 | GET A GREAT DEAL ON RAIN BARRELS - SUPPLIES LIMITED!
by Christine Wied
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A rain barrel discount program for City of Ventura residents is now available through Environmental Sustainability and Ventura Water. Working in cooperation with Smith Pipe and Supply at 3060 Sherwin Avenue in Ventura, the Channel/Bushman 60-gallon rain barrel with a retail value of $85.oo will be available for $42.oo plus tax
at their store with a Rain Barrel Discount Voucher. Discount on up to two units per customer or residential address. READ MORE.
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Green Business Certification
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Become a State Certified
Green Business
The Green Business Certification Program is currently available to office/retail and restaurant businesses within the City of Ventura, but other sectors will be added as the program gains traction. Although the certification requirements differ for each sector, the main environmental categories are waste, energy, water, pollution prevention, wastewater, and general staff education.
SET UP YOUR FREE CONSULTATION
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Commercial Business Recycling It's THE LAW
as of
July 1, 2012
What every Ventura Business Needs to know!
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Conserving our natural resources is essential for the health and wellbeing of our community and our planet.
In keeping with this sentiment, beginning July 1, 2012, the State of California has made business recycling mandatory. According to the newly enacted legislation (AB341), businesses that generate 4 cubic yards or more of trash per week (the equivalent of a large commercial dumpster) and all multifamily complexes with five or more units (regardless of the amount of trash they generate), will be required to recycle.
Compliance is determined by solid waste service capacity. Businesses that share trash service accumulating the 4 cubic yards or more of trash per week must comply even if individually, the businesses do not generate that amount of trash. READ MORE.
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What Can YOU Do To Help Preserve Ventura's Environment?
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A Zero Waste Program
to reduce unwanted
mail & phone books
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Did you know that 11 billion pounds of mail was delivered in the US in 2008? That equals 900 pieces (100 lbs) for every household. Out of that amount, only 40% is recycled.
Over 660,000 tons of phone books enter the waste stream annually. Only 20% get recycled. Nearly 70% of adults in the U.S. "rarely or never" use the phone book.
If you are tired of getting tons of junk mail in your mailbox and would like to save trees, reduce the waste that goes into our landfills and care about reducing greenhouse gas emissions, there is a way you can make a difference.
Join along with the City of Ventura's Environmental Sustainability Division and sign up with Catalog Choice to opt-out of getting junk mail deliveries to your home and business.
Catalog Choice is the largest independent mail preference registry in the United States. When you sign up, it's FREE and you get to opt-out of receiving all forms of advertising mail and unwanted phone book deliveries. The great thing about Catalog Choice is that with a database of more than 5,500 titles (and increasing daily) that you choose what you want to opt-out of receiving.
Under the Fair Information Practice (FTC), your information will also be kept private and be protected.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN!
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YES! You can Recycle Cartons in Ventura 
Juice, milk, soup, wine and other carton packaging made from high-quality paper is now acceptable in residential (in the blue bin) and commercial establishments (in the white commercial bin) in the City of Ventura.
To recycle, all you need to do is simply rinse, then place empty cartons in your recycling bin with your plastic, metal and glass containers. READ MORE.
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Stormwater:
Best Management Practices
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Proper Maintenance & Cleaning
Any outdoor activity at your business can potentially
cause pollution - washing down a walkway or keeping a messy trash area. Sprinkler runoff and wind can move toxins into a storm drain. Once in the storm drain system, this untreated pollution goes directly into our waterways. Good housekeeping and proper maintenance will prevent most pollution.
Implement Best Management Practices
- Keep dumpsters and parking lots free of trash.
- Always keep dumpster lids closed.
- Regularly clean with dry methods (sweep, vacuum or damp mop).
- Work carefully to prevent spills.
- Clean up spills immediately. Use absorbents for liquids, then sweep up and dispose of properly.
- Use drip pans, or better, fix leaking vehicles and equipment.
- Dump all wash water in an indoor drain.
- Never use an outdoor hose to clean anything, unless that water will be captured and dumped into an indoor drain.
- Label storm drains with a "For clean water only" message.
Train employees to follow these guidelines. It will create a safer workplace and reduce the risk of legal problems and fines.
For more information on preventing stormwater pollution, visit: vcstormwater.org
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Ventura's Natural Beauty
Let's keep it that way!
March 2013
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Ventura Chamber's Green Task Force: "Best Practices Workshop" at Ohana Pet Hospital
By Maryann Ridini Spencer
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 On Thursday, February 21, the Ventura Chamber of Commerce's Green Task Force held a "Best Practices Workshop" at the newly opened Ohana Pet Hospital
located at 4547 Telephone Road in Ventura.  | |
Dr. Janis Shinkawa talks to the crowd
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At the event, attended by business professionals and entrepreneurs, a special PowerPoint presentation was given by the staff at Ohana highlighting some of the hospital's green and sustainable business practices.
"Ohana Pet Hospital," said Courtney Lindberg, Environmental Specialist with the City of Ventura's Environmental Sustainability Division and GTF Co-Chair, "is the perfect setting to host a 'Best Practices Workshop'. The idea for the workshops is to promote green business practices and share that knowledge within the professional community. Ohana has been very progressive with their hospital design as well as their waste recycling, reuse practices and energy and water conservation programs." READ MORE.
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TEXT MARKETING: The "Green" Marketing Tool That Supports Branded Promotions
Text message marketing is an innovative and effective way to enter a contest, get information or participate in a really cool deal, all through your phone. It's one of the fasted growing marketing tools there is.
Text messaging is a "green" marketing tool because
it instantly reaches a wide audience in a very cost-efficient and paperless way. "Americans send more text messages than phone calls," said Courtney Lindberg, Environmental Specialist for the City of Ventura. "Text messaging is an "opt-in" marketing format, meaning that the consumer has purposefully signed-up to receive communications and can opt-out at any time."
"Reports indicate that over 95% of texts are read and by comparison, studies suggest that over 80% of email does not usually get opened," said Ken Leandro with text messaging company, 805Insider.com. "No other communication medium can boast a read rate close to this!"
Part of the City of Ventura Environmental Sustainability's mission is to inform the public about environmental issues, programs and initiatives within the Ventura city boarders. Text messaging is a cost-efficient way to reach a large, interested audience as well as to outreach to a new audience demographic.
"This month through 805Insider.com," continued Lindberg, "the ES Division has a new 'Green Tips' mobile service. To get our green tips, text VENTURA to 39798, READ MORE.
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Clean SAFE with Less Toxic Products
Did you know that many household cleaning products, while even used "as directed" could be hazardous to your health as well as the environment?
Many household products are toxic and can be hazardous to your health, they can also pose a threat to the environment if they end up getting into our drains and waterways.
On product labels, have you ever read words like flammable, corrosive, reactive or toxic? If so, in the future, why not consider safer and more eco-friendly alternatives.
Looking for less toxic alternatives isn't always easy, either. Even when a product is listed as "safe" or "green," it can be masking as environmentally friendly. This is called greenwashing and can be very confusing to consumers who are trying to make more eco-conscious cleaning product choices.
The best mode of operation is to look for statements that read: non-toxic, non-petroleum based or free of ammonia, phosphates, dye and perfume, and that read "biodegradable."
Stay away from products using words such as:
DANGER and POISON. Products labeled CAUTION or WARNING contain the least toxic,
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GREEN SAVERS: Lower the temperature in your home and increase savings up to 12%
Control your home's temperature while away or asleep by using one of the pre-programmed settings. Programming the thermostat to turn the temperature down 8 degrees for 7 hours each night and an additional 7 hours each weekday could result in a seasonal heating savings of approximately 12 percent. For the average home, this could result in savings of about $180. READ MORE.
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THIS MONTH ON THE Sustainable Ventura TV SERIES 
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This month's Sustainable Ventura TV show visits with Ventura Water to talk about water stewardship and conservation as well as the March 19, 2013 kick-off party and launch of the second annual WaterTake 1 Online Short Film Contest, the Never Waste Campaign, and FREE stand-alone Educational Outreach Presentations available to local schools and businesses within the City of Ventura.
  | | Sustainable Ventura Ventura Water Show, March 2013 |
WATCH Sustainable Ventura weekly on Caps-TV!
  Sustainable Ventura, hosted by Maryann Ridini Spencer and Ray Olson, airs on Caps-TV VTV's Channel 15, Thursdays at 8:30pm. It rebroadcasts Monday-Thursday and Saturdays at 9:00am, Sundays at 8:30pm and every other Wednesday at 8:30pm. LIKE US on Facebook, CLICK HERE!WATCH & SUBSCRIBE TO US ON YouTube, CLICK on the icon below! |
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NEWS Highlights from February 2013
February 21: Ventura Green Task Force's "Best Practices " Workshop at Ohana Pet Hospital
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L to R: Environmental Sustainability's Joe Yahner and Ray Olson at the "Best Practice Workshop"
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Video News Stories playing in February:
Video News Stories playing starting mid-March:
"Water Take 1 Online Short Film Contest Launch"
Sustainable Ventura.TV Video News is featured in the "Videos" column at VCStar.com
on the Home and all News Pages.
News Videos cover environmental and sustainable practices, programs, events, issues and happenings taking place in the City of Ventura.
 LISTEN and SUBSCRIBE to Sustainable Ventura Podcasts on iTunes. CLICK HERE!
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Environmental Sustainability
is
Everyone's Responsibility!
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