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Salem Recycles Minutes - May 6, 2014
Present: Nancy Gilberg, Erin Huggard, Tony Keck, Marcia Lambert, Beth Melillo, Lynn Murray, Penny Neal, Jennifer Percy, Julie Rose, Flora Tonthat, Liz Vago, Susan Yochelson
Guests: John Roberts, Myrna Soper
Minutes of the previous meeting were approved.
New Business
- Women’s Swap & Drop – Mayor Driscoll asked that we consider a swap & drop just for women. Discussion revolved around the pros and cons of adding another clothes swap event. The observation was made that men’s clothing and accessories move much faster than women’s clothing and a lot of women’s clothes were left at the end of the existing Swap & Drop. Decision was made to see about holding an additional event with the City of Beverly. Nancy will follow up.
- Dog Event on the Common – June 8, sponsored by Boys and Girls Club. Salem Recycles was invited to participate. Tony will follow-up to see what they are looking for; Myrna and Tony might be available.
- SATV - Councilman Bill Legault’s show “Salem Round Table” with Tony as guest is available for viewing online at the SATV website
Old Business
- Swap & Drop, May 3 was well received. Music was good; lots of people attended. Some people were confused about whether or not it was free. There was discussion that it’s not a good venue to educate people about recycling. We need to put up no parking signs along the street--there wasn’t enough room for people to drop off their items. Reminder – Goodwill has trucks at both the Stop & Shop in Vinnin Square and on Howley Street, where they will take textiles.
- Facebook – Approaching 1000 likes—raffle for numbers 875-900 helped. There was discussion of whether or not to set up another Facebook page specifically for composting. The decision was made to revisit this idea in the future.
- E-newsletter – Message for May is reduce trash by “bringing your own”—mug, Tupperware, water bottle, bag, etc. “Be prepared where ever you go.” Liz will write an article for the e-newsletter.
- Greensalem.com—The web site is being well received. Statistics show increased numbers of return visitors, and visitors are loading more pages.
- Curbside Composting – Goal for the pilot program is 1500 households; 520 bins have been distributed. Households must have email to participate. Program is most cost effective when bins are full—neighbors are encouraged to share bins if they don’t generate much compost. There is still confusion about some things that can be composted in the program such as Kleenex, cotton swabs & paper Q tips. Myrna offered to create a “Composting 101.” At some point the city will be split into two pick up routes, which will be a good time to re-edit and re-publicize the Composting FAQ’s.
- City-wide Science Fair—This provided a good opportunity to talk to parents about composting. Liz showed kids how to plant seeds in toilet paper rolls and how to turn chip bags into pencil cases.
- Carlton School Science Fair—Smaller than the city-wide fair, but another good opportunity to talk about composting. In the fall, the school will start a pilot project with a compost bucket in each classroom.
- Mandatory Recycling—The grant ends in December. Jeff is working on a 2 minute video with North Shore Recycled Fibers on dual stream recycling, which many people do not understand. With over 50% of Salem’s residents being renters, dual stream recycling is a challenge. The suggestion was made to set up a subcommittee to develop targeted communications specifically about dual stream recycling.
- Upcycle/Reuse Event – it was decided to participate for a few hours at the Salem Art Festival, June 6-8, with a project for kids making birdhouses out of ½ gallon milk-type cartons. Flora will take the lead with help from Erin and Myrna.
Other:
- Volunteer Thank you Event – Salem Recycles has about 30 volunteers in addition to the committee. It was decided to hold a thank you pizza picnic on Thursday, June 26 at either Salem Willows or Winter Island.
- Event Composting – There was discussion that we provide opportunities for on-site composting at events as a way of leading by example.
- Rigid Plastic Recycling – three towns are participating, Salem, Marblehead and Swampscott. Fifty tons have been collected.
- E-waste will be collected monthly through December, 2014. Starting in July 2014 there will be a $10 fee for computers, appliances and TV’s.
Submitted by Susan Yochelson
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