Composting at home is an easy way to save money on your garbage bill and combat climate change while creating fresh soil for your garden! Want to learn how to do it?

Online Resources

There is a ton of information on the web!  For example, check out this video from our friends at Stopwaste.org in the Eastbay: https://youtu.be/po0a_VS7F0w

Later this year, Zero Waste Marin will be offering free, two-hour composting courses for Marin County residents. These classes will cover basic composting skills such as mulching, building a hot pile, and transforming food scraps with worms. Each participant receives a free kitchen compost pail! Visit our Home Composting Courses page late this Fall to learn more or to sign up for a course.

Here are a couple of resources and tips to help you get started with composting at home:

• Avoid adding meat scraps, fish bones, bacon fat, cleaning chemicals, pet waste or diseased plants to your backyard compost pile. These items can attract pests and spread disease.
• Place your compost bin in an area that is exposed to more sunlight or aerate your pile by mixing the contents every two weeks to speed up the composting process.

If you prefer to put your food scraps and yard trimmings in your green cart, you can! Start by visiting our Composting in Marin page for a general overview of items that can be placed in your green cart. A few tips:

• Yard and garden waste, such as flowers, grass and leaves, can go in your green cart. Meat, fish, moldy bread and veggie scraps can go in your cart as well.
• To prevent odors, layer yard waste, newspaper or shredded paper on the bottom of your green cart before adding food scraps. You can also wrap food waste in a paper bag or keep food waste in the freezer until collection day to help contain odors.

Zero Waste Marin works with cities and towns throughout Marin County to educate residents about home composting and yard waste in an effort to help improve the local environment. Click HERE to download a copy of this newsletter.

Celebrate summer with the environment in mind! Zero Waste Marin would like to offer residents sustainable and environmentally friendly options for your barbeques, picnics, and get-togethers.

• Provide your guests with reusable plates, cups, utensils and cloth napkins instead of paper and plastic disposables.
• Buy in bulk, look for products with as little packaging as possible, and try to shop at grocery stores that allow you to bring your own reusable bag to fill with different kinds of foods to reduce plastic waste. Visit our Tips to Reduce Waste at Home page for more ideas on how to optimize your shopping trips!
• Avoid excessive food waste by preparing an appropriate amount of food for your expected number of guests. You can donate any extra food to local organizations, such as the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, the Ritter Center or the St. Vincent De Paul Society. For more tips and resources, please visit our Food Waste Prevention page.
• Repurpose your food scraps! Turn your carrot tops into pesto sauce, make a refreshing summer tea with peach leaves, or even use your shrimp shells to create a delicious shrimp shell stock.
• Compost all your food scraps! Compostable foods include bones, rinds, eggshells, and your locally farmed clam, mussel, and oyster shells. Learn more about composting on our Composting Info and Courses page.

Zero Waste Marin works with cities and towns throughout Marin County to educate residents about ways to reduce food waste to improve the environment. Click HERE to download a PDF copy of this newsletter.

Is it time to clean out your medicine cabinet? What should you do with expired, unused, or unwanted prescription medication or sharps? Never throw these items into the garbage or flush them down the toilet! They can pollute our local waterways and harm our trash collectors. Instead, follow these tips from Zero Waste Marin and our partners to safely dispose of your medication and sharps.

• Med-Project is a program focused on medication education and safe disposal in Marin County. They offer resources including a prescription drug mail-back service and in-home disposal tips. Visit med-project.org for a list of nearby disposal locations in Marin.
• Many local pharmacies now accept sharps and/or pharmaceutical waste. Visit marincounty.org for a comprehensive list of facilities in your area that accept sharps, pharmaceutical waste, or both.
• The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recognizes National Prescription Drug Take Back Day every April and October. On this day, residents can bring their unwanted prescription medications to a local, participating collection site. For more information, visit deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/.

Check with your local disposal outlet for details on pre-disposal procedures. For example, before you dispose of unwanted medication, place your extra tablets or pills in a Ziploc bag and put your empty vials in the garbage. Keep liquid prescription medication in original bottles and remove or mark off the label to ensure your privacy and anonymity before disposal.

Zero Waste Marin works with cities and towns throughout Marin County to educate residents about ways to safely dispose of unwanted prescription medication and improve the environment. Click HERE to download a PDF copy of this newsletter.

Summer is finally here! Before purchasing new outfits or outdoor supplies, Zero Waste Marin would like to provide residents with some quick tips on how to safely recycle and dispose of unwanted, common household items:

Shoes & Clothing

Need to swap out your winter wardrobe to make room for summer clothing?
• Donate your clothes to local thrift stores, such as Goodwill. You can claim these donations as tax deductible.
• Don’t throw your textiles in the trash! Many local retailers have programs to take back your worn out or stained clothing, towels and sheets.

Kitchenware & Appliances

If it’s time to get a new appliance, recycle your unwanted large and small appliances, including refrigerators, stoves, microwaves, and toasters.
• Donate old silverware, plates, cups, pots, pans and other kitchenware to Goodwill.
• If your appliances are still in working condition, contact local charities such as the Salvation Army or Habitat for Humanity. You’ll be able to claim charitable deductions for donated appliances.
• Visit our Recycling Guide for a comprehensive list of organizations that recycle appliances or accept donations.
• For appliances that no longer work, visit Zero Waste Marin’s Electronics Information Page to learn about safe disposal options or contact your local hauler to learn about their collection options.

Electronics

Planning to upgrade your personal electronics? Here are a couple of smart reuse and recycling options:
• Sell usable electronics on eBay or to a local thrift store for fast cash!
• Consider upgrading a component of your computer, such as adding additional memory or storage, to lengthen your laptop’s life span.
• Recycle used printers and ink cartridges for free through programs like the HP Computer Recycling Program or through Quill.com.

Books

• Donate used books that are still in good condition to local libraries, thrift shops, hospitals, and used book retailers.
• Unusable paperback books and magazines are easily recyclable. When recycling, hardcovers should be removed because the glue that holds the book together is not recyclable.

Camping

• Help reduce metal packaging waste and save money on your summer camping trips by switching to refillable fuel canisters! Learn more about refillable fuel canisters or find a local retailer on refuelyourfun.org. Refillables can last up to 12 years and be refilled hundreds of times!

Zero Waste Marin works with cities and towns throughout Marin County to educate
residents about waste prevention, reuse, and repair. Click HERE to download a PDF copy of this newsletter.

Earth Day is an annual, worldwide event that celebrates efforts to protect our environment. This Earth Day, choose one of the following eco-conscious activities to reduce waste and pollution here in Marin County.

• Plant a tree. Trees produce oxygen, absorb carbon dioxide and counter toxic byproducts of burning fossil fuels – all of which help improve air quality. Plant a tree in your own backyard with your family or friends or join local volunteer groups such as Marin County’s Dedication Tree Day at Lagoon Park, where you can plant a tree to commemorate a loved one and help restore habitats for local wildlife. You can also support organizations that aim to reverse deforestation, like the Canopy Project.
• Switch to reusable. Instead of purchasing coffee in a paper cup with a plastic top, bring your own coffee cup.
• Shop Local. Shop for groceries at local farmer’s markets. Not only is the food fresh, but it’s virtually free of packaging! Make smart decisions about what to purchase and be sure to eat what you buy to avoid wasting food.
• Make a backyard compost pile. Composting reduces your carbon footprint and repurposes food waste. You can purchase a backyard compost bin from your local hardware store or build your own.
• Recycle and compost every day. Every year, Americans generate more than 258 million tons of trash. Visit the Who is My Hauler page to learn more about the recycling and composting services offered in your city or town.
• Have you heard about Clean Marin? This new public private partnership is designed to support and encourage all the efforts in Marin that keep it clean and healthy. Find volunteer opportunities and more information at cleanmarin.org.

Zero Waste Marin works with cities and towns throughout Marin County to educate residents about ways to reduce waste and improve the local environment.

Click HERE to download a PDF copy of this newsletter.

Single-use batteries have become a serious problem for our environment. If not disposed of correctly, they can corrode and contaminate surrounding soil and water.  Zero Waste Marin encourages residents to invest in rechargeable batteries: you’ll save money and help protect our community from exposure to toxic waste.

Rechargeable batteries are easy to purchase and can be found at local electronic stores as well as online. These batteries can be recharged approximately 100 times!

If you make the switch to rechargeable batteries, Zero Waste Marin wants to reward your commitment to the environment. The first 200 eligible Marin County residents who take the “Rechargeable Battery Pledge” will receive a rechargeable battery kit at no charge, including a charger and four AA rechargeable batteries. Pledge to make the switch by March 30, 2018.

Please remember that it is illegal to throw single-use household batteries in the trash or recycling bin. You can safely dispose of small quantities of batteries at many participating businesses throughout the county. For more information on rechargeable batteries and disposal locations, please visit the Bulb and Battery page.

Click HERE to download a copy of this newsletter.

Haga el Cambio a Baterías/Pilas Recargables

Las baterías/pilas de un solo uso se han convertido en un problema grave para nuestro medio ambiente. Si no son eliminadas correctamente, pueden corroerse y contaminar la tierra y el agua. Zero Waste Marin lo alienta a invertir en la compra de baterías/pilas recargables: ahorrará dinero y ayudará a proteger a nuestra comunidad de la exposición a desechos tóxicos.

Las baterías/pilas recargables son fáciles de comprar y se pueden encontrar en tiendas locales y en la internet. ¡Estas baterías/pilas pueden ser recargadas aproximadamente 100 veces!

Si usted hace el cambio a baterías/pilas recargables, Zero Waste Marin quiere recompensar su compromiso con el medio ambiente. Los primeros 200 residentes elegibles del Condado de Marin que tomen el “Compromiso de Batería/Pilas Recargables” recibirán un kit de baterías/pilas recargables gratis, que incluye un cargador y cuatro baterías/pilas recargables doble A.  Comprométase y haga el cambio antes del 30 de marzo de 2018.

Recuerde que es ilegal tirar a la basura o al contenedor de reciclaje las baterías/pilas domésticas de un solo uso. Usted puede deshacerse de pequeñas cantidades de pilas/baterías caseras en muchos sitios participantes en todo el condado. Para obtener más información sobre baterías/pilas recargables y ubicaciones de eliminación, visite la página Bulb and Battery en el sitio web Zero Waste Marin.