More residential waste is created during the holiday season than any other time of the year, so the cities and counties in the Sacramento area are encouraging residents to recycle as much as possible. Americans throw away 25% more trash during the Thanksgiving to New Year’s holiday period, the California Department of Resources Recovery and Recycling (CalRecycle) reports. This extra waste amounts to 25 million tons of garbage, or about 1 million extra tons, per week nationwide. With this in mind, local governments are urging residents to reduce, reuse, and recycle during this holiday season. "The amount of garbage sent to the landfill increases dramatically during the holiday season," sa

Give Smart Sacramento promotes waste free experiences in place of traditional holiday gifts What was your favorite holiday gift of the past? Was it a sweater from J.Crew three years ago? Or maybe it was the CD-Man you got in ’95? I’m guessing it was something that hasn’t gone out of style or become obsolete. My favorite gift in recent memory was a family membership to Fairytale Town. I will always remember the time spent with my children and my family at Fairytale Town, because the memory will never go out of style, be shoved in the back of the closet or go in the "Goodwill" pile. This year, the City of Sacramento Department of Utilities is challenging you to replace at least one out of

Sacramento residents won't see monthly utility rates drop next summer after voters overwhelmingly rejected Measure B at the polls Tuesday. The initiative to roll back the city's rates for water, garbage and sewer services was failing by more than two to one late Tuesday night. With 287 out of 355 precincts counted, 41,328 – or 68 percent – of voters chose to stick with higher fees as of 10:55 p.m. More than 19,000 voters, or nearly 32 percent, had voted for the Utilities Rate Hike Roll Back Act of 2010 sponsored by the Sacramento County Taxpayers League, according to Sacramento County's elections department. The measure's opponents believe a rate decrease would have been a "risky approa

Piped, paved and delivered. Well, almost. Underground work for what proponents call "Alley Activation" is complete. The Urban Design Alliance's Fourth Wednesday dialogue topic was “Delivery of the Midtown Pilot Alley.”  Guest speakers were Julie Young, co-chair of the Alley Activation Committee and Disctrict 3 City Council Member Steve Cohn. Greg Taylor of UDA and Dustin Litrell hosted the free event at the downtown office of the American Institute of Architects. The Alley Activation private/public works project has excavated the alley between 17th, 18th and L streets and Capitol Avenue. City water pipes and sewer lines have been replaced. The next step is application of permeable paver

 In follow-up to the prior Newsletter article about noise disturbances: a written request to prohibit garbage truck hauling service prior to 7AM (daylight hours) has been met with voluntary compliance from area garbage haulers. Sacramento Regional Solid Waste Authority (SWA) General Manager/ Engineer, Paul Phillco, and City of Sacramento Integrated Waste General Manager, Edison Hicks, have stated that January 2011, an ordinance amendment could allow an exclusive service zone in the downtown area to improve implementation of the City’s general plan. Such a positive change would limit the number of haulers, noise, route frequency and wear and tear on our streets. I'm happy to share their res

Posted by R.G. Angel Dear Officer Michelle, I like to sleep with the windows slightly open in my room to allow fresh air in when I am sleeping. However, on garbage and recycle collection nights, I have been woken by the sounds of someone going through the recycle cans and collecting the cans and glass bottles. I am wondering if there is someone I can call to report this or someway to have this issue looked into to. Thanks, ~Angel Dear R.G. Angel, This is a common problem. If you live in the city limits, you can call the Police Department’s non-emergency number at 264-5471 and request an officer be dispatched. There is an ordinance that makes it illegal to rummage through recyclables.

On January 15th, during a technical workshop that was poorly attended by the public and local media, the Sacramento City Council voted on a proposal that could wind up affecting the citizens of Sacramento for many years to come. The Council voted to table the City’s yearlong effort to replace the costly and environmentally detrimental practice of trucking Sacramento’s non-recyclable municipal solid waste (MSW) over the mountains to a landfill east of Reno, Nevada with a sustainable, less costly and more environmentally friendly waste-to-energy (WTE) approach. Our Sacramento-based company, U.S. Science & Technology, submitted a proposal that was ultimately selected from among 11 responses

Did you get a new gadget for the holidays and need to get rid of the old one? Considering buying a new TV for the DTV conversion next month? Electronic waste (E-Waste), such as televisions, VCRs, computers, and iPods cannot be just thrown out in the garbage. There are four easy ways to properly recycle your E-Waste devices in the City of Sacramento. 1) Neighborhood Clean-Up Program: Residential rate payers are entitled to one free clean-up day per year to dispose of bulky waste. This includes E-Waste. To learn more or to schedule an appointment call Customer Service by dialing 311or (916) 264-5011. 2) The City of Sacramento Household Hazardous Waste Facility accepts E-Waste. CRT’s (telev

Have you ever wondered what the proper way to recycle something was but then instead of looking it up, you just put it in your garbage can, closed the lid and forgot about it? How would one recycle carpet? Pesticides? Wheelchairs? Cooking oil? On the Sacramento Regional Solid Waste Authority's Waste Management & Recycling Web site, there's a whole section titled "How Do I Recycle?" with over 30 different types of common waste products that can be recycled. For example, metal crutches and canes, walkers and non-motorized wheelchairs can be donated to the North Area Recovery Station in North Highlands. Inmates in correctional facilities restore these items to like-new condition and they a

In 2007, the City of Sacramento generated an average of 750 tons/day of solid waste. About 348 tons/day (46%) of this was recycled, leaving 402 tons/day to be trucked across the Sierra Nevada mountains and buried in the desert at the Lockwood Regional Landfill in Sparks, Nevada. The City, consistent with its sustainability initiative, has been exploring more environmentally sound alternatives for the unrecycled portion of the waste, including the prospect of converting it into energy and other useful products. On August 24, 2007, the City issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to attract a development partner to build, own, and operate a resource recovery and waste-to-energy facility in

Each night, two dozen diesel trucks are loaded up with Sacramento's trash and sent on a journey to the Lockwood Landfill located in the Nevada desert. The trek is a whopping 282 miles round-trip, which is a huge expense for vehicles that only get five to seven miles per gallon. Wondering if there will ever be an alternative to dumping endless piles of waste in landfills? Recently, Sacramento has been debating whether to jump on the bandwagon. In August 2007, the idea was proposed to create a "waste-to-energy" facility. This got the gears moving, and in February 2008, Sacramento granted exclusive negotiation rights to U.S. Science and Technology. The technology is called Plasma Gasificat