What do you do with your food waste at home, or at the office? Do you compost it in a backyard composter, or does it go into the garbage, put out on the curb on trash nights, and then trucked to a landfill, or an incinerator?

All around the country, and even all around Fairfax County (but not IN Fairfax County, unfortunately) folks are able to put their food waste out on their curb for pick up, just like their trash and their recycling.  Companies in the NoVA area, and in MD are already contracting with households, apartment complexes and resident to pick up food waste and compost it. Some states are even looking at banning institutional food waste (such as that which comes from hospitals and restaurants) from the landfills.

Wondering how much food is wasted, either by overpurchasing, or perhaps just from being left in your fridge too long? The NRCD put together this document about ways you can decrease your foodwaste footprint.

NRDC FOOD WASTE INFO SHEET

In addition, we can impress upon our Fairfax County leaders the importance of composting food waste. Since we really don’t know where our trash is going to end up after the contract with Covanta is up in 2016, now would be a good time to start discussing it. If we have to go back to the days of landfills, we most certainly want to keep as much organic material out of them as possible, right?

Do you know of a private company that picks up food compost in Northern Virginia? We want to know about it. We’ll highlight that company right here at Clean Fairfax!

 

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Happy Earth Day, Everyone!

And how about taking some cues from a small dog with a pushed in nose, but a big heart?

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Farmer's MarketSpring into Your Local Farmer’s Market!

The birds are chirping, the rabbits are racing across the grass, and the trees are beginning to bloom into their beauty once again. It’s official; spring is here. Along with spring come farmer’s markets, which Northern Virginia has at least 30 to offer. Farmer’s markets are vital to our culture; they provide fresh fruits and vegetables, a chance to support local businesses, and an unbreakable sense of community.

While there are farmer’s markets that remain open all year long, many have finally started again and will last until October. Among the numerous markets opening this spring and summer, ones specifically in Fairfax County include locations in Annandale, Centreville, Oakton, Burke, Frying Pan, Herndon, Kingstowne, Lorton, McLean, Middleburg, Mount Vernon, Reston, Vienna, and Wakefield.

Also of note is the Fairfax Community Farmer’s Market which offers a huge variety of traditional produce selling vendors and many unique vendors such as Energizing Escentials, which sell handmade soaps and lotions made of goat milk. Name It Antique sells vintage toys and collectible items, while Aloha H will only sell you products made from the beautiful state of Hawaii. Fairfax Community Market is located on 10500 Main Street (corner of Main Route 236 & West Streets) and is open from 8 AM to 1 PM during May and October.

The fun doesn’t only live there though. Smart Markets in Oakton put forward vendors such as Celtic Pastries and Celestial Farms, which sell delicious local honey and even llama wool! Pick up some delicious, fresh caught crab at the Smart Market in Centreville. Stop by the Vienna Farmer’s Market to try some of Annette’s Amazing Granola, get a handmade treat for your favorite puppy from Chase Your Tail Bakery, or taste some of Surprise Gelato Maker’s gelato, which has been described to be from the heavens above.

For more information on these Farmer’s markets mentioned, visit our Farmer’s Markets page which also lists farmer’s markets in all of Northern Virginia.

This spring, switch to the greener way of getting your groceries- you won’t regret it. And don’t forget your own bag!

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In a world full of busy schedules, stress, and constant changes, it’s hard to juggle a life of convenience and eco-friendliness. Most people want to be green, but don’t believe they have the full ability or lack the incentive to just finally do it. How can we all have electric cars if they remain so darn expensive? How can we live fully green lives when it just seems impossible? Like anything in life, it requires baby steps and most importantly, motivation.  RecycleBank can now finally provide us with that encouragement.

In Fairfax County, AAA Recycling and Trash Removal offers RecycleBank rewards in some service areas.  But what is RecycleBank exactly and what are these ‘rewards’? Pure genius.

RecycleBank is an organization whose sole mission is to inspire people to take steps, baby or giant, in order to make a healthy impact on our planet. The greener choices you make, the more points you get on your account. Points = rewards. They offer a wide variety of rewards, which are usually discounts on products that range from beauty to health to food!

In order to get your hands on these wonderful prizes, you must sign up as a member then start earning! Joining is free and requires no effort. You can earn points in an assortment of ways including pledging to start recycling at home or taking public transportation such as Amtrak. But how exactly does that work? Well, it’s different for every community. Each time your recyclables are picked up, they are weighed, and the weight is translated into RecycleBank points. Therefore, the more you recycle, the more points you get! (For every pound you recycle, you get 2.5 points.) There is also the community way of doing it, which means the amount of recyclables of a neighborhood is weighed, and the points are equally distributed amongst the residents. It’s a win-win philosophy. Recycling, bonuses, community efforts, what’s not to love?

Pledging to take Amtrak is even easier! All you have to do is go to the Amtrak Facebook page and click pledge, and then it will instantly lead you back to RecycleBank to receive your 10 points. Obviously, you have to follow through with it, and at least try for any sort of trip you decide to take, to choose Amtrak. Once it is confirmed you accomplished the goal, you get points. Not hard at all!

So, what do we have to do to get the other haulers, and maybe even the county, on board with the program?  Learn more about RecycleBank and discover why it might just be the best thing to happen for our Earth.

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Fairfax County will host three free recycling events for county residents to recycle old and unwanted materials in March:

  • Saturday, March 24 – Household Hazardous Waste Clean-up Event: This event will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the South County Center (8350 Richmond Highway, Alexandria). This event is for disposing of hazardous materials generated within Fairfax County households. We will not accept business or commercial waste, lead acid batteries, automobile batteries or propane tanks. Electronics will not be collected at this event, please bring your electronic devices to specified “Electric Sunday” recycling events. For a complete list of household items qualifying as hazardous waste, please visit our website at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/recycling.
  • Sunday, March 25 – Electric Sunday will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the I-95 Landfill Complex (9850 Furnace Road, Lorton). Residents may recycle old televisions, computers and peripheral electronics such as speakers, printers, scanners, etc. Also, residents can recycle unbroken fluorescent tubes and light bulbs.
  • Saturday, March 31 – Secure Document Shredding Event: This event will be held from 8 a.m. to Noon at the South County Center (8350 Richmond, Alexandria). Residents may shred up to 5 boxes of personal documents per household at no charge. Please remove all paper from binders and remove binder clips, plastic page covers and binding. Information stored on film or computer disks will not be accepted – paper documents only. All documents will be securely shredded on-site by a private contractor and the shredded material will be taken to a local recycling facility for processing.

This event is not for medical service providers – it does not fulfill Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, requirements for document destruction.

Complete details for these events and other recycling opportunities planned for 2012 can be found on the Fairfax County Solid Waste Management Program’s web site at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/recycling, or by calling the Recycling InfoLine at 703-324-5052, TTY 711.

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It is no secret that a lot of waste is generated at sports arenas, playing fields, stadiums and events. The playing fields in Fairfax County alone generate thousands of plastic drink bottles every tournament or walk-a-thon weekend.

And, just think of all the plastic water, beer and soda bottles (and cups) that a medium sized baseball stadium must go through each home game. Then think about all the food waste, the paper programs and scoring pads, all the cardboard boxes that vendors empty, and then think about all the sports drink bottles in the dugout and clubhouse. The numbers are staggering, and there’s a cost to all that waste. Aside from the obvious environmental costs, there’s an actual cost to the owner/manager of the stadium to throw away all that stuff.

But, sports teams are getting on the green bandwagon. From new LEED certified Green Stadiums right here in our own backyard, to energy efficient power, to partnering with a compost company to collect food waste.

From our friends at the EPA, here’s a partial list of teams (and associated articles) that are doing their part to make America’s Pastime a whole lot greener.

Now, what can we do to recycle at our own local parks? For starters, if you attend a game, or a tournament or an event at one of our many beautiful Fairfax County parks, make sure you take your recycling with you, and put it in a bin at home. And if you’re an organizer of such an event, contact Clean Fairfax about ways you can collect bottles and cans for recycling, rather than letting them get dumped in the trash.

Your kids, and their kids, will thank you for the cleaner playing field you leave behind.

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Trees, trees, trees! We can’t get enough of them. From giving them as a gift or just giving them a hug (literally), trees are our best plant friend. When an animal friend dies (human or other species), we honor their body instead of throwing it out.  So why not give trees the same treatment?

Treehugger has outlined 7 amazing ways to give ‘new life’ to trees that have already passed on.  Sure, you can resort to number 7 and mulch it, which is the easiest and as Treehugger claims ‘most boring’ way to recycle your tree. However, here are a few of the options are definitely worth what little effort they require.

  • Paint Your Dead Tree!
    Pull out your paints and liven up your neighborhood! Turn dead looking trees that line your street into art that will have people looking out their car windows as they drive by. Painting over winter trees is easy and fun!
  • Create a Bee Habit
    Our personal favorite- all you need is a power drill and some branches, and you have a new home for native bees! If you keep up with the blog (or anything), you should already know that bees are in extreme danger and desperately need our help, in any way we can provide.
  • Make a Unique Garden Path
    Utilize sections of the trunk to create ‘stepping  stones’ for a path through your garden. Although initially there might be worry of them decomposing and turning slippery, they last for years and are as loved since the minute you put them in.

Whether it’s boring or colorful, no matter how you reuse your tree, at least do it! Appreciate one of the greatest living organisms on Earth- even in the afterlife!

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Skip out on red and pink- make your Valentine’s day green!

Chocolates, fluffy teddy bears, cards bigger than your torso, and fancy dinner dates are all classic, and overused, Valentine’s day gifts. This year, why not show your Valentine that you care about them AND the Earth?

However, Valentine’s Day is close so the majority of the good gifts are gone in the stores and it’s too late to order something online. What are you to do? There’s a way!

For only 10 dollars, show love and keep green by donating to a good cause in their name! The best gifts aren’t the material ones, they are the ones with heart. Plus, there are so many choices that you could do this for years to come! Have a tree planted in their name in Costa Rica, save the songbirds in the Boreal forest, or even save a whale!

The possibilities are endless and are just a click away.

May your Valentine’s Day be filled with green love.

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Tree Training Starting in February!

by Alex on January 30, 2012

in Trees

Tree HuggerForget about dogs- trees are man’s best friend. Trees improve air quality, reduce stormwater runoff, and harbor wildlife. Everyone always feels a sense of guilt when printing out something that requires a lot of paper. So, why not learn more about these plants we all love? Well now is your chance!

The Fairfax County Tree Stewards are offering classes for 2012 starting in February. These training sessions will cover topics such as tree anatomy, tree planting, and tree identification. Interested? Go the organization’s facebook page  for an application form and course schedule or e-mail Jim McGlone at: jim.mcglone@dof.virginia.gov.

Show your love for trees by caring and learning!

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Ever felt like your voice can’t be heard? Not anymore. Speak your mind or learn new information on the environmental issues in Fairfax County tomorrow night at the EQAC public hearing!

The Environmental Quality Advisory Council (EQAC) will be holding its annual public hearing on the environment on Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 7:30 PM.  It will be located at  Fairfax County Government Center, with a remote testimony opportunity at the South County Center.  The public is encouraged to attend EQAC’s public hearing to share views on the state of the environment and to identify environmental issues applicable to Fairfax County. Environmental issues considered by EQAC include water quality, air quality, noise, hazardous materials, solid waste, stream valley protection, wildlife management, light pollution, visual pollution, climate change response and adaptation, land use, transportation and the use and preservation of ecological resources.  EQAC welcomes written and/or verbal testimony.  To be placed on the speakers list or for more information, please call (703) 324-1380 or e-mail to EQAC@fairfaxcounty.gov.

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