NewsRack: irge304/Urban-Waste/Waste-Management/Composting

Comment sought on green waste recycling plan - Salt Lake Tribune

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:30:00 GMT

by Mike Gorrell The Salt Lake Tribune Published May 17, 2013 01:24PM MDT Curbside green-waste recycling is scheduled to begin next year on a subscription basis in Salt Lake Valley communities served by the Wasatch Front Waste and Recycling District. But before the plan is finalized, the district’s board wants to hear what customers have to say about the idea and three other proposals, including one that lets people rent bulk waste disposal trailers again, albeit for a higher fee. A public hearing on those matters will be held at 6 p.m. Monday at district offices in S... ...

Dirty Diapers Pile Up In Portland Recycling Bins: 'It's Not Pretty' - NPR News

Tue, 14 May 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Waste and recycling handlers in Portland, Ore., say they're seeing an unfortunate side effect of the city's reduction in garbage pickups: 120 pounds of dirty diapers a day, tucked into recycling bins.

Volunteers needed for ursine alert - Durango Herald

Mon, 13 May 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Colorado Parks and Wildlife wants to organize a cadre of volunteers to alert folks about what a potentially active bear season means for homeowners.An initial orientation session is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. May 22 at the agencyx2019s wildlife museum at the fish hatchery, 155 E. 16th St.Further information is available from...

Is It Safe To Use Compost Made From Treated Human Waste? - NPR Health Science

Sun, 12 May 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Treated human waste has been used on farmland for decades, but the ick factor has not entirely faded. Some environmentalists think the treatment process may not get rid of all the harmful contaminants that could be in the waste.

At Wasatch Community Gardens sale, plants and locals are the stars - Salt Lake Tribune

Tue, 07 May 2013 18:30:00 GMT

by Dawn House The Salt Lake Tribune Published May 8, 2013 07:48AM MDT When it comes to Saturday’s giant sale of plants in Salt Lake City, the focus will be on community. From the timing of the event to the suitability of the seedlings, everything is just about right for gardeners to begin planting their summer crops. “The weather is not too hot, the chance of frost is low and it’s cool enough that plants can establish roots before it gets really hot,” said Bill Stadwiser with Wasatch Community Gardens. From 8 a.m. to noon, the nonprofit gardening group is offering... ...

Green news roundup: Invasive moths, delayed spring and green roofs - Guardian: Environment

Environment editor — Tue, 07 May 2013 18:30:00 GMT

The week's top environment news stories and green events • If you're not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox Environment news • Pest caterpillars face helicopter blitz with insecticide • Ed Davey hits out against coalition climate change sceptics • Arctic faces further threat from ocean acidification • Billions of cicadas to invade US east coast after 17 years underground • Renewable energy firms accuse activists of scaremongering over biomass On the blogs • John Abraham: This isn't the weather we grew up with • Wildlife forced out of California 'salad bowl' by food safety regulations • India acts to save Asiatic lion by moving it – but hard work has only just begun • Revealed: Germany's secret bid to kill ban on bee-harming pesticides • Is China really a climate change leader? Multimedia • Delayed Spring – your best pictures • SeaOrbiter: the spaceship orbiting the Blue Planet – interactive • The week in wildlife – ...

At Wasatch Community Gardens sale, plants and locals are stars - Salt Lake Tribune

Tue, 07 May 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Kevin McCloud: 'I am a big fan of composting toilets' - Guardian: Environment

Damian Carrington — Tue, 07 May 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Grand Designs' green-minded presenter enthuses over toilets, mending, and his expanding trousers You can cover a lot of ground in 40 minutes with Kevin McCloud, the presenter of the Grand Designs TV show. We get through his expanding bellows trousers, retail therapy as the thrill of the caveman's kill and why he loves long-drop toilets. I also ask him for his favourite Grand Design projects ever: small is beautiful, it seems. But I start by asking him what has got him excited today? "I have just got my delivery of Sugru ," he says. This turns out to be a kind of putty. "It comes in different colours, you can stretch it and shape it, and then overnight it sets to a hard silicon rubber," he enthuses. "It is for hacking - repairing stuff - like chairs, cameras, ski poles, even trousers." McCloud in the flesh replicates his screen persona, being simultaneously enthusiastic and thoughtful. The seemingly effortless tumble of words flows from the joys of Sugru to the broader theme of the ...

Organics recycling is slow to catch on in Hennepin County - Star Tribune: Latest

Mary Jane Smetanka — Tue, 07 May 2013 18:30:00 GMT

St. Louis Park becomes the 12th Hennepin County city to offer a residential program. Advocates hope others will soon join in.

Langstone, Hampshire: Who stole all the fat balls? - Guardian: Environment

Claire Stares — Mon, 06 May 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Langstone, Hampshire: A twitching, bewhiskered nose appeared, followed by currant eyes and over-sized ears While I unhooked bird feeders from the branches of a weeping silver birch, a long-tailed tit popped out from behind the curtain of newly unfurled leaves, followed by the rest of the foraging party, which swung en masse on the fat-ball cage like circus acrobats. Long-tailed tits breed early, so they are usually the first absentees from my feeders each spring, as they turn to invertebrate prey. This year, due to the unseasonable cold and the late onset of spring, family groups are still daily visitors to the garden feeding station. As I entered the garage to top up the feeders, I heard a loud rustle. Grabbing a broom, I poked around among the tools, sacks of potting compost and trays of chitting seed potatoes. There was the shuffle of feet on plastic beside the feed bin. Shifting a pile of cardboard I discovered a forgotten bag containing a box of fat balls. The packaging had been ...

Letter: A ‘Silent Majority’ on Guns - NY Times: Editorials

Sun, 05 May 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Letter: A ‘Silent Majority’ on Guns

Jamaica Police Say Constable Slain in Crime Area - International Herald Tribune: Americas

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS — Sun, 05 May 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Jamaica Police Say Constable Slain in Crime Area

Curacao Politician Fatally Shot by Gunmen at Beach - International Herald Tribune: Americas

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS — Sun, 05 May 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Curacao Politician Fatally Shot by Gunmen at Beach

Mexico President Commemorates Cinco De Mayo - International Herald Tribune: Americas

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS — Sun, 05 May 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Mexico President Commemorates Cinco De Mayo

Honduras and Guatemala Join Petrocaribe Program - International Herald Tribune: Americas

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS — Sun, 05 May 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Honduras and Guatemala Join Petrocaribe Program

Venezuela to Tap Military to Fight Crime - International Herald Tribune: Americas

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS — Sat, 04 May 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Venezuela to Tap Military to Fight Crime

C.I.A. ‘Ghost Money’ and the Fight Against Terror - new york times afghanistan

Thu, 02 May 2013 18:30:00 GMT

It’s game-on for Karzai with C.I.A. “ghost money.”

Unraveling The Mystery Of A Rice Revolution - NPR Health Science

Fri, 03 May 2013 18:30:00 GMT

An economist wanted to find out why some farmers in the developing world were abandoning a new way of growing rice that increases yields while reducing the need for seeds and water. He found that even while their rice fields were more productive, their household income didn't go up.

Steamboat briefs: Botanic Park, Yampatika, Horizons receive grants - Steamboat Pilot

Thu, 02 May 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Yampa River Botanic Park, Yampatika and Horizons Specialized Services received $13,500 in grants from Colorado Garden Show, according to a news release.

Animal shelter in Adams County gets creative with waste disposal - Headlines: All Headlines

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 18:30:00 GMT

When Rose Seemann began looking at the numbers, she was floored to find that the estimated 166 million cats and dogs in the U.

Kits and classes help Utahns learn to grow fungi - Salt Lake Tribune

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:30:00 GMT

by Heather May The Salt Lake Tribune Published Apr 30, 2013 08:37AM MDT The mystery is what drew Jan Chamberlin to the mushroom. Her garden includes zucchini, lettuces, raspberries and tomatoes, so she’s no stranger to growing food. But mushrooms are in a different kingdom than plants. They have no roots, stems or leaves. While the mushroom cap is visible, all the work of absorbing nutrients is happening unseen, in the soil or wood or compost. “It’s different and it’s something I’ve never tried before,” the 54-year-old said. “I wanted to see if I could actually do i... ...

Hennepin County touts recycling increase of 1 percent - Star Tribune: Local

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Curbside recycling increased, reversing a downward trend in that category.

Editorial: Mayor Bloomberg Rethinks Recycling - NY Times: Editorials

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Editorial: Mayor Bloomberg Rethinks Recycling

Nine gardening myths debunked - Guardian: Science

David Derbyshire — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Burying a cow's horn filled with manure is one thing, but even some of the better known horticultural tips don't stand up to scientific scrutiny Is there a hobby anywhere that's more burdened with folklore and superstition than gardening? On any allotment you'll soon find someone convinced that potatoes must be planted on Good Friday, that garlic keeps aphids away, or that human hair wards off eelworm . The extreme version of this is biodynamics, the "holistic" approach to plants favoured by Prince Charles, which combines organic gardening with new-age magic. Biodynamic gardeners sow according to the moon and the zodiac. They spray homeopathic remedies, some of which must be prepared in a sheep's skull or a deer's bladder. And they bury cow's horns filled with manure and quartz to focus "vital forces". Biodynamic gardening is dismissed by the Royal Horticultural Society, and likened to witchcraft by leading plant scientists. Yet it still has its adherents. Former Formula 1 champion Jody ...

L'Uritonnoir: the straw bale urinal that makes compost from 'liquid gold' - Guardian: Environment

Oliver Wainwright — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 18:30:00 GMT

French design studio Faltazi has developed a plug-in funnel to upcycle urine and bring an eco message to summer festivals "Are you used to going for a number one in the back of your garden?" asks French design studio Faltazi . "Do not waste this valuable golden fluid by sprinkling on inappropriate surfaces!" Their solution to the problem of peeing al fresco is l'Uritonnoir , a hybrid of a urinal ("urinnoir" in French) and a funnel ("entonnoir") that plugs into a straw bale to make your very own urine upcycling factory. As the bale is filled with your "liquid gold", the nitrogen in the urine reacts with the carbon in the straw to begin the process of decomposition - forming a rich mound of composted humus within 6-12 months. L'Uritonnoir was originally dreamt up with summer festivals in mind, where straw bales are often in frequent supply, but portaloos are not. The device comes as a flat polypropylene sheet, which is folded into shape and slotted together, then threaded on a looping ...