Buresh Blog: Holiday travel, 'tis the season to recycle

Dec. 20, 2017 — Lots of folks on the highways & in the air over the next couple weeks.  Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to You & Yours!

Weather info. & delays on the highways - here..... in the air - here.

Latest snow cover map (refresh your browser):

John Engle, WOKV anchor sent me a cool link: "The Year From Above", NYT - here. A series of satellite &/or aerial images of events from the past year.  Note the Aug. 21 satellite time lapse showing the "Great U.S. Solar Eclipse" - then weakening tropical disturbance "Harvey" was over the NW Caribbean.  Just 4 days later, the system would turn into a devastating Cat. 4 upon approach to Texas.

The St. Johns River Management District wants everyone to "Skip a Week" - watering their lawn & landscaping that is.  There's the potential to save 2 billion gallons of water!

The St. Johns River Water Management District is encouraging homeowners in its 18-county region to “Skip a Week” of lawn and landscape irrigation during the cooler months of December, January and February.

“Skipping a week of irrigation when your yard doesn’t need it keeps lawns healthy and helps to conserve drinking water supplies —  if homeowners who irrigate skipped every other week of watering this winter, north and east-central Florida could save more than 1 billion gallons of water,” said St. Johns River Water Management District Executive Director Dr. Ann Shortelle.

During the cooler months, weekly irrigation isn’t always needed. In fact, research shows ½ to ¾ inches of water per irrigation zone every 10–14 days is sufficient.

Overwatering makes lawns less able to survive Florida’s inevitable droughts and encourages pests, disease and root rot. Using less water encourages deeper grass and plant roots, which makes them more drought-tolerant and less susceptible to pests and disease.

Skipping a week is as simple as manually turning off your irrigation system.

To make sure your yard stays healthy, turn on your irrigation system if you see signs your grass needs water. Signs include:

- Grass blades are folded in half;
- Grass blades are blue-gray; or
- Grass blades do not spring back; footprints remain visible on your lawn for several minutes after walking on it.
If you see signs your lawn is wilting and decide to irrigate, the University of Florida recommends an average of ½ to ¾ inches of water per application. Saturating the root zone and then letting the soil dry encourages healthy, deep root growth.

'Tis the season.... From Republic Services:

1. When giving holiday gifts, commit to reusing laminated bags and recycling those made of paper.
Shipping gifts? Make shredded paper out of old newspapers and be sure to reuse last year’s bubble wrap and Styrofoam peanuts.
2. After opening gifts, remember to recycle the wrapping paper – even the shiny stuff – but save and reuse the ribbons and bows.
3. Getting a new device this holiday season? Make sure your old phone or tablet does not get tossed in with the recycling. Check with your local service provider on any special instructions or electronics recycling options.
4. Enjoy that holiday latte, just remember the paper cup, plastic lid and paper sleeve should be Empty, Clean & Dry before tossing them into the recycling container.

With parties, decorations, gift giving and travel, Americans waste generation per household increases 25 percent, or almost 1,000 pounds of trash, between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. Remarkably, roughly 80 percent of what is thrown away during the holidays could be recycled or repurposed, according to the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency.
 
The most common non-recyclables contaminating the recycling waste stream during the holiday season include: bubble wrap, cellophane, string/rope, ribbons and bows, batteries, food, clothing, cell phones and Styrofoam and other forms of polystyrene foam.
 
Remember that when it comes to toy packaging, both the cardboard and the plastic are recyclable, but they must be separated from one another. That includes the plastic window on the box of a doll or action figure. Sticky gift tags are not recyclable by themselves, but they are acceptable if fixed to an envelope or wrapping paper.

Cox Media Group