MxCC Hosts Annual e-Cycling Event on April 24

Not sure what to do with your old and unwanted electronics? Middlesex Community College has a free solution on how to dispose of these ancient artifacts, without filling landfills. Just bring your unwanted electronics to campus on April 24 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. during MxCC’s annual e-Cycling event.

Hosted by the College’s Computer Club during Earth Week, MxCC students, along with students from the Vinal Technical High School information systems technology program, will collect a variety of electronics and computers at the lower parking lot at 100 Training Hill Road, Middletown.

At the end of the day, all items will be picked up by Green Monster e-Cycling of West Hartford, and will be fully recycled for parts. Green Monster has a strict zero-landfill policy, meaning all items it collects are broken down into basic components and passed on to refineries and smelters where precious metals are harvested.  By-products of all electronic components are eventually added to items such as concrete, fence posts, or glass. Green Monster partners only with EPA-compliant leaders in the downstream recycling industry that have been audited.

During the e-Cycling event, MxCC’s Computer Club will be collecting voluntary donations for its annual computer giveaway contest. As part of this program, students donate free computers to fellow MxCC students in need. Last semester, Marquis Bawl and Janet Rider each received a brand new computer as a result of an essay contest.

“Donations of any size are appreciated and are used to offset the cost of purchasing new computers for deserving MxCC students,” said Professor Donna Hylton. “The annual computer giveaway allows the Computer Club to offer much needed resources for students who would otherwise not be able to afford it.”

At the e-Cycling event, anything with a cord or battery will be collected including computers, laptops, modems, toners, printers, fax machines, telephones, cables, server racks, batteries, and mp3 players. However, air conditioners, washers/dryers, refrigerators, light bulbs, or household batteries will not be accepted. For a full list of acceptable items, visit mxcc.edu/ecycling.

City of Middletown Celebrates Earth Day

Federal environmental officials joined town and state officials in Middletown Saturday to announce the start of the community’s Zero Waste Initiative.

Photo: Mayor Drew congratulating Sweet Harmony Café

Middletown Recycling Awards

On behalf of Kim O'Rourke City of Middletown Recycling Coordinator:

Congratulations to our 2011
Green Business Recycling Heroes!

Thanks to these local businesses who are reducing, reusing and recycling
to protect our environment! All the businesses below comply with state
and local recycling regulations and many have done even more to reduce
their carbon footprint. For more information contact the City Recycling
Coordinator at 860-344-3526.

Amici Italian Grill, 280 Main Street
Amici’s reuses mixed paper as order sheets.

ARCADIS U.S. Inc, 213 Court Street
ARCADIS’ management of sustainable construction projects
addresses needs such as energy efficiency, alternative energy
sources, environmentally friendly materials, resource conservation,
lean manufacturing, alternative transportation, socially responsible
investing and greenhouse gas management.

ARTFARM, 119 Highland Avenue
ARTFARM turns waste vegetable oil into biodiesel, composts all
their food waste, uses green cleaning supplies, copy on both sides
of the paper, teaches recycling concepts, buy recycled products and
reuse as much as possible and use scythe and rotary mower instead
of a gas mower!

Book Bower, 386 Main Street
In addition to recycling, the Book Bower purchased carpet made
from recycled plastic bottles, uses a website host company that
runs its equipment on wind power and encourages customers to
bring their own bags.

Centerpoint Connecticut, 306 Industrial Park Road
Centerpoint Connecticut is a (Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design) LEED Silver Campus. Project includes
solar panels, energy-efficient building envelope, a percentage of
construction materials used are recycled as is the construction
waste. They use green cleaning products and have no smoking
within 25 feet of the doors.

Citizens Bank, 237 Main Street
Citizens Bank recycles all toner cartridges for printers and fax
machines.

Moving Pictures Inc, 200 Court Street
Moving Pictures uses old photocopies to copy on the other side
and reuses old videotapes.

Network-It LLC, 208 Freeman Road
Network-It recycles electronic equipment and educates their clients
on environmental issues.

Russell Library, 123 Broad Street
The Russell Library composts from their staff room and uses
the compost in their gardens. They recycle printer cartridges and
purchase recycled cartridges and paper.

Sweet Harmony, 158 Broad Street
Employees carpool to work at Sweet Harmony and bring in
reusable containers for take-home food.

The Day Club Adult Center and HomeCare Connection LLC,
32 Miner Street
The Day Club use solar panels, energy saving bulbs, green
cleaning supplies and recycled products. They encourage
carpooling.

Wesleyan University, 170 Long Lane.
Wesleyan University recycles a variety of materials beyond what is
mandated. These include office furniture, clothing and mattresses.
They also compost, purchase materials made from recycled
components, and have initiated many green initiatives revolving
around green building, transportation and energy conservation.

Youngs Printing, 182 Court Street
Youngs Printing recycles printing ink and prints on recycled paper
using vegetable based ink.

Vote for Your Favorite Recycled Sculpture

Vote now! It’s not too late! The City of Middletown Public Works Department is hosting its Annual Children’s Recycled Sculpture Contest and sculptures are on display in the lobby of City Hall. Votes are being taken from the public for the People’s Choice Award. Come see the sculptures and vote for your favorite!! Anyone can vote, but please vote only once. Voting will run Monday, November 21^st through Wednesday, November 23^rd and winners will be announced on Wednesday, November 30^th. The public can come in to City Hall and vote from 8:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. Sculptures are on display in public areas of the building.

For more information, contact the City Recycling Coordinator at 860-344-3526 or kim.orourke@cityofmiddletown.com.

Art of Recycling Ceremony Highlights

A ceremony marking the installation of brightly painted recycling barrels on Main Street was held this morning on the South Green. Middletown resident and artist Pierre Sylvain designed and crafted the barrels, which will help the city decrease the amount of recyclables that get thrown in the trash. The project was Sylvain's idea and was a collaborative effort between Public Works, the Commission on the Arts, and the Recycling Commission.

In talking to Pierre, it is very clear that he is not accustomed to being in the spotlight. He modestly expressed that he is very happy to be a part of this project and that he thinks it brings an exciting and useful element to Main Street. The ceremony was well attended by many members of the Common Council, the Commission on the Arts and various other city departments. Spotted in the crowd were Kim O'Rourke the City's Recycling Coordinator, and John Hall and Susan Hall of the Jonah Center for Earth and Art.

During the ceremony, Joyce Kirkpatrick, former Arts Commissioner, called Pierre Sylvain the "Steve Jobs of Middletown" for his success in combining vibrancy and design with function. She thanked him for the "love, energy, and talent" that he put into the project. Director of Public Works Billy Russo said that it's important that we start recycling downtown, and that the barrels are already getting attention and comments about how they liven the area. Common Council member Ron Klattenberg compared the recycle barrels to the sculptures that once adorned Main Street, saying that they bring back some uniqueness to Main Street that he feels was lost when the sculptures were removed.

Mayor Giuliano, who is always so strongly supportive of the arts in his words and actions, had this to say:

“As far as I'm concerned, you can turn everything into a work of art... There was a time in the world where that was the culture. No matter what it was, it had to be a work of art... Even the public works projects of the last century, they had to be more than utilitarian, they had to provide an aesthetic benefit to everybody. I don't know if we ever lost that in Middletown. I think it's something we want to continue to encourage. When we have citizens that are willing to step forward and do that they really are owed a debt of gratitude by the community.”

The entire ceremony is available to watch online, in two parts, at the following links:

Click here to see Part 1, featuring remarks by Joyce Kirkpatrick, former Chair of the Middletown Commission on the Arts, Billy Russo, Director of Public Works, and Ron Klattenberg of the Common Council.

Click here to see Part 2, featuring remarks by Mayor Sebastian Giuliano, who makes some beautiful comments about the importance of art and how art keeps Middletown great.

Have Unwanted Paint? Let DEEP Know

CT DEEP is conducting a survey on how much unwanted paint CT homeowners have. While we want you to respond to this survey, what would be even more helpful is if you could share with others - your work colleagues, friends, members of your faith community, neighborhood club or other group that might help us learn more about unwanted paint in CT.

CT PAINT SURVEY:
CT DEEP is trying to get an estimate of the amount of unwanted paint in Connecticut residents' homes. This information will prove helpful in planning the implementation of our paint stewardship law. This very short survey is accessed online at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JY9282P

The survey asks Connecticut homeowners to answer a few short questions about unwanted paint. Please share this link or post it on your website to help us gather responses. The survey is only meant for Connecticut homeowners.

For more info about Product Stewardship: Managing Unwanted Paint click here

Thanks in advance for your help!
Sherill

Sherill Baldwin
Environmental Analyst
Source Reduction and Recycling
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
79 Elm Street
Hartford, CT 06106-5127
860.424.3440 phone
860.424.4059 fax
sherill.baldwin@ ct.gov

sherill.baldwin@ po.state. ct.us

FREE COMPUTER AND ELECTRONICS RECYCLING EVENT ON APRIL 21

Middlesex Community College will hold its second annual free “Computer and Electronics Recycling Event” at the lower parking lot at 100 Training Hill Road in Middletown on Thursday, April 21 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Anything with a cord or battery (except televisions) will be collected including computers, monitors, laptops, modems, toners, printers, fax machines, telephones, cables, server racks, batteries, Walkmen, and iPods. Rain date will be April 28.

# # #

Waste Not

from Kim O'Rourke, Middletown Recycling Coordinator:

The City is pleased to once again be able to offer Rain Barrels and Compost Bins at group pricing. Below is the information regarding what bins are available and how much they are. We are again offering the Great American Rain Barrel and the Garden Gourmet Compost bin. We also have included the Green Cone Food Digester, for those who are trying for zero waste. We have added a mini composter that sits on rollers. It makes composting a little easier, but is a little smaller than your typical backyard compost bin.

Orders must be in by Earth Day, April 22nd. Pickup for everything will be on Saturday April 30th from 9 - 11am at the Water and Sewer Department on Berlin Road. This is in conjunction with the City's annual ShredFest, so if you have anything to shred, bring it down that day!

City of Middletown 2011 Compost Bin & Green Cone Community Sale

NEW to our Sale!

Envirocycle Backyard/Balcony Mini Composter/Compost Teamaker

Accepts small amounts of food and garden waste. Rotat- ing drum makes mixing easy. Creates compost and com- post tea. Assembly required. Height; 20.5” Width 18.4” Depth 18.6” Weight 10.4lbs. For more information: http://www.envirocyclesystem.com.

Price: $99.99

Garden Gourmet Compost Bin

Standard backyard compost bin. Holds yard waste and food waste. Compost can be scooped out the bottom. 11 cubic feet with removable lid. Easy assembly. Finished size: 24”x24”x36”. For more information: www.gardengourmet.com.

Price: $55.00

Green Cone : Food Waste Digester

The Green Cone takes all organic wastes beyond what a compost bin can accept. This includes, meat, fish, dairy, corn cobs, and bones. It works best in conjunction with a compost bin. There is no final product with a Green Cone. It just adds nutrients to the soil. For more information: www.greencone.com. Price: $110.00

Order by April 22, 2011 from the Middletown Department of Public Works. Pick up on Saturday April 30th from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the Middletown Water Department, 82 Berlin Road.

For more information or order forms, call the Recycling Coordinator at 860-344-3526 or email her at kim.orourke@cityofmiddletown.com. Forms also available the CityOfMiddletown.com website by clicking here

Today is America Recycles Day!

FROM Kim O'Rourke, City of Middletown Recycling Coordinator +

HAPPY AMERICAN RECYCLES DAY

A Sampling of the Environmental Benefits of Connecticut Recycling

Based on Connecticut FY2008 Data – Using the NERC Environmental Benefits Calculator http://www.nerc.org/documents/fsheets/ct-factsht.html

Connecticut’s municipal and commercial recycling programs collected and supplied 865,417.79 tons of scrap commodities such as paper, glass, metals, plastics, wood, computers, etc. for use in the production of new products.

• Greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by Connecticut source reduction, reuse, and recycling.

Connecticut source reduction, reuse, and recycling reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 398,937.82 metric tons of carbon equivalents (MTCE)⁴ in a one year period. This is equivalent to approximately 51.15% of all industrial MTCE emissions generated from fossil fuel combustion in Connecticut and 3.11% of greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxides (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). Curbside recyclingalone accounted for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 352,711.87 MTCE per year.

• Connecticut’s source reduction, reuse, and recycling saved energy.

Connecticut’s source reduction, reuse, and recycling saved a total of 7,767,053.19 Million BTUs of energy, equal to 6.51% of all energy used by industry in Connecticut. This is equivalent to 62,517,484.48 gallons of gasoline. It represents the amount of energy that would be required to power 75,924.27 homes for one year in the United States. Curbside recycling alone saved 5,143,228.68 Million BTUs of energy.

• Connecticut’s recycling conserved natural resources.

By recycling 61,071.09 tons of scrap metal and glass in 2008, Connecticut’s recycling efforts reduced the need for virgin materials, including 6,893.01 tons of limestone, 45,293.23 tons of iron ore, 25,364.21 tons of coal, 16,143.73 tons of sand, 5,091.48 tons of soda ash, and 1,986.92 tons of feldspar.

Recycling 461,734.82 tons of newspapers, phone books, office paper, textbooks, magazines and cardboard in 2008, resulted in forest carbon sequestration benefits equal to 33,566,655.72 tree seedlings grown for 10 years.

From USA Today November 15, 2010

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/11/america-recycles-day-urges-us-action/1

America Recycles Day urges greater U.S. action

Workers sorting recyclables at the North Gateway Transfer Station in Phoenix, Ariz. on Oct. 11.

CAPTION

By Tom Tingle, AP

Today, is the 12th annual America Recycles Day, aimed at encouraging people to dump less trash .......

Keep America Beautiful, a nonprofit group that started American Recycles Day in 1997, is leading the charge, supporting the more than 2,000 grassroots events across the country that include recycling drives of electronics, paper and other goods. You can find events near you with a search-by-zip code toll on its website.

Compact fluorescent lightbulbs should not be thrown away with household waste, because they contain mercury. Expired or unbroken ones can be recycled in Lowe's recycling center.

CAPTION

By Business Wire

"Recycling is the easiest thing that any individual can do to reduce his or her carbon footprint, save energy and protect natural resources," said Matthew M. McKenna, the group's president and CEO, in a statement.

Recycling has increased dramatically in the United States -- from 7.7% of the total waste stream in 1960 to 17% in 1990 and about 33% this year, according to the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency. Yet EPA officials say a lot more can be done, noting that nearly 4 ½ pounds of waste per person each day is produced in the United States, most of it recyclable.

"By making smarter choices, consuming less, and reusing and recycling, each of us can contribute to a healthier and more sustainable environment," added Mathy Stanislaus, EPA's assistant administrator for solid waste and emergency response. While most people now separate their trash, EPA cites additional steps they can take, including these six:

1. Buy recycled products. When we buy recycled products, we create an economic incentive for recyclable materials to be collected, manufactured, and marketed as new products.

2. Purchase durable, long lasting goods.

3. Re-use items by repairing them, donating them to charity and community groups, or selling them also reduces waste.

4. Use a product more than once, either for the same purpose or for a different purpose. Reusing, when possible, is preferable to recycling because the item does not need to be reprocessed before it can be used again.

5. Reduce your packaging: buy bulk or concentrated products when you can.

6. Another form of recycling is composting. Composting is the controlled biological decomposition of organic matter, such as food and yard wastes, into humus, a soil-like material. Composting is nature's way of recycling organic wastes into new soil used in vegetable and flower gardens, landscaping, and many other applications

Thank you for your environmental concern - and REMEMBER TO REDUCE, REUSE, AND RECYCLE; it's a first step towards a more sustainable world.

Judy Belaval

CT DEP Office of Source Reduction and Recycling

(860) 424-3237

Seeking ... someone to spare a couple hours...

Middletown will be hosting its Household Hazardous Waste Collection on Saturday Oct. 2nd from 8am to 1pm at Moody School. Volunteers are still needed to help take surveys and direct traffic from 11 - 1pm. If you can help, email the City Recycling Coordinator at kim.orourke@cityofmiddletown.com or call Judy Synder, the HazWaste Coordinator at 860-347-7214 and tell her you read about it in the EYE and want to help!

Electronic Waste Disposal

The City of Middletown will be hosting an Amnesty Week, May 15 – 22, 2010 for free disposal of electronics at its Recycling Center. The event will be open to Middletown residents ONLY and will accept all electronics for recycling at no charge to > residents.

Residents will need to have a Recycling Center permit which is available at no charge upon presentation of vehicle registration from the Department of Public Works. > Items accepted include: computers, monitors, printers, scanners, DVDs, VCRs, televisions, stereos, answering machines, and microwaves. Residents MUST be able to unload items themselves and place them in the trailer.

The event is sponsored by Samsung and processed by > Universal Recycling Technologies and will only be available > the week of May 15 – 22nd. The Middletown > Recycling Center is located on the corner of Johnson St. and > North Main St. and is open Monday – Friday > 7am – 3pm and every Saturday through June 7am – > 12 noon. > > For more information, contact the City Recycling > Coordinator, Kim O’Rourke, at 860-344-3526 or kim.orourke@cityofmiddletown.com.

Shred it Up. Feel Better.

The City's Earth Day Shred Event will be Saturday, April 24 from 9am - 12 noon in the Woodrow Wilson Middle School parking lot on Hunting Hill Ave.

Rain or Shine. Kim O'Rourke >Middletown Recycling Coordinator

Elephants Can Paint (?!?)

I am avid user of Freecylce.Org which is a wonderful online bulletin board where you can post Offers for things that you want to get rid of, and Wanted ads for things you want. It's sort of like being able to shop at hundreds of private little tag sales and thrift shops all from your computer. There are many advantages to Freecycling. This is a great way to obtain something that you don't necessarily need new. Good examples of this are things that tend to get used just once and then tossed out, like party or holiday decorations . I have also encountered Freecyclers who are contemplating some purchase and want to find the thing used first to see if its going to work for them before spending the time and money to get a new one. If they do decide to get their own, they will probably Freecycle the used one again to someone else. On the opposite side of getting, there's the giving – where you can get rid of unwanted furniture, appliances, or bulky items without having to haul it off yourself (or pay the City's bulky waste pickup fee). That goes for everything that you offer up – the recipient is expected to pick it up from your house or meeting place, so there's even less work involved than taking things to GoodWill or the dump. Speaking of the dump, another aim of Freecycle.Org is to prevent perfectly useful things from landing there unnecessarily. Many times something just needs a minor repair and many recipients are willing to take an object in less than perfect condition if they can fix it up, since, after all, its free. You may think to yourself that you could try to sell something and make a little money rather than give it away for free. In my experience, there is a lot of work there too, in fielding phone calls and arranging meeting times or appointments with people who may or may not decide that they want the item. You have to ask yourself if the money you might be able to get is worth that effort. Freecycling is much easier than all that. There are, of course, a few common sense rules of etiquette for Freecycling. Be polite in your emailed responses, ask if the item is still available before assuming you are the only person responding, post ads in the standard format, describe the item clearly, and leave out unnecessary information (such as my pet peeve, reason why the person wants something or why they are getting rid of something). Above all else, don't be a no-show! The range of things listed goes from typical things that pop up constantly to the rare and obscure. Common postings have books and magazines, things for pets, housewares, kids things like clothes and toys, sports equipment, furniture, and small electronics and appliances. In the not as common category, I have seen antique tools, car parts, items from house projects and deconstruction like fixtures and countertops, and musical instruments.

Recently, I saw the most unusual thing I have ever seen on Freecycle, and something that I did not know existed in the world.

January 10, 2010 @ 6:15 pm

OFFER: painting done BY an elephant

I received a pretty large painting that was done BY an elephant. It's a fundraiser for an elephant sanctuary, where they have the elephants paint with paintbrushes in their trunk (I have the documentation that came with the painting that explains this). The painting is mostly polka dots of pink, lime green, and a medium blue. It is matted with white matting and in a blue frame.

It is still in the shrink wrap. Would look nice in a kid's room or play room.

January 10, 2010 @ 7:04 pm

TAKEN: painting done BY an elephant

I've never gotten so many responses so quickly to ANYTHING on Freecycle like I just did. HOLY COW. The taker is picking it up, and I have a list below her name if she's a no show =)

THANKS!

Seeing this ad made me giddy with laughter. I can't explain exactly why... maybe the image I got of an elephant with a paint brush in its trunk, the thought of what the painting might look like (Jackson Pollack-esque?), or getting started thinking about the concept of an elephant sanctuary. That got me to thinking about the One Book One Middletown book from last year: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, where a circus elephant was thought to be stupid until it was discovered by an observant man that she understood Polish rather than English. Here is the information about this year's One Book book - The Soloist. From an online search I found that there are elephant sanctuaries in Arkansas, Tennessee, and Thailand. I wonder if there are hippopotamous sanctuaries? Giraffe sanctuaries? Maybe I will post an ad on Freecycle.Org and see if anything turns up:

WANTED: Painting done by a rhinoceros ...

Happy Freecycling!

Phone Books - Waste of Resources

Last week many households found the arrival of new telephone directory books from AT&T. If your household is anything like mine, you take these books unopened and unused and deposit them directly in the recycle bins outside the AT&T building on Broad street. The books take up space and sometimes the printed directory can quickly become out of date. Sometimes phone numbers can be found in older versions of the directory, and usually phone numbers can be found in online directories. The books are obsolete and unwieldy.

Judging from the pile of brand new, unopened phone directories I saw in the recycle bins today, I am thinking that many people may agree that these directories are a huge waste of resources. There's the paper, the energy that it takes to print them, the energy that it takes to deliver them, and the energy that it takes to recycle them.

I understand that many businesses may pay for advertising in the directories and may count on customers finding them there. However, if people are tossing the book without ever using it they certainly are not going to be a good target audience for this type of advertisement. The piles speak for themselves; people are looking up numbers online and in other sources so there's no reason why advertising can't make the same shift.

I plan to call AT&T to find out if they can put me on a list for "no printed phone directory please" so that I will not receive the books in the future. It can't hurt to make sure that AT&T hears from everyone who thinks that the phone directories are a waste of resources. Collectively we can send a message that waste reduction is something we care about in our community. I found some AT&T numbers which I listed below including a couple local ones. The first number listed is specifically pertaining to the directory books. There are also some online contact options at att.com

Directory Resource Center: 1-800-922-0008

1-800-288-2020

344-5880

346-4311

One man's trash

The City of Middletown Recycling Division is hosting its Annual Children’s Recycled Sculpture Contest and sculptures are on display in the lobby and second floor of City Hall. Votes are being taken from the public for the People’s Choice Award. Come see the sculptures and vote for your favorite!!

Anyone can vote, but please vote only once. Voting will start Tuesday, November 25 and run through Wednesday, December 3.

Winners will be announced on Friday, December 5! The public can come in any day City Hall is open and vote from 8:30 am. – 8:00 p.m.

City Hall is closed Thursday Nov. 27 & 28th. Sculptures are on display in public areas of the building.

The Recycled Sculpture Contest is held annually in celebration of America Recycles Day. This year the theme of the contest was “Green Country, Green Planet”. 31 entries were submitted.

H/T Justin LaSelva

Hamlin Factory Salvage and Clean Out a Huge Success

The locksmith's shop before ... and after.











Over the weekend of August 9th and 10th, over 40 people volunteered their time and energy to salvage, recycle and empty out the contents of the historic 13,000 square foot factory building. More than 8700 pounds of metal was kept out of the landfill and recycled (with thanks to Steve’s Junk Removal and the Trusted Servants Thrift Store). An 8’ x 10’ room was filled from floor to ceiling with corrugated cardboard to recycle. What’s more, we didn’t even fill up the two dumpsters that were provided for the cleanup. People left with cars weighed down, and stuff sticking out their windows - every thing from office desks and chairs to plumbing supplies, shelving, scrap metal and wood. One of the most exciting finds was an old cast iron stencil cutting machine hidden away in the attic.

Seeing the old factory full of people was truly inspiring. This building has such great potential. I will keep you posted on Wesleyan university's plans for the property as they are developed.

Thank you to all who worked so hard to make this weekend such a huge success. It was so inspiring to see the community come together and give new energy to an amazing old factory building.
The difference is unbelievable.

Give Me Your Tired, Your Obsolete, Your Electronic Detritus

The Connecticut Weather Center, created by meteorologist Bill Jacquemin to supply daily forecasts to radio stations within the state, is sponsoring the "Keep It Green" Tour, and it will be in Middletown on Saturday August 23.

This is an opportunity for city residents to rid themselves of unwanted or broken computers, monitors, televisions, cell phones, portable DVD players, digital cameras, GPS Devices, empty ink jet cartridges, video games, X-Boxes and other business or home electronics.

The collection site is the student parking lot of the "new" Woodrow Wilson Middle School (or "obsolete" Middletown High School), 370 Hunting Hill Avenue. CWC President Jacquemin will be in attendance and the event takes place rain or shine from 9 a.m. - 12 noon. For more information, call 203-730-2899, extension 380.

Trash Talk

Trevor Davis has started a downtown conversation about innovations in the field of trash cans. In an email to local officials, he offered some photos of alternative waste containers that he saw in other cities.

First, he offered this photo of a simple sidewalk recycling bin that he saw in Amherst, Massachusetts. I've also seen these on Northampton, MA sidewalks, and I noticed that the fine print in this photo shows that a grant from MassDEP paid for the cans.








His second photo is of a "solar compactor" which compresses the trash (using solar energy) which makes for fewer pick-ups by the garbage truck. It was also grant funded, by local businesses and individuals.





Thanks to Trevor for giving permission to share these photos. (Among other things, Trevor is the new chair of the Central Business Bureau, which is the downtown branch of the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce. He is also the owner of Trevor Davis Real Estate.)