, to be more precise, several test models of recycling bins that have trash compactors powered by solar panels that can crush cans to 20% their normal volume. There are also receptacles for recycling paper and glass in the same unit. Since they hold more, these cans will not need to be emptied as often. The bionic dumpsters are located at the 200 block of Pine Avenue, 2nd Street and Argonne Avenue, and Atlantic Avenue and Carson Street.

Keeping it real and keeping it green

What do you do with books that are so old, torn up, or faded that no one wants them? I'm helping sort through children's books at my church and some of these dusty tomes are old enough to collect Social Security. So my question is--can they be recycled or at least can the pages be recycled? I have calls out to the experts at Associated Students Recycling Center at CSULB and Long Beach ConServation Corps. It's hard to keep my fingers crossed while I'm keying in their phone numbers, but I need all the luck I can muster.

And while we're on the subject of recycling

The H.U.B. bike Co-op is sponsoring a Recycle your Bicycle program for the next 4 Saturdays (May 22, May 29, June 5, and June 12. Bring in a bicycle in any condition and people from the H.U.B. will refurbish them or at least make use of working parts and redistribute the bikes to young people in Long Beach. The H.U.B. also needs volunteers to help with the bike repairs. You can get more information or volunteer at the drop-off points from noon to 4 pm:

El Dorado Park West – 2800 Studebaker Road
Houghton Park – 6301 Myrtle Ave.
Cesar Chavez Park – 401 Golden Ave.
McBride Park – 1550 Martin Luther King Ave.
Silverado Park – 1545 W. 31st St.

Long Beach Now Recycles Styrofoam-Woohoo!

Now, you can toss clean styrofoam cups and container into your recycling bin. Most other packing materials are accepted too, but not packing peanuts (which can be turned in to the UPS store or FedEx). Most fast food containers can be turned in as well as plastic cutlery.

Get yourself a brand new bag

City of Long Beach has joined an L.A. County campaign to encourage people to cut down on their use of plastic shopping bags called Brag about Your Bag. Bring in five plastic bags to most major food stores to recycle and they will give you a free reuseable bag and you will be entered in a sweepstakes to win other prizes. The contest runs from November 15 to December 17

Green to the Corps

Talk about a win, win situation. The Conservation Corps of Long Beach is keeping Long Beach a little greener and training promising young people in new skills that will give them a headstart in the job market for years to come. And it's been doing this for almost 25 years. Since its inception, over 200 at-risk youth have been employed here on landscape restoration and recycling projects for the city and other nonprofit agencies and thousands of school children have participated in after-school programs.

The Conservation Corps of Long Beach offers free recycling bins at its headquarters at 340 Nieto Avenue for California Redemption Value Materials--aluminum, cans, glass bottles and jars, plastics bottles and containers. They will pick up these materials from businesses and apartment houses for free and can also remove other refuse such as flattened cardboard, office paper and old newpapers for a small fee.

Show Those Trash Collectors Some Love!

Who beter to honor on Earth Day than those who keep my personal world looking clean and smelling sweet week after week--the hard-working crew at the Long Beach Enviornmental Services Bureau. Due the their efforts and those divine purple receptiacles they dish out for free to Long Beach homeowners, the city diverts 69% of its solid waste from landfills--a heaping helping more than the state-mandadated 50%. To maximize your recycling efforts, check out their list of recyclable items, including top secret info about where to get rid of your used batteries. There's also a list of drop-off centers for used motor oil there too, or you can call 800-RECYCL2 and the city will provide containers and pick up the oil for free.

When it comes to clean, Environmental Services is hard to beat. It's provided supplies for over 350 campus clean-ups at schools throughout the city, and it maintains Litterfree Long Beach to encourage neighborhoods to start their own clean-up campaigns. And as if that's not enough, 100% of Long Beach's street sweepers and the majority of its refuse trucks are powered by natural gas. AND THIS JUST IN! Long Beach is now set to use reclaimed water in its street sweepers, estimating this clever move will save about thirteen million gallons of water per year.

So here's to the unsung heroes at Environmental Services, mean, clean, and green, and never afraid to get their hands dirty.