DECEMBER 2012 NEWSLETTER

What aboutHOLIDAY WASTE?

For many, December brings a flurry of gift-giving, greetings and, ultimately, garbage. Americans generate 25% more waste between Thanksgiving and New Year's than any other time of year. While the holidays are about more than just material possessions, stuff happens and weve collected some tips to help you reduce, reuse and recycle your way into 2013. Learn more.

This Holiday Season, Show That You Give a Scrap

GrowNYCs food scrap collection efforts have kept more than 935,000 pounds of organic waste out of landfills since March 2011. You can help us reach the million pound mark by the end of the year! Simply store your onion peels, apple cores, coffee grounds and other food scraps and bring them to one of our Greenmarket drop-off sites where well collect them for local composting. Visit our compost page for more information. Because a rind is a terrible thing to waste.

Hurricane Sandy Hazardous Waste Pickup

Curbside pickup of household hazardous waste is available via the USEPA until Sunday, December 9, in neighborhoods impacted Hurricane Sandy. The public is encouraged to place potentially hazardous household products on the curb for pick up and proper disposal, including substances such as paints, cleaners, oil, propane tanks, batteries, petroleum products, weed/bug killers, car batteries, bleach and ammonia. The NYC Department of Sanitation will also collect "white goods" such as refrigerators and ensure the removal of refrigerants prior to recycling. Please click here for more info on materials accepted and areas serviced.

Keep Your Evergreen Ever Green

If you're thinking of putting up a real tree for the holidays, plan to chip in at MulchFest! Trees (cleaned of stands, lights, tinsel and ornaments) can be dropped off at designated sites between January 2-8 to be recycled into mulch for NYC parks. Bring your own bag to select sites on January 12 & 13 from 10am-2pm and take home mulch for your yard, garden or street tree. Find citywide drop-off sites and mulch pick-up locations here. If you miss MulchFest, the city will pick up trees (also stripped of ornaments, etc) curbside from January 2-19, barring any snow disruptions.

Textile Recycling Holiday Schedule Changes

Clothing and textile recycling at Union Square Greenmarket will be suspended on Mondays 12/24 & 12/31.

NY Cares Coat Drive

While clothing donations have been problematic for many hurricane relief sites, the NY Cares Coat Drive is a great way to help others with your gently used garments. Now in its 24th year, this event is aiming to collect a record 200,000 coats to help New Yorkers in need, including residents in areas hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. Learn more about how you can help.

New Resources Available to Teach Students the 3 Rs

GrowNYCs Recycling Champions Program has been working hands-on with faculty, staff, parents and students to create model recycling programs in NYC schools. One of the innovative teachers at Recycling Champions School PS /IS 308 created a handy lesson plan to teach students to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Students wrote compelling explanations of the three Rs and made art projects out of reused materials, learning about sustainability while teaching other students about it too! Find their lesson plan, along with many others in our Recycling Champions Toolkit.

Park Slope Electronics Recycling Collection
Saturday, December 8, 10am-4pm
P.S. 321, 180 7th Ave b/t 1st and 2nd Sts, Brooklyn

Responsibly recycle unwanted or broken electronics (no appliances such as microwaves or refrigerators). Sponsored by the Lower East Side Ecology Center. See List of Acceptable Items

New Brighton Stop 'N' Swap
Saturday, December 15, 12pm-3pm
Christ Church New Brighton
76 Franklin Avenue, Staten Island

Bring clean, reusable, portable items such as clothing, house wares, games, books, & toys that you no longer need, and take home something new-to-you, free! You dont have to bring something to take something. No furniture or large items, please. Learn more at www.grownyc.org/swap.

We Want Your Input and Your Vote!

GrowNYC is looking to the future of our organization and in doing so, thinking of offering a more formal membership program, with perks and benefits for being a GrowNYC supporter. Please help us out, by taking a quick five question survey. Thank you!

VOTE for GrowNYC and help sister program Environmental Education to win up to a $20,000 EnviroKidz Giving Back Award to get 1,300+ NYC kids outside learning about solar, habitat and conservation and more!