January 2020

Your Monthly GreenNews

Meetings for the Waste Watchers of the Eastern Shore are typically held on the second Wednesday of every month. Our new meeting time and location is from 5:30pm-7:30pm at the Sage Diner in Onley. Agenda for February 12th meeting can be found here . Minutes from the last meeting, in January, can be found here . Please join us for our next meeting at 5:30pm Wednesday February 12th . All are welcome!  The Greenworks Committee will have their semi-annual meeting directly leading up to the Waste Watchers Meeting and is also open to the public.

News, Current Events, & Resources

General Assembly and Legislation Updates! SB 193 which authorizes localities to prohibit the use or sale of expanded polystyrene food service containers, and  SB 198  which authorizes any locality to prohibit the distribution, sale, or offer for sale of disposable plastic shopping bags to consumers. Both bills were referred from the Senate Committee on Local Government to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee. Four important bills that would reduce the flow of litter in Virginia are:  SB 193 and  SB 198 along with  SB 11 and  SB 26. SB 11 authorizes any locality to impose a tax of five cents per bag on disposable paper bags or disposable plastic bags. SB 26 imposes a five-cent per bag tax on plastic bags provided to customers by certain retailers in localities located wholly within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. HB 302 would repeal the annual litter tax. The litter tax is responsible for almost half of the money that goes into the Litter Control and Recycling Fund. Repealing the litter tax would reduce funding for the Litter Control and Recycling Fund by $900,000 annually which would leave less than $1 million available for litter abatement programs in Virginia every year. The Clean VA C ampaign Toolbox is great for talking points on the importance of legislation for single use bags. The Clean VA  Legislation Tracker page hosts talking points for several of the bills that are being heard at the 2020 General Assembly. Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee This page contains contact information for all member of the committee Despite being critically underfunded, the Litter Control and Recycling Fund is a proven success story for Virginia. In Fiscal Year 2019, $1.7 million was dispersed to 190 localities and programs. This funding provided an economic value of $22 million and helped resource 5,500 community clean ups that allowed 45,000 volunteers to remove 75,000 cubic yards of litter. This is the best return on investment of any tax in the Commonwealth.

New Glass from Old Glass - Now You Truly CAN Recycle Your Glass! Fairfax,  Arlington ,  Alexandria  and a handful of other jurisdictions have recently stopped accepting glass in curbside recycling bins. It wasn't getting recycled anyway, and collecting it with other recycling cost more than just sending it to a landfill. In place of curbside recycling for glass, they now offer residents glass drop off sites where the glass is then recycled into new bottles and other products. It's the first time in years glass in the area is actually being turned into new glass. Check out their article and interactive map here !

The Mattress Recycling Council estimates that Americans dispose of roughly 15 to 20 million mattresses every year. The average mattress takes up 40 cubic feet, which means that one year’s worth of discarded mattresses will occupy more than 132,000 square miles of landfill space. To learn alternative methods of disposing of your mattress, check out this simple guide! Want to look into buying a natural, organic mattress? Check out the best ones here

Top 10 Tips For Making Your Bedroom Energy Efficient! Reducing your household’s energy consumption reduces the strain on your city’s electrical grid.

Let go of the A/C Use ceiling fans instead Watch your windows Stay insulated Switch up your bedding Sleep naked Maintain air ducts and filters Upgrade your light bulbs Remove electronics Think outside of the bedroom, too

Have an idea for an area that needs attention? It's time to plan the Operation Our Clean Roads events for spring 2020. Get in touch so we can help you organize a fun and rewarding clean up day in your neck of the woods!

Waste Watchers Leadership Needed! Please " look in your heart and see if you have a few hours a month to help out. And remember; people who are part of a group live longer, happier lives. Honest! Numerous studies have shown that to be true. So let us help you to live a better life by accepting a leadership role with us! " We are looking for a new Treasurer, Litter Survey Coordinator, and soon a Vice President.

This monthly e-newletter is made possible by the GreenWorks Committee, a collaboration between the Waste Watchers of the Eastern Shore and the Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission! These mailings will announce upcoming meetings of the Waste Watchers and those of the GreenWorks Committee, as well as potential volunteer opportunities, related community events, and locally relevant news articles.

Waste Watchers of the Eastern Shore | (757) 824-0608 | wastewatchers.esva@gmail.com| www.wastewatchers.esva.net

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