Meridian Recycling
Update
May 2009 #2
Note: If you have items to share, please send them to
harvey@meridian.mi.us
Previous Updates Here
See, and add events to, a green calendar at
www.re-news.net/whatsup
Rain Barrel Sale
May
16
$49 ($120 value) - First come, first serve. Dunham's parking
lot, near Frandor Shopping Center.
Flyer:
front
back
Installation
Guide
Delhi Re-Use Rally
May 16
Check out the giant Re-Use Rally in Holt. Your unwanted reusable items may be
just what someone else is looking for - and you may find just the item you need to
take home. And it's all FREE! Bring any item in working or near working
condition and take what you want back home. Please don't bring computer
equipment, automotive batteries, hazardous waste, unusable tires or junk.
Items that do not find a new home will be donated to charity or recycled.
11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Delhi Waste Water Treatment Plant,
5961 McCue Rd, Holt
Recycle Plastic Garden
Pots &
Containers
May 30th
MSU Department of Horticulture will again be hosting a recycle
drive for garden plastic containers in conjunction with the MSU Plant Sale (http://www.hrt.msu.edu/RecyclePlasticPots/Default.htm)
from 8 am to 2 pm. More
here
Reduce Junk Mail
You may recall the I received some interesting responses to
last month's request for tips on reducing junk mail from "Mrs. B"
"I have corresponded twice in the
past with two different Congressmen. (One was Wolpe, so you can see it
was awhile ago.) Therefore, my method is based on facts. I've been using
it for years. The US Postal Service is required to deliver all mail it
receives, but no recipient is required to accept an item of mail. Any
item of mail can be marked "Refused" and left in one's own mail box or
dropped into any USPS box for pick up. I have learned that it is best to
cross out the name and address and bar code on the envelope. Otherwise,
the item may be processed again and redelivered. The combination of
"Refused" and marking out the mailing address works. Not all mail
carriers will be familiar with the fact that a postal patron has a right
to refuse any item. So, the carrier may think the recipient means
"Return to sender" instead of "Refused." The Post Office does not return
mail that is not first class to senders, and most junk mail is not first
class. If a carrier doesn't take back the mail left in the box marked
"Refused," just stick to your guns and explain what the rules are. You
may write a note to the carrier.
Here's the beauty of this method of
managing junk mail: The Post Office is a heavy recycler. Indeed, it
brags about its recycling. Any refused mail that is not first class will
be recycled by the Post Office. Since the Post Office got the money from
the sender, it is fitting that the Post Office should be the recycler.
It is probably safer not to refuse credit card solicitations because
identity theft is on the rise. Open the envelope, tear off all
identifying information, such as name, address, and identifying numbers
scattered around the solicitation on both sides. Stuff the solicitation
form from which you've removed the identifiers and the envelope in which
the solicitation came into the postage-paid return envelope and drop it
in the mail. This produces money for the Post Office and reduces what
you have to haul out for recycling." - Mrs. B.
More tips....
Volunteer Opportunities
- staff a table for a couple
hours at a table at the Recycling Center on a Saturday
- write an article for local media
and/or neighborhood newsletters
- volunteer with MSU's
Ag Plastic Recycling Event
-- contact Art Cameron at
cameron@msu.edu
- present about recycling
for a local church, neighborhood group, club, school, etc. -- call LeRoy
for handouts (853-4466)
- help with a regional
green map
www.re-news.net/map
- What
would you like to see happen and/or help make happen????
Bike to Work Week
(from Richard Brown)
This week (May 11-15) is National
Bike to Work Week and May is National Bike Month. Attached are some
useful brochures put out by the League of American Bicyclists. Here is a
brief summary from their website
http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bikemonth/
The League of American Bicyclists is
promoting Bike-to-Work Week from May 11-15 and Bike-to-Work Day on Friday,
May 15. Need some ideas? Use the League's
step by step guide on how to get started promoting your event. Help us
Count Cyclists In this May, and every month!
This is the official site for National
Bike Month. Check the
events
section often to see what bike month and bike to work week events are going
on in your community. If you would like to submit your event information to
be posted on this site, email it to
communication@bikeleague.org.
Please make sure you write, "Bike Month Event" in the subject line of the
email.
Last but not least... Smart Commute Week is coming!
More here.
Only You Can Help Save Energy
"Michigan imports 97 percent of its petroleum needs, 80
percent of its natural gas and 100 percent of coal and nuclear fuel from
other states and nations. These imports account for about 70 cents of every
dollar spent for energy by Michigan's citizens and businesses." *
In Meridian township and the surrounding area, most of the dollars we spend
on energy go up in smoke -- immediately leaving the community, creating few
local jobs, sucking millions of dollars from our local economy, and
contributing to health, climate, and environmental destruction from mining,
combustion, disposal, etc.
So what can we do?
Fortunately, there are many low and no-cost opportunities, right at our
finger tips, under our noses, over our heads, and around us.
Individually and collectively we can identify energy-saving actions and take
them! Please submit your energy saving ideas and I will include them
in a future edition of Meridian Recycling News. Thanks! Please
send ideas to harvey@meridian.mi.us
*
Source:
http://www.dleg.state.mi.us/mpsc/reports/energy/energyoverview/
downloaded 5/12/09
Quick links
Thank you for your questions and suggestions! Please send
green tips, events, etc. to
harvey@meridian.mi.us
or call 505-2809