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Take the No-Waste November Challenge!

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STEP ONE: SELECT YOUR PERSONAL GOAL

You don’t need to tell us what goal you set. That is up to you!

OPTION 1:  Limit your garbage to ONE PAPER BAG for the month of November.

OPTION 2:  Limit your garbage to ONE MASON JAR for the month of November.

OPTION 3: Do not create any garbage. This, of course, is for the advanced zero waste practitioners!

STEP TWO:  Submit the form below to request your No-Waste November “How-To-Do-It” Guide. Join the community conversation so we can figure it out together!

STEP THREE: SHARE YOUR SUCCESSES and WIN!

There are two ways you can enter a drawing for a $100 Good Earth Certificate and other prizes:

1. Post a picture of your waste-free action on social media:

    • Include hashtag: #NoWasteNovember
    • AND tag Sustainable Fairfax:

  Instagram: @SustainableFairfax
Facebook: @SustainableFairfaxCA
Twitter: @SustainFX

OR

2. Share your tip/solution for minimizing waste in an email to info@sustainablefairfax.org

We have many events planned this month to help you on your journey- to be announced soon!

Film & Panel Discussion: STRAWS

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Friday, November 2 - 6:30pm-8:30pm
Fairfax Women's Club, 46 Park Road, Fairfax

As you may have seen in the recent news, the recycling industry has turned upside down since China has drastically limited the plastic it is willing to buy from recycling agencies across the country.

We will begin this film night with a screening of the short film “STRAWS” which takes a look at the rise of single-use plastics.

Following the film, we will host a panel discussion to help sort out the confusion following the recycling crisis and what actions can be taken to reduce plastic waste.

PANEL:
• Kim Scheibly / Marin Sanitary Service
• Renee Goddard / Fairfax Town Council
• Perri Russell / Drake High Sea-Disc

Please come with your sorting and recycling questions!

This event is part of Sustainable Fairfax’s NO-WASTE NOVEMBER campaign. You just might win a $100 gift certificate from Good Earth! Learn more here!

#NoWasteNovember #SustainFX

Suggested donation $10 – no one turned away

Downtown Fairfax gets new waste receptacles!

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Have you seen the sparkling new public waste and recycling receptacles in downtown Fairfax? What an improvement! Thanks to the Town of Fairfax, Marin Sanitary and Sustainable Fairfax for working together to make this happen.

IMPORTANT: The brown recycling receptacle is NOT for paper! Please use the brown receptacles for recyclable plastic bottles & containers (not plastic wrap!), glass bottles (you can keep the lid on) and aluminum cans. Its ok for your plastic containers to have some food on them, but wipe them out if you can.

WHAT GOES WHERE?

–PAPER CUPS.  As at home, paper cups should go in the grey curbside landfill cart because they are often lined with plastic (the plastic lids can go in recycling).
–BIOPLASTICS.  Bioplastics, also known as “compostable plastic,’ must be put in the grey landfill carts. These materials are not accepted our composting facility, Redwood Landfill, because the material does not breakdown fast enough for commercial composting.
–NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES.  Clean paper can be recycled at home in the blue side of your curbside recycling cart, or in the paper recycling bin at the business you visited if they have one.
— SOILED NAPKINS & FOOD SCRAPS.  Soiled napkins and food scraps go in the compost bin at the business you visited if they have one, in your green curbside yard & food waste cart at home, or (as a last resort) the grey landfill cart. There will not be public compost receptacles downtown because of the high contamination rates in public areas.

REFUSE PLASTIC & SINGLE-USE CONTAINERS WHEN POSSIBLE!  Please remember that recycling is not the solution to our waste problem.  There is a shrinking market for recycled plastic, not to mention the energy required to recycle. It is always best to ask the café or restaurant for reusable cups, utensils and containers or bring your own.

Let us know if you have any questions! Write SustainFX@gmail.com

Fairfax Zero Waste by 2020's photo.

Fairfax Take Back Day- April 30

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All Fairfax Residents:

Do a little spring cleaning, and come to Fairfax Take Back Day at the Fairfax Pavilion parking lot for a one stop shop for recycling and safe disposal of these items:

• Unused Prescription Drugs and Medications (until 2pm)

Household medications are the number one cause of childhood poisonings. They also pollute our waterways (please do not flush them down the toilet!). The Fairfax Police will be collecting the drugs until 2pm. Please no liquids, needles or sharps, only pills or patches.

This is part of the Drug Enforcement Agency National Drug Take Back program. This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.

• Electronics Waste

Conservation Corps North Bay will collect electronics for recycling including computers, microwaves, iPods, printers, cell phones, TVs, remotes, etc.

• Free Paper Shredding

Marin Sanitary Service will shred up to two bankers boxes of your sensitive documents. Please no plastic, folders, or binders. Staples/paperclips OK!

**Visit the Sustainable Fairfax Reuse Station and make fun reusable bags out of your favorite T-shirts!**

GETTING THERE: You can walk, bike or drive through the drop off spots in the Fairfax Pavilion Parking Lot.  Please enter from Elsie Lane.

FREE COMPOST FOR FAIRFAX RESIDENTS!

FOR FAIRFAX RESIDENTS ONLY – NOT FOR COMMERCIAL USE

FREE COMPOST FOR FAIRFAX RESIDENTS. Bring it Home! Marin Sanitary Service gives back compost to Fairfax residents several times per year as specified in the Town of Fairfax Resource Recovery Agreement. The compost is made from the food and yard waste collected from our GREEN curbside carts. This compost is shared with all Fairfax residents, so please do not take more than FIVE 5-gallon buckets (which provides a one inch cover for a 40 square foot garden).  Use of Compost: Compost is a soil amendment that improves the water-holding capacity and structure of your soil, but too much of it can harm your plants! It is recommended that you use no more than 1-2 inches on your annuals & perennials.  For more information on soil amendments, see this link.

Sustainable Fairfax, Marin Sanitary Service and the Town of Fairfax brings TAKE BACK DAY to Fairfax residents once a year.

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Fairfax Take Back Day- April 30

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All Fairfax Residents:

Do a little spring cleaning, and come to Fairfax Take Back Day at the Fairfax Pavilion parking lot for a one stop shop for recycling and safe disposal of these items:

• Unused Prescription Drugs and Medications (until 2pm)

Household medications are the number one cause of childhood poisonings. They also pollute our waterways (please do not flush them down the toilet!). The Fairfax Police will be collecting the drugs until 2pm. Please no liquids, needles or sharps, only pills or patches.

This is part of the Drug Enforcement Agency National Drug Take Back program. This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.

• Electronics Waste

Conservation Corps North Bay will collect electronics for recycling including computers, microwaves, iPods, printers, cell phones, TVs, remotes, etc.

• Free Paper Shredding

Marin Sanitary Service will shred up to two bankers boxes of your sensitive documents. Please no plastic, folders, or binders. Staples/paperclips OK!

**Visit the Sustainable Fairfax Reuse Station and make fun reusable bags out of your favorite T-shirts!**

GETTING THERE: You can walk, bike or drive through the drop off spots in the Fairfax Pavilion Parking Lot.  Please enter from Elsie Lane.

FREE COMPOST FOR FAIRFAX RESIDENTS!

FOR FAIRFAX RESIDENTS ONLY – NOT FOR COMMERCIAL USE

FREE COMPOST FOR FAIRFAX RESIDENTS. Bring it Home! Marin Sanitary Service gives back compost to Fairfax residents several times per year as specified in the Town of Fairfax Resource Recovery Agreement. The compost is made from the food and yard waste collected from our GREEN curbside carts. This compost is shared with all Fairfax residents, so please do not take more than FIVE 5-gallon buckets (which provides a one inch cover for a 40 square foot garden).  Use of Compost: Compost is a soil amendment that improves the water-holding capacity and structure of your soil, but too much of it can harm your plants! It is recommended that you use no more than 1-2 inches on your annuals & perennials.  For more information on soil amendments, see this link.

Sustainable Fairfax, Marin Sanitary Service and the Town of Fairfax brings TAKE BACK DAY to Fairfax residents once a year.

IMG_6446