One of the best programs that the City of El Paso Department of Environmental Services offers is chipping and mulching Christmas trees. Residents have until January 10 to take their trees (less ornaments, lights and tinsel) to one of the City's collection stations. From there the trees go to the Hondo Pass or Atlantic station where they are chipped and turned into mulch. El Pasoans are welcome to come and get the mulch for free.
I asked Ellen Smyth, the head of Environmental Services, what the City does with other yard waste that it collects at the stations. She said that El Paso doesn't have "any green waste program at this time except for the Christmas trees."
Other cities do have such programs. San Diego collects yard waste and converts it to wood chips, mulch and compost. Mulch and self-loaded compost are free. Norman, Oklahoma operates a composting facility year-round.
Denver not only gives away mulch, it teaches residences how to compost in return for these "Master Composters" volunteering to teach others about composting. The City of Denver web site also has an excellent page on the how-to of composting.
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Ruidoso has a composting program as well:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sierra-contracting.com/compost.html
Not related, but I couldn't find an e-mail. Jeff Graham is folding his CSA. His announcement follows:
"Hi everyone. I'm sending this out to all of you with a great deal of sadness. Due to some situations beyond my control, I am having to fold the CSA. It has been truely uplifting for me to see the kind of dedication all of you have shown toward keeping the family farm alive. Some of you have been with me from the very beginning of this project and have witnessed the highs and lows of small farm production and the struggles of making the small farm a viable model for other growers."
"I do have to say that we did operate at a small profit each year but unfortunatly it just wasn't quite enough to keep the doors open. I still believe that this is a good model for other small growers with lower expense costs than what I have had to deal with.
"I'm hoping that I might still be around on a limited basis this next year. I'm planning on doing a limited planting of vegetables and will, hopefully, still participate in the Farmers Market at Mountain View Market on Sundays. If my situation changes, I will let all of you know, as I understand the investment you have made both in time and money. I believe we all shared a similar dream of seeing Mysterious Horizons Farm grow and serve the needs of the community. Hopefully, I can find a way to make that happen at a later time.
"Again, thank you so much for your support and efforts. I hope to run into all of you as the season progresses and will let you know what happens as I walk in this new direction."
Meant to add, Kurt Fenstermacher, also with Environmental Services, told me they chip yard waste year round at the Hondo Pass facility but then it goes to the landfill. He has experience with municipal mulching/composting, so the city may be moving in that direction.
ReplyDeleteThere is a new recycling plant for construction materials and green waste on the East side of el paso. The plant is a big blue machine located off the 375 just East on Pellicano Drive. It is El Paso C&D REcycling! They are great.
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