August 5, 2011 - Posted by Janet - 0 Comments
COUNCIL VOTES ON COMPREHENSIVE FOODWORKS LEGISLATION TO IMPROVE NEW YORK CITY FOOD SYSTEM
Legislation To Help New York’s Food Economy and Encourage Environmental Sustainability
New York, NY-At today’s Stated meeting the Council voted on five pieces of legislation and several resolutions as part of the Food Works initiative. The legislation aims to encourage regional farming, facilitate the identification of city property for gardens or agricultural use and decrease the city’s waste and energy usage, while also increasing the transparency of the city’s progress toward better nutritional outcomes and public health. The bills were first announced in Speaker Quinn’s FoodWorks initiative late last year.
“These bills are crucial to the goal of Foodworks – to use our food system to create jobs, protect our environment, and improve public health,” said Speaker Quinn. “By encouraging city agencies to buy regional food, we’ll keep more local dollars in the local economy. We’ll make it easier for New Yorkers to grow their own food in rooftop greenhouses, and push city government to purchase food without unnecessary packaging. Through a database of city owned properties, we’ll find potential locations for new gardens and urban farms. And finally, by requiring the city to report on major data points we’ll be able to hold ourselves accountable and make sure all these initiatives are getting results.”
For more information on this bill go to: The New York City Council.
September 20, 2010 - Posted by Janet - 0 Comments
Not all plastics can be recycled. Yogurt cups and other polypropylene #5 plastics, unless they’re reused, end up in the landfill since so few municipalities accept them. So much of our food is packaged in these containers, which are not recyclable, including packaging for cottage cheese, ice cream and take-out containers.
There is now a solution to this problem.
PRESERVE.
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Those are the principles that have driven Preserve since 1996 and that motivate them to encourage more households to choose their 100% recycled and recyclable products over conventional products.
Preserve plastic products are made from #5 polypropylene plastic collected from individuals via the Gimme 5 program and from companies like Stonyfield Farm®. Preserve takes this plastic, sorts it, cleans it, tests it, recycles it, and turns it into new Preserve products.
Choosing Preserve Plastic (in the form of a toothbrush or razor, for example) means a sizeable reduction in greenhouse gases emitted, and significantly less water, energy, oil, natural gas, and coal used in making plastic.
Read more about Preserve here.
September 17, 2010 - Posted by Janet - 0 Comments
Have you noticed that when you give to your favorite charity, you begin receiving unwanted mail, unsolicited phone calls, or junk e-mail, from other charities? One way to slow unwanted, unsolicited phone calls, is by letting your charity know that you do not want your name, address, phone number, and/or e-mail address, rented, sold, or exchanged with any other group. If this does not work, get in touch with them again, telling them you may not contribute to their cause if they do not follow your wishes.
Charities are exempt from the National Do Not Call Registry, buy many maintain their own Do Not Call List. Mention to these callers that you would like to be put on their Do Not Call List, and any mailing list they may maintain.
The American Institute on Philanthropy has more information and a sample note you can use to tell the charity to stop, or reduce mailings to you. You may find more information from them here.
September 1, 2010 - Posted by Janet - 0 Comments
Reprinted from www.GrowNYC.org
Electronic waste recycling is coming to the Staten Island Mall on
Saturday, September 18, 2010 from 10am – 4pm
Staten Island Mall, Parking Lot F
Near the main entrance at 2655 Richmond Avenue
The following items can be dropped off for free:
Working and non-working computers, monitors, printers, scanners, keyboards, mice, cables, TV’s, VCR’s, DVD players, phones, audio/visual equipment, cell phones and PDA’s
A special thank you to the Staten Island Mall/General Growth Properties for hosting the event, and Congressman Michael E. McMahon for sponsoring the event.
The event is organized by the Lower East Side Ecology Center and is the first in a series of 9 events offered during this fall e-waste collection drive. For more information about all the events please contact 212-477-4022 or lesecologycenter.org.
