(originally sent January 23, 2019)
PEDAL PEOPLE NEWS WINTER 2019 Greetings from the Pedal People Press: ...a simple, informative newsletter to support our collective path to sustainability... Contents: * Disposal details: shredded paper and Christmas lights * What's recyclable? And what's not? * Snow day information * Planning a year of less waste * A peek inside a Pedal People meeting ** DISPOSAL DETAILS ** Please put your shredded paper in a paper bag inside your recycling tote. The Materials Recycling Facility in Springfield, where all our recyclables go, has asked that shredded paper be contained within a paper bag for easier processing. We can collect your broken Christmas lights as scrap metal. Please put them aside, and not in your trash bag or recycling totes so it can be properly sorted. ** WHAT'S RECYCLABLE? AND WHAT'S NOT? ** Black plastic is not recyclable, it needs to be bagged as trash. Many take-out containers and prepared food containers are made of plastic that is black. These containers are trash. Plastic bags cannot be recycled in your normal pick-up. You can, however, take them yourself to a plastic bag collection site, such as at Big Y, Stop & Shop, and Target. If you want to put plastic bags out with your Pedal People pick-up, they should be bagged as trash. Here's an article written by Susan Waite, Northampton Department of Public Work's Waste Reduction Coordinator, on plastic bags: https://www.gazettenet.com/Waste-Reduction-column-18728626 ** SNOW DAY INFORMATION ** Usually we maintain our regular pick up schedule on snowy days. Occasionally we postpone pickups if the storm is particularly intense. If a carrier feels confident and safe, they may choose to pick up as usual while others may postpone. You will be notified directly by your carrier if a pick up will be postponed. Rarely, but on occasion, we cancel all pick ups. We will notify all customers and post a message on our website if that is the case. As a reminder, your pick up may occur anytime between 8am-5pm to allow us the flexibility to adjust our day to the weather and efficient planning of our route for the day so we may get to everyone. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions. ** PLANNING A YEAR OF LESS WASTE ** Northampton Department of Public Works runs many waste reduction events throughout the year. Their series is one of many ways we can plan to reduce waste this year. Their events range from fix/repair events to garden pot swaps to special recycling events for items like styrofoam, fabrics, and bulky rigid plastics. If you have reusable items you are looking to get rid of, or materials that are only recyclable at these special events, set them aside and mark your calendar with your opportunity to pass them off to someone else instead of sending them to a far away landfill. You can check this website for 2019 date listings (updated by March): https://www.northamptonma.gov/1823/Events ** A PEEK INSIDE A PEDAL PEOPLE MEETING ** Once a month the worker-owners of Pedal People convene for a meeting. One of my favorite parts of the meeting is our round of check-ins. Every meeting we start with an opportunity for everyone to talk about how things are going for them. This is when we hear about flat tires, riding uphill and being passed by pedestrians, making record time on a route, that time the cat litter bag busted open all over everything, and, of course, the weather. This space we make for more personal stories can be entertaining, and we certainly bond over tough weather and other adversities.