Learn to Manage 'Junk Mail'
Did you know?
- Direct mail annually creates 10 billion pounds of solid waste.
- Nationwide, it costs communities over $1 Billion annually to collect and dispose of all the waste created by "Junk Mail."
- 62% of phone books and advertising mail is not recycled
- Marketers spend $17 Billion on postage alone to send advertising mail.
- Approximately 44% of junk mail goes to landfills unopened.
- The average American will spend 8 months of their lives dealing with junk mail
While the United States Postal Service does not have a one-stop method for reducing junk mail, there are many ways to reduce the amount you receive.
Call 1-800-5 OPT OUT to stop mail generated from the three major credit reporting agencies. This will stop the majority of credit card offers.
Contact by phone, mail or email all companies that send out catalogs and request to be taken off their mailing lists.
Call 1-800-645-9242 to be taken off the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes Mailing list.
YellowPagesGoesGreen.org provides an environmentally friendly search engine and directory vigorously supporting the green movement and helps consumers opt-out of printed yellow pages delivery.
You can also download PaperKarma on your smart phone. 
This is a free application that can also reduce the amount of junk mail you receive. PaperKarma lets you take photos of the unwanted mail you want to stop. Snap a photo, and you're done. They automatically contact the Mailer and remove you from their distribution list. PaperKarma can stop most unwanted mail that is addressed directly to you.
The Secret to
Composting at Home
Composting is one of the most personally satisfying ways to recycle. Why? Because you get to watch this natural recycling process every step of the way - deepening your connection with Mother Nature.
The EPA estimates that 27% of the American waste stream is composed of discarded food scraps. Find out how to turn this "trash" into a nutrient rich soil amendment for use in your own garden by attending a composting workshop.
These workshops will be held on May 18, June 22, August 24 and September 21 at 9:30 a.m. at the Shipley Nature Center in Huntington Beach Central Park.
For more information, visit www.shipleynature.org.
Rainbow is currently collecting food scrap waste from Albertsons Supermarkets and mixing it with residential green waste to create organic compost through Agromin, an organics recovery company. These materials create a multipurpose compost product. These products are available for sale at Rainbow Environmental Services at Gate 7.
It's Earth Month!
Global climate change is one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time. To demonstrate our concern for climate change, Rainbow Environmental Services volunteered for early action. Our company was one of the first in the state of California to measure, verify, and report Greenhouse Gas emissions to The Climate Registry. Rainbow has also received environmental awards from the California Environmental Protection Agency, the Orange County League of Conservation Voters, the Bolsa Chica Conservancy and the Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach Chambers of Commerce.
Reducing the amount of trash you produce is an easy way to reduce your environmental footprint! Recycling materials in your blue cart helps conserve strained natural resources, such as water, trees, oil, and metals... but reducing and reusing provides Greener Possibilities! Reducing and reusing prevents the need to worry about disposing of something in the first place, so here are a few tips from the pros:
- If you don't already have one, there is a wide variety of reusable bottles on the market to fit your needs! Stainless steel and aluminum are the toughest, and some bottles even come with a filter in it. Check your favorite shopping destination today! Best of all you will save money not having to buy all those bottles of water.
Huntington Beach
Reusable Bag Ordinance
Did you know Huntington Beach will soon be the 3rd city in Orange County to prohibit the distribution of single use plastic bags?
Huntington Beach becomes the 70th local government in California to take action against plastic bag pollution. Over seven million Californians, nearly one out of every five people residing in the state, now live in a community that has approved a single-use plastic bag ban. This ordinance is designed to change consumer behavior and expand consumer consciousness while protecting our oceans and reducing litter.
Approved by the Huntington Beach city council on April 1, 2013 and scheduled to take effect on November 1, 2013, Huntington Beach retailers will soon charge customers 10 cents for each paper bag when you don't supply your own reusable bag.
Get into the habit now of using a washable, reusable bag for all your shopping needs!
Spring Cleaning
If you're anything like us, you're more than ready for sunny days and the fresh breeze of springtime. It's high time to open the windows, air out the house, roll up our sleeves and get going on that spring cleaning.
You can get your home spic and span by using common household products you probably already have in your kitchen. Not only do these green options provide a more economical way to clean, it's also better for the environment and your health.
- Baking Soda - cleans, deodorizes, softens water, scours.
- Lemon - one of the strongest food-acids, effective against most household bacteria.
- White Vinegar - cuts grease, removes mildew, odors and some tough stains.
- Cornstarch - can be used to clean windows, polish furniture, shampoo carpets and rugs.
Did you know you can discourage ants by spraying undiluted white distilled vinegar outside doorways and windowsills, around appliances, and wherever you find the pests coming inside?
To make cleaning the barbeque easier, spray a solution of half water and half white distilled vinegar on the cooking surface.
Lawn furniture can be easily cleaned with a rinse of 1/4 cup baking soda in 1 quart warm water.
Rainbow offers "Rent-A-Bin" dumpsters that are ideal for spring cleaning ventures like home and garage clean outs, small remodeling projects and landscaping clean up. Renting a small dumpster is a great way to get rid of unwanted debris. For more information visit Rainbow's website: http://www.rainbowes.com/rent-a-bin.php
While cleaning out your garage you may stumble upon old paint, aerosol cans and other hazardous waste you have been collecting. Please visit our Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center located on 17121 Nichols Lane at Gate 6 to properly dispose of these materials.
While you are here, be sure to visit our Materials Exchange Program Center! Did you know that you can get a variety of free useful household, yard and car care products? Not only are you saving money when you visit the M.E.P. Center, you're helping the environment by using products that would normally be sent to the hazardous waste landfill.
