Compost Operations Manager Sherrian Jones and her husband Michael recently gave Live Green in Plano volunteers an entertaining and in-depth tour of the Custer Road and Regional Composting Facilities.

Hills of yard trimmings awaited the grinder at the Custer Road Facility located at the Ridgeview Transfer Station. This location is the first stop for yard trimmings collected from the North Texas Municipal Water District's (NTMWD) five member cities- Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Richardson and Allen. The Custer Road Facility serves as both a grind site for yard trimmings, and as a retail outlet for finished bagged or bulk Texas Pure products including mulch, compost, topdressing and soil blend.   Yard trimmings are ground at the Custer Road Facility and then trucked to the Regional Composting Facility located at the NTMWD District 121 Regional Disposal Facility in Melissa where they are further processed into Texas Pure products. 

Windrows of curing compost (several 100 yard long rows, 8 feet wide and 8-10 feet tall) covered the Regional Compost Facility  Before reaching the curing stage, an enormous windrow turner slowly moves over the piles, adding water and air, turning the piles to maintain the temperature between 131 and 165 degrees for several weeks. After several months,  mountains of finished and screened product are ready for delivery to commercial and residential customers. Methods for composting food waste are also being explored. Evaluations are currently underway on a pilot vermi-composting project utilizing worms to break down food waste.

Turning residential yard trimmings into quality products useful for improving soil health, permeability and moisture retention requires many people and multiple steps.

With the hot and humid summers and mild winters we experience in Texas, it is important to create a balance between comfort, energy use and energy cost. This can be done by optimizing or balancing your HVAC system in several simple and cost-effective ways. It is a win-win situation as you create a healthy, comfortable indoor environment for your family while saving money and energy in the long run.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

SCHEDULE ANNUAL MAINTENANCE OF HVAC SYSTEM

Get annual heating system maintenance service and air conditioning diagnostic tune ups one month before the season changes.  By doing so, you are able to identify problems early.  Also, simple tune up steps can balance humidity, carbon dioxide and allergen levels leading to a healthy, more comfortable environment.  Click energystar.gov for a maintenance checklist to ensure the service contractor performs all essential and typical steps.

CHECK FILTERS

Check your HVAC equipment filters every month and clean permanent filters or replace disposable filters if required. Typically, disposable filters need to be replaced every month.   Dirty filters can block air circulation, damage your equipment and lead to early failure.  Clean filters can reduce allergy symptoms and allow fresher air to circulate in your home.

For disposable filters, 3M has a Reminder Service to send you regular reminders to change your filters. Click on the following link to avail this FREE service: solutions.3m.com

Consider using permanent filters.  They are reusable,  eco-friendly and a great option as they reduce the number of disposable filters going to the landfill.

With the tight economy, many families are feeling the pinch. Those extravagant vacations to faraway places are a distant memory. The perfect alternative is the popular "staycation." Fortunately the Dallas/Ft. Worth area has a lot of great places nearby for a fun weekend that's light on the budget and much greener than flying or driving to distant lands.

How to Plan a Great Staycation

Since a staycation is a vacation without the hassle, try to get OUT of your house if possible and enjoy a local hotel or camping area. If you do stay at home, promise yourself you won't worry about what "needs" to be done around the house, just for this weekend. You're on vacation!

• Check out the city's tourism department or request brochures from the Texas travel center. Peruse the Internet for even more ideas. Drop into a book store or the library and look for books about the area, including history, travel and even cookbooks.
• Take your camera and treat yourself to a tour of the city. Use fresh eyes and act like a tourist. Try a restaurant you haven't eaten at before. Visit some museums or other local attractions you've never been to before.
• Enjoy the outdoors by spending time by the pool or camping.

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