Greener Bloomfield » Composting

Montclair Compost Give Back

John — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:56:23 +0000

Learn how to green up your backyard at Montclair’s seventh annual “Compost Give-Back” in Edgemont Park on Saturday, October 17, from 11:00am to 3:00 pm. Free composting demonstrations will be conducted, and you’ll get info on Green and Healthy Yard Care, Backyard Habitats for Birds and Butterflies, Native Plants, Organic Gardening, Stormwater Protection, and Water Conservation. Montclair residents will be able to pick-up free compost and buy low-cost home composting bins. The event is co-hosted by the Montclair office of Environmental Affairs and the Department of Community Services (DCS).

The Sun Came Out…

John — Mon, 04 May 2009 01:37:41 +0000

…and so did about 200 people to the Bloomfield Green Fest on Saturday, May 2, at Brookside Park. After a slightly soggy beginning, the sun brought more good cheer and more people, and some didn’t want to leave! Those who attended enjoyed finding out about the organizations and green businesses there. The kids had a great time building birdhouses, stools, and other kits, courtesy of Home Depot. About100 people pledged to change a lightbulb to a more energy-efficient one. Several learned how to compost at home. And we signed up several new members!

What did YOU like best about the Bloomfield Green Fest?

Essex Greens Forum: A Healthy Lifestyle Equals a Healthy Earth

John — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:22:50 +0000

Tonight, on Earth Day, April 22 at 7:30 pm in the Bloomfield Civic Center, 84 Broad St., the Essex County Greens will present a forum, “Healthy Lifestyle = Healthy Earth”.

Speakers at the event will be:

Jose German, a founder of Montclair Community Wildlife Habitat Project and active with the Cornucopia Network of NJ which promotes organic gardening and composting. German is a founder of Green Harmony Now, which helps people maintain their properties sustainably.
Bud Feder, PhD, a Montclair psychologist who specializes in stress reduction and meditation. Feder has authored many books and edited others and has facilitated training workshops in many countries across three continents.
Catherine Moon is in training to become a gourmet “Raw” chef at Raw Soul in NYC. She will discuss the health benefits of eating raw foods especially as they help healing from both minor and serious illnesses.

For directions and further details, go to www.essexcountygreens.org, or call 973-338-5398.

Feb 26 Meeting Inspires Many to Action

John — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 03:57:19 +0000

At Greener Bloomfield’s February 26 meeting, over 20 residents participated at the Civic Center meeting room. First, John Palomaki presented the Sustainable Jersey program and website, which officially launched earlier that day. Councilman Nick Joanow described a field trip that several town administrators, John Palomaki, and he took to Westwood, NJ, a town that uses vegetable oil from local restaurants to produce biodiesel and has added 2 hybrid police vehicles and a DPW SUV to its fleet, saving thousands of dollars in fuel costs. Nick also invited everyone to an event at 7:00 pm on March 10 at the Civic Center with Dr. Nicholas Smith-Sebasto, a Montclair State professor who has implemented an aerobic food waste composting process that can consume 2 tons of food daily and yields nutrient-rich compost. Finally, the group “greenstormed” on the Earth Day event Greener Bloomfield is co-sponsoring with the Bloomfield Recycling Committee on May 2 at Brookside Park, with members volunteering for a variety of committees. More details will be provided in separate posts.

Greenstorming: Schools

John — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:33:51 +0000

At the Greener Bloomfield meeting on Nov. 6, one “greenstorming” (brainstorming about going green) breakout group listed ideas for projects to help local schools go green. If you have additional ideas or opinions, or if you’d like to work on any of these projects, please add a Comment! We’ll collect these ideas and begin prioritizing them and assigning workgroups to get them implemented.

Recycling – make mandatory at all schools
Solar panels (photovoltaics) to provide electricity
Improve indoor air quality and comfort
- Have better heat adjustments (rooms are too hot or too cold)
- Add air purification
- Switch to “green” cleaning supplies
Turn lights off when rooms not in use
- Add occupancy sensors
- Having cleaning crews only turn lights on for the room they’re cleaning and turn off when leaving
Composting of cafeteria food waste
Switch all electrical appliances to “Energy Star” appliances
Start an Environmental Club at all schools
Have more buses that use alternative fuels
Post “no idling” signs at schools

Bloomfield Composting Day

John — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:58:48 +0000

Over 80 home composting bins were reserved in advance and most of those picked up at Bloomfield’s Composting Day held Saturday, October 25, at the DPW, 230 Grove Street. Bloomfield residents could get bins for only $30, thanks to a special grant that further discounted the bins. People picking up bins also were given composting tips and were able to get their questions answered. If you’d like to get a bin, or for more details, click here! Why is composting important?

Composting is a good thing to do because, once you take the recyclable plastics and glass and papers out of the garbage, food waste is the heaviest part of the remaining garbage. If the vegetative food scraps are composted, along with fall leaves and grass clippings, the town saves on tipping fees at the landfill, we use up less of our scarce landfill space, and you get great food for your plantings!

To learn more, there are many great web sites for composting information, but you can start with these two: http://www.compostguide.com/ and http://www.recyclenow.com/home_composting/making_compost/.

Compost Bins for Bloomfield Residents

John — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:21:08 +0000

Are you interested in composting? Backyard composting bins will be are available for a special price of only $30 to Bloomfield residents (thanks to grant funds), $48 for non-residents (discounted from retail price of $100) at the DPW at a Backyard Composting Event on Saturday, October 25. The Earth Machine composters will turn all your vegetative kitchen scraps, coffee grinds, tea bags, grass clippings, fallen leaves, dead garden plants, and even shredded junk mail into compost that you can use in your vegetable and flower gardens. Composting reduces your garbage by up to 30%!

The Backyard Composting Event will be was held on Saturday, October 25, 2008, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Department of Public Works at 230 Grove Street in Bloomfield, NJ. You’ll be able to pick up a bin there, and also get a demonstration of how to compost. If you reserve your composter in advance, you’ll also get a free kitchen compost scrap bucket. To purchase a composter or get more information, call the DPW office at 973-680-4127. Bring a check or money order for $48 when you pick up your bin (no cash or credit cards accepted).

The Earth Machine has a screw-on lid for putting your vegetative waste in (no meats, oils, or fats, which create odors and attract pests) and a trap door for removing your compost. It comes with a how-to-compost booklet. Compost can be made in all seasons!

The event is sponsored by the Bloomfield Township Mayor and Council and supported by the Bloomfield Recycling Committee and Greener Bloomfield.