June 18, 2024 |
Published by Julie Buchanan
A volunteer project to transform single-use surgical wraps into sleeping bags is keeping waste out of landfills while giving unhoused individuals a soft place to lay their heads. The project was born a few years ago at Bon Secours Southern Virginia Medical Center in Emporia. Recently, volunteers with Richmond Bon Secours Medical Group and Bon Secours St. Francis Medical Center have joined the effort to upcycle the material that otherwise... Read More
May 28, 2024 |
Published by Julie Buchanan
A new contractor begins service July 1, meaning collection day changes and new trash containers for every household. Town hall meeting is Monday, June 3. HOPEWELL — The Central Virginia Waste Management Authority is preparing to roll out a new program for residential trash pickup in the City of Hopewell. Starting July 1, WM (Waste Management) will take over weekly trash collection in Hopewell. This will be through a competitively procured contract between CVWMA,... Read More
May 21, 2024 |
Published by Julie Buchanan
Glen Allen High School student Lydia Crouch had been curious about recycling for a while. When it came time to select a topic for her AP Research capstone project, she decided on recycling education and how one’s level of schooling might affect their knowledge of what can be recycled in a residential program. CVWMA was proud to partner with Crouch as she developed the questionnaire for the study. Following her... Read More
May 21, 2024 |
Published by Julie Buchanan
Summer, summer, summertime. Time to sit back and unwind. What’s a better way to unwind than a summer cookout? We know: A cookout with less waste. There’s less to clean up! Plus, there’s less cost in the long run. Here are some ways you can have a zero-waste cookout: Give guests a heads up. In your invitation, tell guests upfront you’re striving for a zero- or low-waste cookout. Encourage them... Read More
March 27, 2024 |
Published by Julie Buchanan
Third-graders at Robious Elementary School in Chesterfield County recently put the 3R’s (that’s reduce, reuse, recycle) into action with a book swap! Each student brought in a book to be swapped for another. Teachers placed the books on cafeteria tables so students could browse and select a book to take home. “This activity was the culminating activity for our Earth’s Resources science unit,” third-grade teacher Julia Preusser said. “We connected... Read More
March 7, 2024 |
Published by Julie Buchanan
What is sustainable materials management? Sustainable materials management is a systematic approach to using and reusing materials more productively over their life cycles. The emphasis is not only on using less, but on using materials to their fullest extent. The concept may sound complex, but it doesn’t have to be. The graphic above depicts one version of a sustainable materials management hierarchy, which ranks strategies from most to least environmentally... Read More
March 7, 2024 |
Published by Adam Girard
As the CVWMA Recycling Coordinator, part of my job is to keep up with what Central Virginians are throwing in their recycling carts. One way to do this is to observe occasional recycling audits at the material recovery facility (aka “the MRF”). This is the place where everything from your cart goes once it’s collected. On Feb. 23, 2024, I headed down to Chester, Virginia, to observe one of these... Read More
February 17, 2024 |
Published by Julie Buchanan
Batteries are such a part of our lives that they have their own day on the calendar. February 18 is National Battery Day. Each U.S. household contains an average of 8.4 devices that run on rechargeable batteries. Perhaps the most popular is the lithium-ion battery found in our smartphones, laptops, tablets, toys and other devices. Lithium-ion batteries store a large amount of energy in a small space. When these batteries... Read More
February 14, 2024 |
Published by Julie Buchanan
For Valentine’s Day, we asked our newsletter subscribers what they love about recycling. We received 116 responses. Here are some of our favorites: James, Colonial Heights: Peace of mind knowing less waste going into landfills, and material is being reused. Marcus, Henrico: I love that I get to reduce my carbon footprint, reduce my contribution to the landfill, reduce the amount of waste I produce, and I love that it... Read More
February 9, 2024 |
Published by Elizabeth Hall
Elizabeth Hall represents the City of Richmond on the CVWMA Board of Directors. This article was part of a series that appeared on RVAHub. Did you know that recycling is the fifth most preferred option for materials management? There are several ways CVWMA encourages managing your potential waste before sending it to the recyclers. Here’s how you can help cut down on items filling up our landfills. Photo: City of... Read More
