How Can We Make Every Day Earth Day? (Sponsored)

Here are some family activities you can do to foster environmentalism. Sponsored by Sony.

Very few events are celebrated around the globe, but Earth Day is. This year, it’s come and gone. But we’re here to ask: What can we do to show our love of the earth on that day, and every day?  On May 31st, Sony will release After Earth, an action-packed movie that takes place 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity to leave. It’s the kind of scenario that makes you want to donate to Greenpeace, recycle everything, and start biking every where, immediately. So, in honor of Earth Day, Patch has teamed up with Sony to present these ideas for making every day Earth Day.   How can we make every day Earth Day? Begin with little things. Easy things. Obvious things. Things we take for granted each day, and use and/or abuse because …

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How Can We Make Every Day Earth Day? (Sponsored)

Here are some family activities you can do to foster environmentalism. Sponsored by Sony.

Very few events are celebrated around the globe, but Earth Day is. This year, it’s come and gone. But we’re here to ask: What can we do to show our love of the earth on that day, and every day?   On May 31st, Sony will release After Earth, an action-packed movie that takes place 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity to leave. It’s the kind of scenario that makes you want to donate to Greenpeace, recycle everything, and start biking every where, immediately. So, in honor of Earth Day, Patch has teamed up with Sony to present these ideas for making every day Earth Day.   How can we make every day Earth Day? Begin with little things. Easy things. Obvious things. Things we take for granted each day, and use and/or abuse because…

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Electronic Waste Disposal & Paper Shredding Event Scheduled

The recycling event for Mercer County residents will take place 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on March 23 at the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton.

The Mercer County Improvement Authority will host an Electronic Waste Disposal Day on Saturday, March 23, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., for county residents who wish to recycle electronics.  The event will take place at Parking Lot 1 on Hamilton Avenue directly across the street from the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, and will be held rain or shine. While no registration is necessary, please note that the event is open to Mercer County residents only, and attendees will need to show proof of residency, such as a driver’s license. No commercial or industrial waste will be accepted. Also on March 23, the MCIA will offer a paper shredding service. Up to eight boxes or bags of paper may be discarded. Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes …

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County Introduces New ‘my-waste’ Mobile Phone App

Users can access Mercer County recycling collection information via their smartphones.

Editor's Note: The following is a news release issued by Mercer County. If you are one of the growing number of people who have a smartphone or tablet, you can download a Mercer County App that puts recycling and special waste collection details and more at your fingertips, anytime you want them. “Mercer County is pleased to announce that we’ve just launched a mobile app that contains all of the information people need to know, tailored specifically to their neighborhoods, about our residential recycling services,” said Mercer County Executive Brain M. Hughes. Called ‘my-waste,’ the app lets mobile device users download the full range of information that is normally on the Mercer County Improvement Authority’s website including residents’ …

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Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Legislation to Decrease Plastic Bag Waste Worthy of Support

The writer is Noemi De La Puente, a Lawrence Township resident and member of Sustainable Lawrence.

  There are eight million people in the Garden State according to the last census. We use an average of about 400-600 plastic and/or paper bags each year (EPA Municipal Solid Waste Report, and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Edward Humes in Garbology). “So what?” You might ask. This is what... Each plastic bag costs merchants between 2-5 cents. Each paper bag costs 6-23 cents. There is no free lunch, and there is no free bag. Merchants pass the cost along to us, the consumers. Most merchants feel that they have to offer “free” bags because people expect them (we consumers can be picky sometimes). This adds up to about $96 million a year in New Jersey, just on these stupid bags that no one really likes. So the merchants have higher …

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Old Christmas Trees To Help Rebuild Jersey Shore

Volunteer April Readlinger is collecting discarded Christmas Trees to help rebuild the beach dunes in Berkeley Township.

Getting rid of your Christmas tree? Now it can go to a good cause. Princeton resident April Readlinger is spearheading a local effort to collect old trees and take them to the Jersey Shore where they will be used to rebuild dunes destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. The project started about a week ago, after Readlinger saw a Facebook post about Berkeley resident Dominick Solazzo’s initiative to stack old Christmas trees along a one-third mile stretch of beach at the south end of South Seaside Park, a section of Berkeley Township located just south of Seaside Park Borough. Solazzo is a member of the board of directors of a  homeowners' association there. Readlinger shared Solazzo’s efforts on her Facebook page and offered to pick up trees locally…

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Happy Holiday Card Recycling

Writer talks with other moms around town about what they do with old holiday cards.

Somewhere along the line, the holiday card evolved into one captioned picture or collage designed to capture the essence of an entire year.  I find myself stressing about my holiday card in early fall. I search for the perfect picture. I try to catch my kids playing in the leaves, jumping on the trampoline or in those rare moments, being nice to each other. I spend hours on the computer formatting my card and thinking of a cute caption or saying. Crazy? Yes! My borderline obsession with my own family card has filled a drawer in my china cabinet with hundreds of other families' cards. I can't bring myself to dump their works of art into the recycling bin. Many women I spoke to feel the same way.  Most of us pack the cards away with our …

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Residents Reminded to Recycle TVs, Computers and Monitors as Required by Law

Since taking effect on Jan. 1, 2011, the state’s Electronic Waste Management Act has dramatically increased the amount of e-waste that is recycled in the state, keeping potentially hazardous materials out of landfills and incinerators.

Editor's Note: The following is a news release issued by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin reminded residents that televisions, computers, electronic tablets, e-book readers, and monitors that have been replaced by new electronic holiday gifts cannot be thrown out with the trash but must be taken to designated recycling collection points as required by state law. “Recycling of e-waste is taking hold across the state, and is steadily becoming routine,” Commissioner Martin said. “These devices can no longer be placed out on the curb. They must be taken to specially designated e-waste recycling drop-off points conveniently located throughout our municipalities…

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Taxing Plastic and Paper Bags, Senate Bill Could Make Grocery Shopping Green

Environmentalists applaud proposed measure, industry argues it won't do much to reduce litter.

By Tom Johnson, NJ Spotlight If legislators have their way, when New Jerseyans go shopping in the future, they may pay a small tax if they want their groceries packed in a paper or plastic bag. In a move to curb plastic bags from littering the landscape and waterways, the Senate Environment and Energy Committee approved a bill (S-812) Monday that would impose a five-cent surcharge on consumers who fail to bring a reusable bag to their grocery or convenience store. The move was opposed by manufacturers of plastic bags, who claimed stores already are voluntarily recycling plastic bags, which they and a member of the Senate panel argued constitute a minute portion of the litter that winds up in streets and waterways. Environmentalists have …

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Family-Friendly 'Touch-A-Truck' and Shredding/Recycling Event to be Held Concurrently Oct. 27

Both events, which are free to the Mercer County community, will take place at Sun National Bank Center in Trenton.

Editor's Note: The following is a news release issued by the Mercer County administration. The Mercer County Improvement Authority will be hosting two events on Saturday, Oct. 27, at the same time in Trenton.  A Used Electronics Waste/Shredding Event will be held in Parking Lot No.1 across from the Sun National Bank Center on Hamilton Avenue.  Touch-A-Truck Day will be held at Parking Lot No. 2 at Sun National Bank Center located on South Broad Street.  Both events will be held rain or shine and admission is free. Residents will have the opportunity to participate in both events.  Attendees may dispose of their unwanted electronics and sensitive personal papers at the Used Electronic Waste/Shredding Event before heading to Touch-A-Truck …

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