The AJC reports this morning that the DeKalb County Commission voted on Tuesday to make recycling services free to all residents, eliminating a one-time $30 subscription fee.  According to the article, DeKalb County recycling participation is only at 21% currently, and the commissioners hope to double that number by waiving the fee.

The the fee has been eliminated, residents still need to opt-in and sign up in order to participate.

Who are the Winnona Park Elementary “Green Captains”?  They are 16 third graders who “helped the school ‘Go Green’ throughout this [past school] year”!  As a final project, they’ve written an open letter to Decatur Metro readers.  Here it is in full.  Great job Green Captains!

We are the Green Captains at Winnona Park Elementary in Ms. Sisler’s third grade class.

Do you know what goes in the recycling bin and what doesn’t? Styrofoam, plate glass, and certain numbers of plastics (according to the county) DON’T go in the recycling bin. [editors note: In the city of Decatur, almost all plastics can be recycled!] Newspapers, aluminum cans, plastic bottles, and cardboard DO go in the recycling bin.

How can you help the environment – by buying organic foods! Organic foods are better than conventional foods because they don’t use pesticides. Pesticides kill pests. But they also kill other animals besides pests such as birds. They also may harm humans. Conventional farmers plant GMO’s (genetically modified organisms/foods). They are so new, we don’t know if they are good. Organic farmers don’t use any of these.

How do you make compost? The first important thing you do to make a worm compost is to buy a worm apartment or bin and worms, or you can dig worms from the ground. Red wigglers make the best worms for composting. The next important thing you can do is fill your bin or apartment with soil. The last thing you can do is put any food scraps except orange peels, dry veggies, dairy or meat. Another idea is you could install more composting bins so that our community will compost more food scraps and yard waste like grass clippings and leaves.

Thank you for understanding our feelings for making the world go green.

Ms. Sisler’s third grade Green Captains

So, I recall the City Manager mentioning this at the conclusion of the last Decatur City Commission meeting, but I never posted anything.  Thanks to Nubbs for reminding me with her FFAF comment!  Here are the details from the city’s website…

Don’t throw away that old cell phone, camera or PC component! Save it and recycle it on Saturday, March 19, 2011 at Decatur’s Electronics Recycling event. This semi-annual event has been hugely successful at diverting electronic equipment from landfills, where they may contaminate soil and water. Batteries will be accepted.

TV’s will be recycled for a minimal fee of $10 cash only per TV set with exact change. There is no charge to recycle other items.

The event takes place Saturday, March 19 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Decatur High School Parking lot, on the corner of N. McDonough St. and W. Howard Avenue. Electronics dropped off that day will be sorted and disassembled into raw materials or cleaned for re use.

In addition to electronics, any metro area resident can also drop off batteries of any type.

From Decatur City Commissioner Patti Garrett’s blog…

The Fall 2010 Decatur Electronics Recycling Day is set for Saturday, October 30 from 9am – 1 pm. Anyone can bring their old electronics to the Decatur High School parking lot at the corner of North McDonough Sreet and West Howard Avenue.

Unfortunately, styrofoam cannot be accepted this year, but TV’s can be recycled for $10 cash, exact change.

If you’re interested in volunteering at the Electronics Recycling Day contact Sandy Johnson at 404-377-5571.

From Agnes Scott’s communications office…

Agnes Scott College is the top-ranked college in Georgia and No. 35 nationally in this year’s RecycleMania Grand Champion Division.

RecycleMania is a national college and university recycling competition. About 600 colleges and universities signed up for the 10-week competition, which pits institutions all over the country against each other in several categories to see which school can recycle the largest portion of their waste.

…“What was different for 2010? This year Agnes Scott has a closed loop policy – simultaneously encouraging green purchasing and aggressive waste reduction,” said Susan Kidd, director of sustainability at Agnes Scott. “The campus community’s support of this policy, along with the initiation of a food composting program, gave our numbers a real boost in the competition.”

Photo courtesy of Agnes Scott College