November is a month in which Keys residents need to learn their three Rs. That’s not reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic but Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
November 15 is America Recycles Day and local green organization GLEE has dedicated the month to encouraging everyone to reduce wasteful purchases and practices, reuse materials whenever possible, and recycle as the last resort. The group has also added a fourth R for rot. GLEE is encouraging soil production through composting.
Unfortunately, recycling rates have been very low in the Keys. Recent results show single digit participation in terms of the percentage of those who put items in their recycling bins at the curb. As a result glass bottles, newspapers, cans and certain plastic containers have been hauled to the mainland for incineration.
If you think that doesn’t matter, think again. At a time when landfills are filling up and leaking toxic chemicals into the ground water and ocean, it’s critical to limit the amount of material dump there. Statistics provided by the Environmental Protection Agency show, for example, that 9 cubic yards of landfill space is saved by recycling one ton of cardboard.
Recycling also saves energy. It only takes 5 percent of the energy to recycle aluminum cans versus mining and refining new aluminum. Recycling a ton of glass keeps over 700 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere, a critical factor at a time when greenhouse gases are warming the planet.
So GLEE has laid down the gauntlet. We’re challenging each local area to dramatically improve its recycling rate during the month. In November, the R4 Challenge will involve each local area in competition for the best Keyswide recycling rates. In addition, the group is staging R4 Fairs in Islamorada and Key West on Nov 17th to teach more ways to reduce, reuse, recycle and compost (rot).
Some residents have complained that they can’t get recycling bins and that’s why they don’t recycle. However, in the middle and upper Keys, Florida Keys Electric Cooperative has a good supply of bins on hand that are free for locals. Residents should just stop by either the Marathon or Tavernier office to get one. Waste Management also has plenty of bins for people living in the lower Keys.
Others have complained that the items that they throw into their bins aren’t actually recycled. Waste Management district manager Greg Sullivan reported at the recent Keys Sustain-ability session that, in fact, the company has constructed a sophisticated recycling facility in Broward County and recycles glass, cans, newspaper and plastic bottles. In the future, the facility will be able to automatically separate trash from recyclable material.
Sullivan reminded residents, however, that the only plastic containers that can be recycled have the numbers 1 or 2 on the bottom. Anything else will contaminate the load.
Recycling is certainly very easy. Residents need only put rinsed out material in their bins instead of the trash container. People should check with their local trash hauler to find out the day on which to put the bin at the curb.
GLEE encourages everyone to take the recycling pledge by going to the America Recycles home page at http://www.nrc-recycle.org/americarecycles.aspx.
Get involved with the America Recycles Day and take the pledge!
In recognition of America Recycles Day, GLEE is sponsoring recycling fairs in Key West and Islamorada on Saturday November 17.
More than just promoting recycling, the free fairs – with exciting and entertaining events for adults and children -- will highlight all four Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rot (compost). The events will focus on how simple changes can make a large impact on the environment.
The fair in Key West, at Key West High School, will feature a range of events from environmental films about the four Rs to a composting workshop. There will also be a variety recycled art projects by both adults and children. Key West High School students will present information about recycling “dos and don'ts” and a biodegradation guessing game.
Booths will include e-waste recycling drop-off sponsored by an EPA certified recycler from Orlando. The fair will feature a silent auction and a number of green door prizes.
In Islamorada, GLEE members have organized an R4 fair at the Montessori Treasure Village Charter School from 3-5 p.m.
The event will provide a number of opportunities for people to learn how to participate in greening up the island community. Mayor Dave Boerner will read a proclamation designating November as R4 month in Islamorada. Bruce Williams, from local waste hauler Onyx, will be on hand to talk about the ABC’s of recycling in Islamorada and will provide free blue recycling bins.
Montessori Charter School students will display a “sea dragon” sculpture constructed out of non recyclable materials. Booths with information relating to the four Rs will be on hand, as well as Monroe County Extension Service master gardeners demonstrating the “how’s and why’s/do’s and don’ts” of composting. The fair will also include a raffle with prizes to include hand made cloth bags sewn by students from the Plantation Key School environmental club.
This goal of both fairs is to increase awareness about all the ways that residents can work together to decrease the impact that humans have on the Keys fragile environment.
Anyone interested in getting involved or in donating raffle items relevant to the four R themes, should contact Karin Wolfe at 522-2759 or 664-3753.
Volunteers who want to help with the Key West fair should contact Lucy Carleton at 296-6348 or 2610fog@bellsouth.net. Visit www.loveyourisland.com for some general info about the fair, which runs from 3-6 p.m. (Back to top)
The fourth R during America Recycles Month stands for Rot. GLEE encourages everyone to compost their kitchen garbage (except meat) and yard waste such as leaves and grass.
One of the best reasons to use compost is that it is free. It comes from items most of us throw away on a daily basis. As a result, composting reduces the amount of material sent to the land fill, an extremely beneficial by-product.
Compost can be made from all kitchen scraps except for meat or chicken. Even egg shells. In addition, some people add lint from their dryer and material from the vacuum cleaner bag. Fallen leaves and other green matter work well. To make the compost even faster it's a good idea to shred the yard waste, particularly leaves.
Those who would like to use compost on their garden are often turned off by the process of making it. Outdoor piles can smell, they attract raccoons and other critters and sometimes they just don't make good fertilizer.
In the old days many intrepid gardeners constructed a compost bin of wood or other materials. Following instructions in gardening magazines carefully, they would layer piles of yard waste such as leaves or grass with kitchen scraps, lime, manure and other items.
Then came the hard part: turning the pile. Those who live in the freezing north have a heck of a time turning that pile and even in good weather it isn't easy. Sometimes all that resulted was a stinky clump of dark material.
Now, however, a number of new products have appeared that not only make the process easy but also fast, especially in a warm climate such as ours. Some entrepreneurs have developed a variety of composters that are perfect for the Keys. They take up little space, are easy to use and produce useable compost very quickly.
They all work on a variation of using a large barrel that opens on one end. The container is then mounted on a frame that allows it to turn easily. Since these containers are made from plastic they last for years and resist all kinds of weather and local critters.
One device, available on composters.com is called the Green Machine. Made by Mantis, the unit consists of a recycled plastic container like many of the others. One advantage it has are interior "teeth" that break up the compost. It also has aeration holes to increase bacterial activity.
This tumbling compost bin features a center aeration tube with a cross bar that assists in the break up and separation of compost as it is turned. This prevents the materials from turning into a ball and just sliding back and forth when tumbled.
Better yet, the container avoids the odor problems that open piles encounter.
A less expensive model that works equally well is called the Urban Compost Tumbler. It is also available on composters.com.
Another model, referred to as The King of all Composters, uses a two-chamber design to allow the compost to "cook" in one section, while leaving plenty of room to fill the other chamber with fresh scraps. Each section has a generous 10 bushel capacity, for a total of 20 bushels of space.
To use the device requires just opening one or both of the doors, dumping in garbage and turn the handle to spin. The unit features a gear system that makes it easy to turn. It sits 32 inches off the ground for easy loading and unloading.
These devices – and many others on the site -- can be a bit pricey but they will last a long time and do produce great results. Be sure to get a tumbler that makes it possible to turn the compost easily and regularly.
In just a few weeks, you'll get what some gardeners call black gold. It’s great fertilizer and costs nothing to make (Back to top)