(originally sent July 14, 2011)
PEDAL PEOPLE NEWS JULY 2011 Contents: * Clamshells recyclable now! * Upcoming city bag system changes * Keeping the organic matter in the neighborhood * Austin Miller award * Enterprise Farm shares ** CLAMSHELLS RECYCLABLE NOW! ** We are happy to announce that 'clamshell' containers are now recyclable. Clamshells are the thin clear plastic containers that products like berries and salad bar items often come in. Unfortunately the black molded plastic containers that are sometimes paired with clamshell tops are not yet recyclable in the Pioneer Valley. Check the Department of Public Works website for a complete list of what is and isn't recyclable at: http://www.northamptonma.gov/dpw/Recycling/ ** UPCOMING CITY BAG SYSTEM CHANGES ** The number one question we have been getting asked lately is about the new bag system that the city is implementing at the Locust Street Transfer Center, where we take most of our trash and recycling. The bag system is part of a new program called S.M.A.R.T., which is an acronym for Save Money And Reduce Trash. The city plans to replace the current system of selling stickers for disposing of various amounts of waste with a system of selling trash bags that have the disposal fee included in the price. The bags will come in 10, 20, and 40 gallon sizes. The hope is that people will be more conscientious about the amounts of trash they are throwing away. Similar programs have helped other municipalities reduce waste. Pedal People customers do not currently need to buy these bags. We are still deciding how to best integrate the program into our business, and will be in touch later in the summer. We will give you plenty of notice if it will affect our trash service on the customer end of things. ** KEEPING THE ORGANIC MATTER IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD ** If you are a home composter and would like more food scraps to compost to build your soil, we can bring it to you at no charge. Let us know how many gallons per week you are willing to accept. Increments of 10 or 20 gallons are easiest for us to deal with. Please be sure to have sufficient cover material available that is high in carbon (leaves, wood chips, straw). We also offer free consultation on keeping your compost pile in good shape. ** AUSTIN MILLER AWARD ** On June 22 Pedal People was awarded the 2011 Austin Miller Cooperative Hero Award in the Business Category by the River Valley Market. This Award is offered to individuals, businesses, and non-profits in the Pioneer Valley that strive to support and strengthen cooperative values and the cooperative principal of Support for Community. We are honored to receive it, and thank the RVM and all of our customers for your support! ** ENTERPRISE FARM SHARES ** Pedal People has been delivering Enterprise Farm shares in Northampton year-round for the last year and half. This past winter we delivered mostly by bike trailer, but during one snowstorm we delivered by sled: http://www.pedalpeople.com/photos/pp_sled_delivery.jpg The farm share works like a CSA in that you pay up-front at the start of the season, or in two installments, and receive a weekly share of fruits and veggies. Unlike the typical CSA, Enterprise works with partner farms to include items in the share that they don't grow on their own farm. So the farm share includes a full variety of fruits and veggies, all year round. You can sign up for summer/fall, winter/spring or both. There are still pro-rated shares available for this season. To find out if you are within our service area, and more about the sizes and costs of the shares, please check out this information page on our website: http://www.pedalpeople.com/index.php?page=51
