This biweekly column tries to answer some o f the most commonly asked questions about cycling; composting and the town's solid waste program

Let's Talk Trash, edited by Laura Dickerson
April11, 2002, Column from the Lexington Minuteman

This biweekly column tries to answer some o f the most commonly asked questions about cycling; composting and the town's solid waste program.

Q: If PAYT has halted, how do we deal with trash and recycling?

A: The only logistical difference is that you no longer have to use the tags or labeled barrels. The town is suggesting that you not throw them away, though. One huge reason to institute PAYT was the evidence from many other municipalities in the US that a pay-as-you-throw program increases recycling and cuts down on the amount of trash. Lexington's experience confirmed this link. Now that people have become used to doing a good job with recycling the hope is that they will continue to do so. There will still be weekly pick up by the recycling truck. The items allowable will not change.

It will still be true that composting yard waste and recycling whatever we can helps the environment and saves the town money.

For people who are interested in the pay-as-you-throw issue, the Board of Selectmen has scheduled a meeting to seek public input at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 11, at the Clarke Middle School Auditorium.

Reminders

There will be a drop-off for Televisions & Computer Monitors (which by law cannot be put in the trash) plus VCRs, keyboards and CPUs and other electronics on April 20 from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the DPW Barn, 201 Bedford St.

This week is the first of four spring curbside yard waste collections. The others will be the weeks of April 22, May 20, and June 17. The Hartwell Avenue facility drop-off hours for yard waste and corrugated cardboard are: weekdays 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m., Sundays 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Water-saving tips

The current drought watch might get people to start thinking about how to use less water in their gardens. The concept of a rain garden is an interesting one. In essence, a section of your yard Is dug down to be lower than the surrounding area so that rain collects in it. It should not hold so much that you get standing water, but so that the collected rain fitters slowly down through the soil to groundwater level, helping keep the plants in that area moistened, cleaning impurities out before the rain gets to the groundwater, and keeping some of the rain from causing erosion and flooding the storm drains. See a clear. article about some rain gardens in Minnesota at: http://www.mninter.net/~stack/rain or in the National Wildlife Federation Magazine for February/March 2002 (available at Cary Library) or call the Prince George's County (Maryland) Department of Environmental Resources at 301-883-5832.

Another way to use less fresh tap water in your yard or garden to is set up a rain barrel to catch the water from your downspout. If you don't want to shorten the downspout, there are plumbing fixtures available to divert the water into the barrel. You can then set up the barrel system with a spigot, or just remove the top and scoop water with a bucket or watering can. Some sort of lid is necessary so that mosquitoes don't reproduce in the standing water. If you have Web access, see: http://www.rio.com/~plastmo/rbdivert.html for an commercially available example. (or call Plastmo Inc at 800-5472625). Also, make sure that your household use is as minimal as possible to begin with. Low flow showers, proper aerators on the faucets, low flow toilets, and efficient washing machines all make a big difference.

Got a question or a suggestion? You can reach us by calling the League of Women Voters line at 781-861-0123 or by e-mail at lexrecycles@hotmail.com. For more information, check out the SWAT Web page at http://www.lexingtonma.org/swat/ HomePage.htm, the PAYT home page at http://Ci.lexington.ma.us (click on the PAYT quicklink) or call the PAYT number: 781-2747298.