If you're not going to eat that, please don't buy it.

I've been ruminating lately on the idea of food waste. It's a hot topic right now and I feel like I'm reading about it everywhere. Maybe there'll be a tipping point where if enough people become familiar with the idea, (or if enough people run out of money), more people will stop wasting so much damn food. So, here, long overdue (to whomever is reading), are some thoughts and ideas on the subject. 

The image below shows what a family of four's portion of America's food waste would look like, monthly, translated into identifiable products. So, all the waste from all sources, divided up amongst households in America.

That's a lot of food, right? 

NYT article: One Country's Table Scraps; Another Country's Meal.  

Here's basically the same information, translated into dollar amounts. This image is what the country's food waste looks like across the board (restaurants, markets, homes and other food-service outlets) for a year:

That's a lot of money, right?

Bloomberg Businessweek article: Living in the United States of Food Waste

Of course, many of us might say...."well it doesn't like like that! It looks like this":

GROSS! HOW LONG HAS THAT BEEN IN THE FRIDGE? I'M NOT EATING THAT!

And that right there is the problem, and what I want to write about here today.

I've been reading a lot of pretty shocking and frankly disgusting statistics and information about the problem of food waste, and though I'm not going to use this blog to make any claims about those statistics, (I'm not doing a research paper here), I think it's fair to say that though opinions might vary about what constitutes 'waste' and that there may be differing ways of calculating it, it seems reasonable to say that in the end, whether it's a quarter or a third, the fact is that we throw away a significant part of our food products in this country. It's a major source of lost energy, money, and resources, and is something that can be improved upon. Should be improved upon. Even "Ladies Home Journal" is getting into the mix here, suggesting ways to save on food waste.

That's pretty mainstream, so....maybe people are starting to think. 

I think there are a bunch of problems going on simultaneously, particularly in this country, relating to how we use and view food. There's the whole 'we eat too much' thing, and the whole 'Americans eat junk" thing, and both topics have been discussed to death and I'm not sure it's fair to say those problems are limited to America. At least not anymore. I'm not interested in those topics because I think those are subjects better left to dieticians and healthy food advocates. To the extend that there is crossover between healthy food preparation and waste-reducing food preparation, I'm interested. 

However,  I do think there are a few newer issues that are going on that are contributing to our national habit of food waste. They are, in no particular order:

1. Food TV and the general fetishisation of 'fancy', exotic, or otherwise unfamiliar food and the weird phenomenon of the "Celebrity Chef".
2. Lack of basic food preparation knowledge, or kitchen or home-economics understanding across all ages.
3. Oversensitivity to the idea of 'imperfect' food.

To begin, who doesn't enjoy a good episode of "Iron Chef"? It's fascinating, exciting and ridiculous. And I can't get enough of "Chopped", it's riveting. But, while it interests me as an ex-cooking professional to see what kind of nonsense the contestants are going to be asked to pull from their mystery baskets, I'm not sure it's educational. (Really? An entree that incorporates ding-dongs and sausage?) However, it's not supposed to be. Neither is "Cupcake Wars" (which thrills Olivia to no end), or "Food Truck Wars" or "Extreme Outdoor Grillmaster" or...whatever...I made that one up. However the proliferation of this kind of show indicates how obsessed we are with food, it's preparation, and most importantly - it shows that food is now another source of entertainment in a new way. We're not entertained by going out to restaurants only, now we want to WATCH our food on TV.  Food in these shows has been stripped of it's basic place in the world which should be that of nourishment. I'm sure that there are plenty of straight cooking instruction shows, recipes with Rachel Ray or whomever,  but overall I see the trend going towards us watching food preparation like we'd watch golf, or the WF perhaps (depending on which show). I don't think it's necessarily responsible to disregard practicality and expense, or nutritional value - and those things are not addressed in the 'competition' style shows at all. People watch these shows fanatically, and if they do take away some notion of wanting to try something at home, I think that the chances are a lot of it gets thrown away when it fails to perform as expected. 

Put too much fish sauce in those Pad Thai noodles, did you?   Awww...too bad.

CHUCK IT! FAST! BEFORE YOU PASS OUT!

It's too bad it's not exciting, because I think it would be much more important for someone to find a way to make it sexy to teach people the real basics about their food.  On TV if necessary. What it is, how to prepare various items in a variety of ways, and some essential skills in the kitchen.  It's too bad that most schools don't have 'home ec' anymore, and I certainly don't mean just for girls - It would be amazing if all kids were empowered to learn how to work in the kitchen and be at least somewhat self-sufficient. Better yet, if there was extensive eduction in the concept of general nutrition, so that they could know what was in their food, how to use it, and then be able to find their way around a kitchen later. Is it any wonder that there's a weight issue? Nobody knows how to cook! We no longer respect the materials.

And the shows that people are watching, thinking that they are 'learning something about food' might make them want to 'try something' but all they'll wind up with is a fridge full of partially used expensive specialty ingredients that they don't know how to work with. It would be much better if everyone knew how to make wholesome basics, from scratch, and never mind the "foie gras-stuffed quail grilled with honeyed figs and served over toasted quinoa salad" shenanigans. Leave that stuff to the professionals, I say. Or...skip it entirely. (Maybe not the quinoa.. Ok, figs are good.)

I do have a friend who runs small cooking classes and whose agenda, so to speak, is to teach people how to not only use their healthy food resources fully, but in many ways that save both time and money ultimately. I'm sure she's encountering students whose basic skills need honing, but in addition to those basics, they're also taking away time-saving and waste-reducing new skill sets.  Purple Kale Kitchenworks is, I think, full of great ideas - and Ronna's site is a rich resource of recipes tips and tricks. 

 http://www.purplekale.com/

However, I would venture to say that for the average person in this country - even ratcheting it back a couple notches to simple Better Crocker-level basic cooking skills would be a step in the right direction. When I go to my local bad supermarket, which I think is probably representative of the average shopping experience in the U.S., I would say that more than half of the people in the check out line don't have a single item in their carts that I would personally identify as food.  Everything is in a box or a can. EVERYTHING. I guess it's efficient - it all stacks up nicely - but it's not food. Will it last longer in your freezer? Sure, but that's hardly a good reason to buy french bread pizza or a package of frozen mini-burgers.

DEFINITELY NOT FOOD.IS THE LETTUCE FROZEN TOO?

 Nobody knows how to cook! They're boiling stuff in bags, microwaving after puncturing the film, heating up in a pan on the stove top, or otherwise 'cooking' the contents of the boxes and cans. And yet - everyone loves the idea of cooking. It's just a lost art. I argue that it has moved completely out of the regular home kitchen and firmly into the realm of 'spectator sport'.

And finally, not only do people not know how to cook, they also don't know how much to cook, or how to use what they bought. I know everyone is busy and can't necessarily shop every two days to keep it fresh and so forth. But in general people tend to stockpile in a way that is kind of (I think) obsessive and weird. Nobody needs 5 quart-sized cans of cling-peaches in syrup unless they are running a soup kitchen. 

This article is actually very interesting, and addresses both the idea of Pantry Challenge, waste statistics, and also this general squeamishness people have about so-called spoiled food. Ladies Home Journal on waste reduction.

There's this term going around, "Pantry Challenge", and it refers to trying to basically use up everything you have stored away (without buying more) until it's all gone. I periodically get pretty close, but have not gone 100% yet. There's still always that one package of glass noodles I haven't used yet for chapchae, or that one box of crackers that just doesn't seem all that exciting. And, I'm as guilty as any of buying some funky thing or other that I plan on using and never do (box of Kasha grain anyone?),  but my space limitations probably keep me in check. For the vast majority of people in this country for whom it's not unheard of to have a second fridge or freezer in the basement or garage - and a huge pantry to boot - can you IMAGINE how much food they've got in there? Now, that's not really talking about waste, unless you get to the point where your food is 'expired' and you throw it away. That is something that is just outrageous in my opinion. Nobody should ever have so much excess of a non-perishable food that they wind up having to throw it away.  

It's NON-PERISHABLE. You should be able to use it before it 'expires', and if you can't - you bought too much. 

I'm not sure I personally believe in the expiration date thing, but that's me. I won't try to convince anyone, I just know what I feel comfortable with. However, I do think that people are way too squeamish about food imperfection. I personally know more than a few people who 'won't eat leftovers'. I guess in an ideal world, we all know how to cook exactly the right amount of food for exactly how hungry we are, for each meal, and use it all up. That would be great, but it's not practical. Personally I happen to be pretty good at reintroducing leftovers reused or re-prepared so to speak, but I attribute that both to my professional training and also to my personal lack of tolerance for food-pickiness. Some of what Ronna teaches at Purple Kale kind of dovetails with this - she provides people with the skills to break down their ingredients in ways that not only prolong their shelf-life in the first place, but which also renders them useful in more than one way. There are no 'left overs' - only new ingredients! 

Now, don't get me wrong. If something is actually spoiled, I'll throw it away. (Don't worry - you don't have to be afraid to eat at my house or anything)  - but the key is not to let anything be around long enough to spoil, or if it's getting iffy - knowing how to use it up. I can do it, and regularly do, but most people don't even try. Why are we so sensitive about this stuff? I firmly believe that we are BUILT, actually engineered physically to be able to handle a little bit of imperfection in our food. Do you know what our ancestors ate? I'm not saying ok to rotten meat, or putrid milk, but I am saying - if that strawberry is a bit soft but not moldy - why not freeze it for smoothies? If that cheese has a mold spot on one side - can't you cut it off? Give me a break, how sensitive do you think your stomach is? After all, what the hell is cheese in the first place? 

I'm not sure why everyone is so afraid to use common sense when it comes to determining if food is ok to eat. I think the dreaded spectre of 'food poisoning' is a bit too scary for everyone, and they go overboard. People throw away two-day old leftovers just because they don't feel like eating that again. Restaurants and food markets throw away tons of food for minor imperfections (box crushed? spots on the banana?). And in addition, we're working with an unrealistic model - we all expect our fruit aisles to be heaping with perfect spot-free (but organic!) fruit, ripe and ready, (but not too ripe), and our meat to all look like it just came from a farmer butcher. What happens to all the stuff that no longer looks perfect enough for us to tolerate? It gets thrown out. 

Guess what? I think we're spoiled, and I think we've spoiled our children if we let them think this is ok. As a whole, I think that awareness needs to start at home - if we all buy less, and use most (or at least more) of what we buy, there will be less waste. If we improve our cooking skills and pass them down to our kids, if we realistically know our cooking limitations and try harder to just make the right amount of wholesome and nutritious basic food, rather than trying to be Martha Stewart every day, if we order less in restaurants and commit to taking home the leftovers (and EATING THEM), if the restaurant and hospitality industry, and the supermarkets, would participate more in better ordering practices and, where available, participate in food-recyling programs, and if we get over ourselves a little and remember that food wasted is just as bad as money and resources wasted, every little bit would help. I think it starts with each person teaching their children how to respect food, how to use it and prepare it correctly, and how to eat what they are given. Yes, there may be 'starving in children in some other country', but there are also starving children here. Everything that we throw out can't go directly to them, but the funds we save by not wasting food can.

Put a jar in the kitchen, and every time you eat that less than thrilling but still perfectly good half-a-sandwich from the deli instead of chucking it - you put $2.50 in the jar. (Or, $4.50 if you're talking about a sandwich from Court Street Grocers). Every time you put a peeled soft banana in the freezer to use in a smoothie instead of throwing it out - put a quarter in the jar. Each time you use a half a box of pasta instead of a whole one, because you know you're not going to eat it all that day - put a little more money in the jar for the pasta you would otherwise throw out three days later.

This has turned out rather a rant. I didn't meant to do that. Simply put, I'm going to try to clear out my cabinets and freezer (and not by throwing the food out, but by using it),  and after that, I'm going to try not to buy anything I'm not going to use. I'm going to continue to use up leftovers, or try not to cook more than necessary, and I'm going to make a habit of ordering less rather than more in restaurants. I'm going to do my part to reduce our household's contribution to the obscene amount of waste of food resources (and the energy used to produce them). And I'm going to start teaching my kids how to use food properly. That is my vow. I'll let you know how it goes.

EARTH DAY 2013

Happy belated Earth Day! Actually, I should have posted this on Monday, but have just not gotten around to it until now. It shouldn't matter though, as in fact every day SHOULD be "Earth Day!"....

Right? Speaking of which.....

This weekend I was reminded that this is something we don't perhaps think about as often as we should. John and I had the pleasure to spend some time this weekend with his uncle, visiting from Seoul, Professor Hosub Yoon. 
Professor Yoon is the Dean of College of Design at Kookmin University and the Head of Environmental Design Institute in Seoul, Korea. His passion as a visual designer and environmental activist has led him to travel the world to raise consciousness about environmental issues through visual design. His specialty and usual 'event' includes creating on-the-spot hand-painted tee shirts for children, featuring a variety of his own nature-themed designs created out of natural paint, and using his slogan:

On this visit, Professor Yoon visited with us and did an event in Carroll Park, creating dozens and dozens of tees for the excited crowd of kids watching and helping (by holding the shirt corners tight).  He also visited the schools of two of his grandchildren and did shirts for their whole classes. 

As you can see, happy kids, beautiful tee shirts, and hopefully a day that will make them think and spread the word about environmental concerns and responsibility.

You can read more about Professor Yoon's work, and mission here: Green Canvas.

He's truly dedicated, and his energy and enthusiasm for spreading the word about environmental awareness is amazing to observe. If only more people had even a little bit of his energy, and dedication to the idea of 'saving the earth', just a LITTLE bit, we would be getting somewhere, I think.

Over the course of the weekend our family spent a lot of time with Professor Yoon, in a variety of New York City's most high-profile public places, creating shirts, having conversations, and just generally spreading the 'word'. The kids helped out enthusiastically by giving out buttons and postcards with his unique messages and drawings, (and goofing around in the park) and by laying shirts in the sun to dry. 

  

What I learned while doing this both on the High-line, and in Union Square, was mainly these two things.

 1) There is a lot of interest in the message, and if only two or three people go away from one of these 'events' with both a free shirt and a willingness to share their concerns about environmental issues...that multiplied many times....will begin to make a difference in how we live and hopefully help people begin to make responsible changes in how they use energy and our Earth's resources. I believe that we need little reminders every day of the small but important changes we can all make in our consumption habits.  

Exchanging ideas, sharing thoughts

 2) It's incredibly hard to give things away for FREE in NY. New Yorkers are skeptical, and wary. If they see what looks like something being sold, they will skirt around and avoid you most of the time, unless they WANT to spend money. Somebody claiming to give something for free is doubted. However once people were convinced that there was no 'catch', they were also very open and willing to talk, share and exchange ideas and thoughts, and of course very grateful and happy for their free 'gift' shirt.

Free Tee Shirts!

This skepticism about getting something for free, the idea that someone would just give something away, is one that I hope we are, as a society, willing to leave behind. I think it's crucial that we leave it behind. We are trained to believe that everything is for sale, or can be bought, and also that things with no 'value' assigned to them are not 'worth anything'. And this is exactly the thinking we need grow out of if we want to be open to sharing what we have with others. Whether it's giving away a bag of clothing to someone who needs it, or that food you're hoarding (for no reason) to a food bank, or less common things like giving away that bike you never use to someone who needs one to get to work. Or giving away those suits and heels you really don't fit anymore (let's be honest...they just don't fit) to a recent grad who has interviews to go on and can't afford the clothing. The key element, aside from setting aside this hesitancy to give stuff away because we 'might use it again' is just plain getting over the hassle of doing it. It's rather difficult to actually give stuff away, in the best and most useful way possible. It's a HASSLE. But we need to do it.  Before you just toss things, think to yourself "who do I know who might need this?". And then, don't be afraid to ask them if they need or want it. If you notice or see any requests from organizations or groups that need specific items (books, toys, food, shoes, etc...), keep that information on file so you can contact them about it later when the time comes to get rid of those things. Keep an eye on your local neighborhood email lists and freecycle community emails, Yerdle notices and Facebook messages, the bulletin board in your building's laundry room.  Ask around....chances are you can cut down seriously on what you throw out. That stuff is still useful, just maybe not to you. And the value of it (which is exactly zero in your closet or garage or attic) can be huge when it's put in the hands of someone who needs it. Once we get into the habit as a society of sharing our belongings better - once we all get over our sqeamishness about asking for things and giving them, and once we have better systems in place to facilitate that sharing, then in that way we can all start saving. 

Saving money, saving space, saving resources, and hopefully, eventually...saving the earth. 

I hope.

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PARTY TIME! (UGH)

I want to talk about the dreaded goodie bag a little bit. I may be overreacting, but in my opinion these things just simply have to go. They are little lovingly-packaged symbols of all the excessive, wasteful, pollution-creating, and landfill jamming practices that we all participate in (or at least tolerate) and which we should work towards eliminating. We really don't have to buy any of this stuff, so why do we do it?

Habits are certainly hard to break, especially when they come tied up with other pressures like wanting to have happy kids, and make a memorable and great birthday.  And my post here should  also acknowledge the pressure most of us feel (or think we do) to outdo each other, or to at least outdo our own previous efforts.  That pressure, which is largely self-imposed, just leads not only to an ever-increasing spiral of expense and waste, but also leads to kids who don't appreciate the little things, and just expect more. (MORE MORE!) So, in fact there's another whole discussion to be had about how overinflated our idea of what a 'good-enough' birthday party is...but that's for another time. For me, just looking at getting rid of the goodie bag habit is a start towards cutting back on all the little things (that add up) that we do NOT need, but still buy. If each and every one of us just said no to buying this kind of thing, imagine the savings! Imagine the reduction in trash and junk and industrial waste, fuel consumption, etc. It's ONE small thing that just simply can go, and nobody would miss it. It wouldn't even make much of a difference to how much your child enjoyed his or her party. Most of the time, really, the kids could not care less whether or not they get this stuff. In fact, the only time they care about this stuff is when they get it and then it immediately breaks. Otherwise, I don't think it would even register if there was no goodie bag. And even if it does register...so what? Aren't we simply spoiling them? Maybe they should learn that we simply do NOT NEED everything that we 'want'.

Does your child you need another one of these?

No, they do not.  You know those ear pieces are coming off in five seconds, right?

Do you need any more of this around to leak in your handbag and not work anyway?

Probably not.

Is there even a remote chance that you must have another one of these things?

Doubtful.

And finally, what possible use has ANYONE ever had for this?

I am TELLING you right now, it's never going to work, and then it will break immediately. You will lose the ball, and step on it in the middle of the night.

A friend recently posted something about birthday parties and goodie bags, and how much he was dreading the end-of-weekend collection of breakable junk that would be yielded by having two young kids with more than one party each to attend that weekend. I genuinely felt his pain, as he was expecting to be sorting through shards of disappointingly broken 'toys' (and similarly shattered hopes) by Sunday night...and no doubt planning when he could surreptitiously chuck them out. This got me to thinking about this habit we have, and wondering why we all put up with it. As my friend pointed out - what's the underlying idea? Is it a consolation prize for your kids since it's....not THEIR birthday? What, didn't they have enough fun eating pizza and cake and jumping in the bouncy castle for three hours? What is the deal? The goodie bag is one of those things that makes having a kids party, at least for me, less fun. For that matter, it's one of those things that makes GOING to a kids party somewhat less fun. 


If you want to give me one of THESE goodie bags, ok...but otherwise...no thanks. 

My suggestion, and one which I think actually kills two birds with one stone, is this: when planning the party, if you really feel compelled to send the kids home with 'something' - try to make it at least something that is, in itself, of lasting value and/or related to the party event.  For the same amount of money that you would spend on all the little stuff, and the bags, and the ribbon to tie it....you can buy something real to give out. Or, even better, give nothing. Send them out the door with a balloon and a wave and a 'thanks for coming!". 

Here are a few ideas, things we've done in the past, which all worked well and didn't cost any more than it would have to fill up a bunch of goodie bags. 

Olivia had a party at the house, the 'activity' was a 'make your own tee shirt'. I bought some inexpensive tees from one of the MANY places on line that sell them, ironed on the names of the kids attending in advance of the party (sports style, on the back), and let them paint and draw on the fronts with laundry marker pens. They enjoyed doing it while at the party, and took home their shirts as a 'gift'. I saw some of those kids wearing those shirts for literally years afterwards. This took some time to get the shirts and put on the names, but did not cost more over all than buying both 'activity supplies' and goodie bags.

Olivia another year had a 'sundaes party'. Instead of a cake - we had all kind of ice cream and toppings. The kids each received a glass old-fashioned sundae bowl and made their own concoction to enjoy. They took home their bowls if they wanted them. Neighbors tell me that they still enjoy having ice cream out of the 'special ice cream' bowls. 

The year Olivia had a party at a playhouse, where the kids saw and participated in a retelling of "The Frog Prince" - each child received an inexpensive Scholastic paperback edition of that fairy tale.
And another year it was a sketch book, something everyone can use and while it's certainly true that it may have been unnecessary to give it, it was something I believe is useful to have.

I will try to keep up this tradition with Theo's parties, since he's now in the age group that will be having and going to parties where the goodie bag tradition is in full force. Olivia is at least kind of over that phase, and the much mellower 'two kids to the movies', or 'couple of friends sleep over' is so much less stressful to plan.

This year, the friends at Theo's party at the house each received a plastic Yamaha recorder. A real one. The kind you can actually make music on. Really didn't cost more than a goodie bag would have. You'd be amazed. I think I actually saved money! (A joke...)

And, full confession here, I also did make goodie bags to give out at Theo's preschool this year. I did. 

I did it because other parents had done the same, and it was his first birthday party at a 'school', and he wanted to do what the other kids had done. And, because about half of the kids were also (though invited) unable to make it to his party - I really wanted Theo to feel like he was sharing his special day with everyone. So, in go the cupcakes...and in went the goodie bags. However, I have to say I regret it, and I've vowed to never do it again. What was in the bags? Crayola metallic colored crayons, stretchy iridescent lizards that stick to the wall, a punching-bag balloon, and a small watercolor tablet. It was at least arguable that the stuff inside had some 'fun-value' and probably would not break immediately. However, it was all totally excessive, and I know that. I promise, I won't do it again. The cupcakes should have been enough.

But that's the point, it's really hard to break out of this habit - we feel pressure to do it and the idea of providing anything less than (our idea of) a perfect party or birthday for our kids just seems....hard to imagine. But I truly think that we can all agree that if everyone made an effort to shift away from the kinds of things we buy...pretty much knowing it's crap....then we can change the expectation and maybe even eventually start scaling back on all the excess.  We should try.  I will. 

I won't lie though, these things are really pretty great:

 

But that doesn't mean we NEED THEM.

A couple of community messages, about useful things you can do this weekend! 

I plan to take Olivia's old small bike to this event and hope to score a 'new' bigger one for $15! Also, possibly a new helmet for free if I get out there in time.

 

PS 261 Kids' Bike Swap & Rodeo
Saturday, April 6th
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Thomas Greene Park
3rd Avenue between Douglass and Degraw Streets

If you’re looking for a fun family activity this Saturday, be sure to
check out PS 261's third annual Kids' Bike Swap and Rodeo. It’s a great
opportunity for your kids to score a cheap bike, donate a bike they've outgrown,
and learn to ride or hone their riding skills.
* Bring an old kid’s bike and swap it for a gently used one from the
available bikes for just $15.
* If you don’t have an old bike to donate, you can still purchase a
gently used bike for just $25.
* Bike New York trainers will be on hand to teach kids to ride for
free. (Advanced registration required. Visit
_www.bikenewyork.org/learn/kids/learn-to-ride-kids_
(http://hwww.bikenewyork.org/learn/kids/learn-to-ride-kids/) for details.)
* Bike New York will also offer bike skills clinics to teach basic
and advanced skills for riding.
* The New York City Department of Transportation will be giving out
free bike helmets for all ages while supplies last
All proceeds from the event will benefit PS 261 programs threatened by
budget cuts and Thomas Greene Park.

More info at _MakeBrooklynSafer.org_
(http://makebrooklynsafer.org/April_6th_Kids_Bike_Swap.html) .

 

ALSO - Please consider taking the time to go out and vote in the participatory budget vote this weekend. For those of us who are local, this means a trip to Carroll Gardens Libraray or the Old Stone House on Saturday, (10 - 7) or the Carroll Park park house - easy! - Sunday 10-5. Watch the little video linked below - it's well done and cute, but reveals the not-so-cute reality of our kids' bathroom experience!
Here's the scoop:

The bathrooms at PS 58 are in a terrible state of disrepair.  Not surprising: the last time they were renovated was 1954.  Take a look a this video to learn more and see two kindergarteners attempt to use current bathroom: 

Check out this video about our schools' YUCKY bathrooms 

By voting in the Participatory Budget Vote this weekend you can help get our renovation project funded!  What is Participatory Budgeting?  Participatory Budgeting is a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget. That means this week you get to go to a polling place and vote on which projects will receive funding from the City Council. More on participatory budgeting here:  http://www.pbnyc.org/

Bring one or more documents proving current address and age.  Here is a list of accepted documents: http://pbnyc.org/content/pbnyc-voting-april-1-7-2013

https://vimeo.com/62308352

Newsflash! 

Addendum to the electronics recycling event in Bayridge - if that is NOT convenient for you, there is also going to be a city-run E-waste and general safe disposal event held this Sunday April 7th in Prospect Park, Park circle, (that's the corner of Parkside Ave and Prospect Park SW). 

The flyer came in the mail. Most people probably threw it away. (Or...hopefully recycled it...)

Here's the link for more info on what is being collected, calendars and TONS of useful information about safe and responsible disposal:

nyc.gov/SAFEdisposal  

 

 

Electronics recycling day! 

 

Not an endorsement for a particular high school or anything like that - just passing along some info. If you're looking to get rid of electronics and need a place to properly recycle them, this high school (see below) of Shore Road in Bayridge is hosting a e-waste event this Saturday.  Just a little FYI.

Electronics Recycling Event

The Robotics Team, with the help of Community Board 10 and Vanguard Environment, will be hosting Electronics Recycling Drive in the school parking lot on Saturday, April 6.
From 10am-4pm, anyone can drive through and drop off their unwanted computers, monitors, phones, printers, DVD players, digital cameras, ink cartridges, and much more.
Please help get the word out and make this event a big success.

Please contact Mr. Schreiner at jschreiner@xaverian.org with any questions.

http://www.xaverian.org/