Everyone loves getting rid of BIG stuff for free!

This year City of Edmonton will hold 12 Big Bin Events. A weekend event where you can drop off all your large items for free disposal. But remember, if you have anything in good condition check out the Reuse Directory for a listing of vendors who will accept that item for reuse. 

2012 Big Bin Events Schedule

All 2012 events will run from 9am to 5pm.

*New updated location

Date	Location	Address
August 18 & 19	Jasper Place	9200 163 Street
August 25 & 26	Rexall Place *	Lot E, 7424 118 Avenue
September 8 & 9	Blue Quill	11304 25 Avenue
September 15 & 16	Commonwealth Stadium	112 Avenue & 90 Street
September 22 & 23	Ellerslie Facility *	2415 101 Street SW

Welcome May Flowers!

from the Edmonton Naturalization Group's Newsletter
Lawn care time is upon us, but before you reach for your weed hound or industrial vinegar, consider celebrating your dandelions and leaving a few as an early food source for bees.

In fact, providing honeybees with an important food source doesn’t require any effort at all, just don’t mow down your dandelions. As a non-native plant, dandelions are a weed by almost every definition, but honeybees are not native to this continent, either. Dandelions bloom early in the spring, when there are few other flowers. They are a vital source of both nectar and pollen at that time of year, when the bees’ food stores are at their lowest.

A healthier environment for this important and welcome non-native species includes plenty of dandelions.

Dandelion Blossom Tea
Since there are more than enough dandelions for everyone this year, here is my method of preventing some of them from going to seed.
Pick 5 or 6 dandelion blossoms (no stems), check for ants etc. and place them in a mug. Pour boiling water on them and let then steep for 5 minutes. Sweeten to taste and drink. This is a very mild tea, green tasting but not bitter. Dandelion tea is a great liver tonic.
I usually pick a year's supply and dry them on a screen. Once the blossoms have dried they can be stored in glass jars.

How (many) Grand is your Composter, Part II, the Flushing

Envirolet has come up with the next generation of Composting Toilets.

These units appear to address most of the issues raised by buyers and users of Composting Toilets - attactive and functional in the ensuite (though they still did not include a cup-holder), with the improved functional capacity moved to a utility cupboard.

see the styles and compare prices here.
One of these sleek, little units can empty up to three bowls.

MCR Class of 2012 gets their first peek into Fort Edmonton Park's Composting toilet tomorrow!

Big moves for less waste... in Stony Plain

Wow. The Town of Stony Plain has adopted their very own Wipe Out Waste program, with a lofty goal: divert 80% of waste from landfill by 2015.
Their Environmental Stewardship Strategy includes 3 planks:

• recycling
• composting & waste reduction
• garbage limitation

Sounds like assertive action is reaping results. Stony Plain boasts the 3rd highest diversion-from-landfill of municipalities in the Capital Region.

What do you think? Do small towns have more chances to reduce waste than big cities?

News

Stony Plain rethinks waste (Edmonton Journal, April 3)

Stony Plain makes changes to garbage collection (triarea NEWS, Feb 24)

Links

WipeOutWaste.ca

Stony Plain Kitchen Catchers

Meet The Rocket

Another composter hits the market for multifamily and business. The Rocket joins JoraKompost and the Earth Tub in quickly processing large amounts of organic waste.

They come with the fancy flame decal, which reminds me of the hot rods of the 70s. Like the Nature Mill, the finished material will need some time to cure.

Future generations of the Rocket should come down in price and be more user friendly (this one looks unsafe with all that climbing and lifting). What is really exciting to me is that companies around the world are hearing the call for easier, on-site composting methods.

I also love the analogy this fellow uses at the end of the video - Landfilling vs Landfeeding. I will definately use that when speaking to kids about composting.

Do they come in shag carpeting?