Just recently, I was having a highly intelligent conversation (yeah! right!) with Phil Penko (building his own compost bin) and Deb Mall (looking for worms for her “food” only compost bin) and I realized it was a good time to encourage all of you to compost. IT”S  SPRING. Composting is fun, a great learning tool for your children, and adds an incredible array of nutrients for your soil. Compost bins are best when they can heat up. Place piles or bins on the ground (so the wormies and buggies can do the work for you) and place in the sun. Remember to water the pile often. Without heat, air and water the compost won’t do its magic. See lots of good information at ..\..\3r\ingarden\composting.html

   The Bin (I’ll give you choices of bins and at the end the “How To”)
Inexpensive Option: 
Big Bin – Find 8 wooden pallets. Make a box by connecting four pallets. Allow one edge to be able to swing open. Make a second bin by doing the same thing.
Small Bin – Take a metal or plastic garbage can, whichever size fits your needs (10 gallon or more because it needs to heat up and needs volume to do that). Dig a hole about 18” or 24”.  Cut the bottom out of the can. It doesn’t have to be perfectly cut, but it will make it easier to lift if the cut is near the edges when you go to lift the container out and turn the material.  Drill small holes all around the sides to allow air circulation. Place the bin in the hole.
OR  Expensive Option:
   Purchase a nice sleek recycling bin at your local gardening store or at the Last Chance Mercantile www.mrwmd.org. Its easy to use but just remember to add water and aerate it as much as possible.
   Just Food: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/county/smith/mg/IDEAWorms.pdf  This site tells it all.  Check it out. You’ll have to buy your worms OR, depending on the demand, ask me and I’ll give you some. I have maybe 40 gazillion.  The smaller the pieces that you put in your bin the faster they can break them down to make worm castings.  See http://www.howtocompost.org/info/info_wormfaq.asp Remember that the liquid that comes from this material is incredibly rich and should be used one part worm liquid to 10 parts water.  Water anything you like.

The "How To" Recipe
   Layers, layers, layers. Dry then wet. Food and grass are considered anaerobic (very wet mat-
erial). You need to make sure you break up your grass trimmings with oak leaves and/or strips of newspaper or shredded paper.  If your bin is too wet from food, grass, ice plant, you will get lots of annoying flies. They do no harm but they could discourage the light of heart. You want all the microorganisms to do their thing.  You can even throw in those slimy slugs.  Eucalyptus Leaves: The information is not clear but some say to leave this material out of your bin. The oils do not break down.  Oak leaves, pine needles, maple, and others are great to use.
   TURN YOUR COMPOST MATERIAL (it adds needed aeration). I use the lazy approach, which is throw it in, layer the material, water it and 6 months later harvest the stuff. But, Rose Dickson turns hers every week (bless that woman) and can use her compost pretty darn quickly. Rumor has it:  IN TWO WEEKS!
   WATER YOUR MATERIAL. Save your PRE hot water (for showers, dish washing, etc.) and add it to your bins.  Use the water from your pasta. Collect rainwater and use it. Without water, the material will take forever to break down, so remember to help it out.
  

Green Business Certification Coming to You!
 by Solid Waste Program Manager Angela Brantley

The City of Monterey is applying for a Green Business Certification under two categories: Office and Vehicle Repair. Check out their website: www.montereybaygreenbusiness.org/GrResources.html to learn more.
   The short story… the City works within a collaborative of cities from Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. Representatives from these cities contact various types of businesses ranging from restaurant, retail, office, hotel, and vehicle repair facilities to perform energy and waste audits. Some requirements are based on regulatory requirements and others are aimed at conserving energy and reducing waste.
   The City certification will be performed by Monterey County staff, since I wouldn’t be able to certify for us (use the fox and the hen house scenario here). Basically, County staff will be touring facilities and asking questions (a few questions from a few people). Those questions might be:
   "What are you currently recycling at your office?"
   "What are you doing with your batteries?"
   "What have you done to reduce the amount of waste in your office?"
  
So, here’s a short recap of what we are doing here and what you are HOPEFULLY doing to reduce the amount of waste generated at your office site:
   Each desk or close by should have a blue recycling container. You can put the following in your containers:

• Office paper, junk mail, newspapers, magazines, catalogs, soda boxes, paper ream covers, manila folders (no longer useable)
• Drinking containers such as aluminum, plastic, and glass bottles and cans
• Filmy plastic (No single bags. Place all your filmy plastic such as dry cleaner bags, clean Ziplocs, food bags, etc. inside of one bag and seal the top)
• Flattened cardboard boxes
• Place batteries in the collection container located at the City Clerk’s office or at the Library

What are you doing to reduce waste? Recycling is great but it is better not to generate the stuff to begin with. Here are some hints to reduce unnecessary material:

• Send in your card to remove your name from junk mail lists (contact me for a postcard or go online at www.monterey.org/recycle/junkmail.html or www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs4-junk.htm to read more)
• If your staff is receiving umpteen catalogs (same catalog, different variations of names), decide whether you need just one per Division or at least eliminate all the unnecessary ones by contacting them or mailing the subscription data on the back and ask them to remove the names from the list.
• Evaluate all the "reports" generated by your office. Are they necessary? Eliminate the unnecessary ones.
• DO NOT PRINT EMAILS unless you need a record copy for your official files.
• Find ways to use the other side of the copies you made that were mistakes. Make notepads out of them. Use them for messages.

We've Got a Plan for Your Bottles and Cans!
by Recycling Coordinator Lesley Milton

Recycling at its Finest
 by Solid Waste Program Manager Angela Brantley

So, what is the world’s oldest profession? Hah! Got ya! It is actually story telling or in more modern times, it’s the Library system. Stories were shared amongst ancient peoples and the writing began by hieroglyph, petroglyph, or other forms of ancient writing, then eventually the written word was collected and bound, a.k.a. books! Did you know that California’s first public library was established in Monterey in 1849? Did you know that Andrew Carnegie donated a building grant to house the library at 425 Van Buren (currently used by MIIS) in 1911 and is called the “Carnegie Building”? Pretty incredible. Why share info about the Library? Because it is the ultimate in reuse and waste reduction inherent in its operation.
   But here are a few facts to ponder.
   FACT: In one year, one popular book will be checked out about 41 times (we used John Grisham’s book The Broker) in our little neck of the woods. If that book was purchased that many times, it would generate 50 lbs. of material. If the book is lucky, it will be kept by the owner (and probably not be read again and stored on a shelf), maybe given to another friend, possibly sold at a garage sale, recycled, or GASP thrown away. Mixed into the equations are the resources that are used to make books, such as, trees are cut down and processed for paper, chemicals are used to bind them, color them, print fancy covers, then they are transported (trees to mills, to factories, to stores, and on and on) contributing to air pollution, and the list goes on and on. Now multiply that one book purchased by millions of people buying million of books and the waste tonnage, air pollution and resources used becomes STUPENDOUS.
   FACT(s): The Library owns 109,097 books and electronic databases and subscribes to 251 magazines and newspapers, owns 5,816 CDs and audiocassettes, 4,228 DVDs and videocassettes, offers Wireless network access, has eliminated library card fees for everyone living in the State of California and offers excellent reading programs for children (start them young to learn how to use the Library).
   FACT: The Library was one of the first publicly used buildings at the City to start an intensive recycling program inside and outside of their building and offer battery recycling at their site. HOORAH!
   So, here is my suggestion. Ride your bike, walk or take a bus to your favorite library. Reading is good for the soul and riding/walking/busing, is good for the sole! Using a reuse facility such as the Library is a perfect solution to waste reduction!
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Closet Cleaning After the Holidays
 by Solid Waste Program Manager Angela Brantley

How were the holidays? Filled with joy and adventure? I hope so.
But now it’s time to fit all the new acquisitions you received into your closets and garages. How best to do that? Let me give you a few ideas:

1. Garage Sale – Takes more work but can be fun, financially rewarding and a great way to meet neighbors.
2. Sell it on "Craig’s List" – Either in Monterey http://monterey.craigslist.org or San Francisco Bay http://sfbay.craigslist.org , you can place your items on this list and sell them. It’s fast and easy.
3. Sell it on "EBay" www.ebay.com – Same as Craig’s List but more shipping issues but also much more exposure.
4. Give it away for free on www.freecycle.com – Log in to the area you would like to deal with and post it with the item and area, such as Monterey, Pacific Grove, etc. You can give away or receive anything on this list for free. No selling or posting for garage sales.
5. Take it to the "Last Chance Mercantile, Goodwill or Salvation Army" or other Thrift Stores  – Allow others to enjoy your discarded items.
6. Make artistic garden arrangements out of your stuff – What a fun thing to do! Log onto www.hgtv.com or www.diynetwork.com or other such sites and learn all the fun way to reuse your "stuff".

The bottom line: REUSE YOUR STUFF. Find ways to reduce as much waste as possible. Shop wisely. Buy quality. Reduce what you can, reuse as much as possible, and recycle the rest.
   Remember to send your great ideas for reuse and recycling to me.