Eco-Tip for 3/18/18 Smart Irrigation Products: Time to Adjust the Automatic Sprinklers by David Goldstein, Ventura County PWA, IWMD During the last week of rain, did you see a neighbor’s automatic sprinkler system running? If adjusted correctly and shut off during wet weather, automatic sprinkler systems are water saving devices, preventing accidental over-watering. Saving water…
Eco-Tip for 3-11-18 Cat Litter Solutions and Environmental Claims By David Goldstein, VC PWA, IWMD Cat litter options at supermarkets and discount retailers often include only clay-based product lines. However, larger or specialty pet stores carry alternatives. For example, one big box pet store, with branches in Newbury Park, Oxnard, Camarillo and Ventura, carries cat…
Eco-Tip for 3-4-18 Service, Home Laundering, or Disposables: Not Local Composting By David Goldstein, VC PWA, IWMD Major companies providing reusable diaper service in Ventura County are based in Pasadena, Montrose, and Santa Clarita; so does the resource conservation of using reusables instead of disposable diapers exceed the environmental costs of transportation? Alternatively, does home…
Eco-Tip for 2/18/18 Microwave: Options Prevent Disposal By David Goldstein, PWA, IWMD Because microwave ovens have circuit boards, including solder potentially containing mercury and lead, they cannot be disposed in your curbside recycling or garbage. Discarding one is also difficult because some electronic recycling facilities accepting computers do not accept microwaves. A funded system for…
Eco-Tip for 2-4-18 Sand and Rock Landscape: Just Don’t Take it from the Beach By David Goldstein, Ventura County PWA, IWMD Many people are rebuilding landscapes, and others are thinking about how to make their landscape less flammable. Add to this the people who want a landscape to use little water and create no waste,…
Eco-Tip for 2-11-18 Thermostat Revolutions Lead to Recycling By David Goldstein, PWA, IWMD Those who sat out the first thermostat revolution are now being tempted to participate in a second one because the rewards of victory are worth more money. The first revolution replaced mercury devices with more convenient digital ones. Now, a second revolution…
Eco-Tip for 1/28/18 Avoid Weed Waste: Native Regrowth is Best, not Planted Rye By David Goldstein, PWA, IWMD and Jessica Craven Goldstein, Master Gardener, UC Cooperative Extension The brief, hard rain two weeks ago caused calamities to the north, but local hillsides are now sprouting hopeful shoots of green. You may be tempted to help…
Eco-Tip for 1/21/18 Free Natural Resources…Right in Your Own Backyard By Lisa McCullough and Lara Meeker Free natural resources are available, and a local program can help you harvest them. Ventura County’s Community for a Clean Watershed and the Ventura County Public Works Agency’s Integrated Waste Management Division are offering another opportunity to purchase reduced…
Eco-Tip for 1-14-18 Universal Waste Management Separate from Curbside By David Goldstein, PWA, IWMD If you are discarding an electronic device recently replaced by a Christmas gift, or if the first round of batteries included in your new electronic device have now worn out, it may be a good time to consider options for universal…
Eco-Tip for 1-7-18 Waste Reduction or Management for Asbestos in Flooring By David Goldstein, VC PWA, IWMD Asbestos is scary because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says there is no safe level of exposure, and asbestos is present in a wide variety of older building materials. Even a single exposure can cause a life threatening…