RECYCLING REMINDERS – RENEW, REUSE, REDUCE, RECLAIM!!
Many new recycling ideas are being developed and shared as local clubs are looking for ways to preserve and protect our environment. Here are some of the responses from garden club members and other sources:
- Bring your own mug to meetings for tea and coffee (save $ and Styrofoam!)
- Use reusable “laundry balls” in dryer instead of softener sheets-
- th District, Federated Garden Clubs of New York State7 - Donate gently used books for public library used book sale
- Collect metal can pull tabs for Ronald McDonald House recycle program-
- Bowmansville Garden Club, Dist. 8, New York State - New-
type used screw- shaped light bulbs—Home Depot will accept them- - Garden Club of Ohio (Pat Rupiper) - Some Aveda salons (call first) will accept plastic bottle caps, which are recycled
by the company into new caps for their products-
- The Garden Club of New Jersey (Wini Applegate)- - Idaho Horticulture Society, Idaho Garden Clubs (Joanne Lechner) - Vermiculture (red wiggler worms) recycle all kitchen waste except meat & dairy-
- The Pedal Pushers, Idaho Garden Clubs - Old magazines, periodicals, trade publications and books—take to “Friends of the
Library” bookstores-
- Riviera Garden Club, California Garden Clubs (Kay Kanuit) - Broken pottery and dishes—use as drainage in flower pots; make a garden border out
of old plates-
- Golden Garden Club, Idaho Garden Clubs (Happy Ford) - Buy less, especially disposable products
- Don’t idle your vehicle more than 10 seconds, to reduce air pollution
- Unplug Wall Warts (rechargers, TVs & appliances not in use)—“Standby electricity”
eats up energy and is polluting-
- Glee Mania & Company, Fairfax, Virginia—Sue Cournoyer - Start seeds in the toe of a sock—done by a 100-
year- old lady with a super garden! - Take plastic plant pots and trays to nearby nurseries & garden centers
- Plastic liners from cereal boxes make great covers for microwave dishes
- Use old jeans to make stuffed teddy bears-
- Sun Prairie Garden Club, Wisconsin Garden Club Federation (Diane Powelka) - Use egg cartons to start seeds; fill with single servings of baby food, freeze till needed
- Put dryer lint out for the birds to build nests
- Clear plastic containers from salad bars: cut in half and use under flower pots-
- Tanta- Cove Garden Club, National Capital Area Garden Clubs - Plastic newspaper bags: insert hand and arm like a glove, grab poison ivy to uproot
it, pull bag down over the plant, and tie a knot with poison ivy inside. Place
in trash!-
- Rockshire Garden Club, National Capital Area Garden Clubs - Keep tires properly inflated. Your car loses about 1% of fuel efficiency for every 3 lbs. of pressure less than what is recommended.
- While waiting for faucet water to warm up, catch that running water in a bucket and use it to water plants
- Print on both sides of paper, or save documents electronically instead of printing-
- Southern Living magazine
Add to our list by emailing your ideas to Carol Carter, Recycle Chairman, at carol@tcarter.com. Thank you for helping to reduce stress on the environment by simplifying our use of earth’s natural resources.
Members of the National Capital Area Garden Clubs, along with the 50 state garden
clubs that comprise the National Garden Clubs, Inc, have participated in a Recycle
Initiative to keep empty laser and ink jet cartridges and used cell phones out of
the landfills. Recycle companies have give rebates for refillable cartridges and
reusable cell phones; some have taken non-
Various groups have turned in cartridges to local businesses which give credit toward future purchases (Office Depot, Staples); some have adopted police or abused women programs which give out cell phones for protective purposes. We are now going a step further and sharing ideas for disposal or use of sharing household items that may not be accepted by the Montgomery County recycle curbside pickup.
Helpful websites:
*Eliminate unwanted catalogues and save trees www.catalogchoice.org
*Recycle rechargeable
batteries: www.rbrc.org or www.call2recycle.org
(chain stores such as Best Buy, Home Depot, Lowe's, Office Depot, Radio Shack,
Staples & Target)
*Multiple unwanted articles: www.freecycle.org
(e-
*Gently worn shoes: www.soles4souls.org distributes shoes to the needy in 60
countries worldwide.
*Worn athletic shoes: Nike "Reuse-
from-
Contact Nike at http://www.nikereuseashoe.com/
*Plastic bottle caps: Recycle Caps with Aveda.
http://www.aveda.com/aboutaveda/caps.tmpl?ngextredir=1
Reclaim and Reuse:
*Packing peanuts: take to UPS or other mailing centers. For the closest business
to
you, call the
"Peanut Hotline" at 1-
*Coat hangers: take to a local cleaner or use for wreath frames.
*Containers (Plastic
Containers (cottage cheese, yogurt, etc):
contact local schools and craft groups -
*Grass clippings and leaves: Compost! Get free compost bin from Montgomery County.
*Pine needles—use as mulch
*Film canisters: check with high school science departments; use for crafts or seed
storage.
*Clothing: Disabled American Veterans, Salvation Army, Goodwill, Purple Heart;
homeless shelters.
*Mesh bags: store flower bulbs, fill with lard for birds and hang on a tree limb.
*Plastic bags: eliminate these eyesores from our landscape! Supply your own cloth
bag for groceries or whatever else you purchase.
If you would like to share your own ideas, please email them to the National Capital Area Recycle Chairman, Carol Carter, carol@tcarter.com.. Include website locations if available.
Thank you for helping to preserve and protect our environment!
Carol Carter, National Capital Area Chairman
Did Santa put a nice shiny trowel in your stocking? Was there a new rake under the Christmas tree? If so, you may want to make room in your storage area and give away your old tools.
What better way to recycle your old garden tools than to donate them to an organization that will make sure they reach a recipient who can really use them. Two such organizations are ones that are affiliated with NCAGC.
Donate your old but usable tools to:
Friends of the National Arboretum (FONA) who puts them to work in the Washington
Youth Garden. Contact Kaifa Anderson-
OR
Green Spring Gardens in Northern Virginia. Contact 703-
