The average household in the Treasure Valley discards 80 pounds of grass clippings per month throughout the growing season. The additional grass is largely responsible for the 30% increase in trash volume that we take to the landfill during late spring, summer and early fall.

In an effort to divert this grass from the landfill, the City of Meridian and Republic Services partnered to launch a residential “Grass Only” recycling program. Residents enrolled in this program are given a 95-gallon trash cart with a tan lid and “Grass Only” label. Participating residents are asked to:

• Use earth and animal friendly lawn care products;

• Remove pet waste and other lawn debris before mowing;

• Keep rocks, dirt and woody debris out of the cart;

• Mow as close to their trash day as possible.

Grass collected in this program is picked up once per week (on trash day) and is taken to a farm in south Meridian where it is

placed in a silage pit. The grass is packed tightly and covered with a tarp. This minimizes air exposure and allows the grass to go through a “pickling” process. After several months, the ensiled grass is tested for harmful chemicals. If the results meet the federally-established thresholds, the grass silage will be mixed with a variety of other feeds for cattle. If the results come in higher than acceptable, the silage will be used as a soil amendment and land-applied to nutrient poor fields. Either way, the grass will be beneficially reused.

Beyond the growing season, this cart has other, year-round

benefits. Each November, during the City’s “Recycle the Fall” program, customers can fill the cart with leaves. December through March the cart can be used for overflow garbage. In late March, customers will receive a notice reminding them to rinse their cart to prepare for grass recycling which resumes each April. Participating customers are billed $7.95 per month for this service.

We encourage you to give this innovative grass recycling program a try. It’s a great way to save valuable landfill space and contribute to our local farming/ranching industry right here in Meridian.

S u p p o r t i n g y o u r C O M M U N I T Y b y o f f e r i n g f u l l - s e r v i c e , s u s t a i n a b l y - d e s i g n e d w a s t e m a n a g e m e n t s e r v i c e s

WINTER 2014

GRASS RECYCLING PILOT “GROWING” IN MERIDIAN

(208) 345-1265 | www.republicservicesidaho.com

This Newsletter published and paid for by Republic Services, your waste management company

Republic ServicesEnviromental Quarterly

2013 –A YEAR IN REVIEW

In 2013 the average Meridian household threw away 213 pounds of trash per month and recycled 26 pounds per month. This means, of the 239 pounds of material that Republic Services collects each month, only 10.8% of it is recycled.

As we look ahead in 2014, challenge yourself to recycle a little more at home. A small change on your end can pay big dividends for our city. The money made from the sale of our recyclables comes back to us and is used to pay for Meridian upgrades such as baseball bleachers, new playground equipment and park recycling bins.

Roughly half of what we throw out can be recycled, so next time you are ready to discard something – choose the right bin! Recycling benefits our environment and our community. Our new goal is 40 pounds of recycling per household per month. So let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work!

Visit www.cityofmeridian.org/MCRF to learn more about the Meridian Community Recycling Fund and how it has helped our city.

For more information on grass recycling please visit www.republicservicesidaho.com and click on “Meridian“ in the dropdown menu.

Fall leaf recycling was WAY up in 2013! Meridian residents showed their support for our curbside leaf collection program by recycling 62% more leaves (790 cubic yards: equivalent to 32 trash truck loads) than the year before. This program ran three full weeks in November and allowed residents to place an unlimited volume of leaves at the curb in large paper leaf bags or their grass-only recycling cart. The leaves were taken to the Ada County Landfill where they were ground and used as a soil amendment here in the Treasure Valley.

“Rake Up Meridian”One of the many reasons people choose to live in Meridian is the great sense of community. This was beautifully exhibited this past November during “Rake Up Meridian”. This one day event relies on volunteer groups to rake the leaves of senior and disabled residents who are unable to accomplish the task themselves and have asked for help. It was a chilly fall day when 41 volunteer groups bundled up and raked 60 lawns. Together, they recycled 870 bags of leaves. Thanks to everyone who made this program a success!

FALL LEAF COLLECTION

(208) 345-1265www.republicservicesidaho.com

Electronic gadgets such as televisions, computers, cameras and cell phones have become an integral part of our daily lives. But what is the best way to deal with old equipment that is no longer in use? Rather than letting old unused electronics sit around your home or garage, they can be recycled for FREE!

Many electronics contain hazardous materials such as lead (as much as 8 lbs. in some cathode-ray tube (CRT) monitors) and other heavy metals. Recycling these items keeps hazardous waste out of the Ada County Landfill.

The Republic Services Transfer Station in Meridian hosts a weekly Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Event every Monday (except holidays) between 12:00 p.m. and 7 p.m. at 2130 W. Franklin Road (between Ten Mile and Linder).

ACCEPTED TELEVISIONS/COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS

• Computer equipment (computer monitors - limit: 3)

• Televisions smaller than 27” - limit: 2. Larger televisions must be taken to the Permanent Collection Facility at the Ada County Landfill

• Cell phones

Larger quantities (25 items or more) or pickup truck-sized loads of household hazardous waste as well as console televisions and televisions larger than 27” must be self-hauled to the Permanent HHW Collection Facility at the Ada County Landfill located at 10300 N. Seaman’s Gulch Road in Boise.

RECYCLE YOUR E-WASTE

A full list of recyclable electronic items is available at www.meridiancity.org/environmental and at www.adacountylandfill.com.