Eco-Tip for 9/8/19 Avoid Accidental Litter: Bag Your Bags and Tarp Your Loads By David Goldstein, Ventura County Public Works Agency, IWMD When you see litter in your neighborhood, do you wonder what kind of person would inconsiderately create such a mess? Because litter is often caused unintentionally, the litter you see in your neighborhood…
Eco-Tip for 9-1-19 Waste Reduction or Management for Asbestos in Flooring By…
Eco-Tip for 8/25/19 Swimming Pool Maintenance By David Laak and David Goldstein, Ventura County Public Works Agency As summer fades into fall, swimming pools may be used less, but as any pool owner knows, pool maintenance season is year-round. Covering a pool every night is the best measure to conserve energy, reduce evaporation, and limit…
Getting Back Your Deposit for Cans and Bottles By David Goldstein, VC PWA, IWMD Two weeks ago, RePlanet closed hundreds of recycling centers throughout the state, leaving consumers in many areas without nearby options for can and bottle refunds. To get back the 5 to 10 cents of California Redemption Value you paid when you…
Eco-Tip for 8-4-19 Contrasting European and American Recycling By David Goldstein, PWA, IWMD On vacation in Europe over the past two weeks, I photographed some amazing sights. As my pictures show, even in crowded cities where cars line up for parking spaces, city planners have cordoned off extensive curbside space for the exclusive use of…
Eco-Tip for 7-14-19 Thankful by the Tankful: Tankless, Gray, and Other Options By David Goldstein, VCPWA, IWMD The five “Shower Flowers” raffled by the city of Thousand Oaks during their Arbor/Earth Day a few months ago were surprisingly popular. The shower flower, which retails for about $50, is used to collect water as a shower…
Eco-Tip for 7-7-19 Plastics Still Collected in Curbside Recycling Despite Market Challenges By David Goldstein, VCPWA, IWMD Over the past few weeks, local environmental activists have been sharing through Facebook and forwarding through email an article first published by a British newspaper on June 21. In the inflammatory style of a controversial exposé, The Guardian…
Eco-Tip for 6-30-19 Start-up Businesses for the Environment By David Goldstein, VCPWA, IWMD Glenn Hening, founder of the non-profit Surfrider Foundation, has started a for-profit business he expects will also benefit the environment. The company, currently based at his home in Oxnard, is called Granular Resistance Fitness Corporation. Before deciding to go into business, Hening…
Eco-tip for 6/23/19 Options for Used Furniture By David Goldstein, VCPWA, IWMD Bobbie Morgan, who has owned One Mo’ Time consignment store for 38 years at the same location in Ventura, has seen some disturbing changes in recent years. First with clothing, and now with furniture, she has to turn away far more material than…
Eco-tip for 6-9-19 “Eggtivists” Advocate for Raising Chickens at Home By David Goldstein, VCPWA, IWMD Chickens can be friendly pets with benefits. Chickens provide eggs, fertilize gardens with their poop, and they eat insects, weeds, and food scraps. Keeping chickens also teaches children about our food sources. Chickens in urban areas can also pose problems…