Christmas Tree Recycling Program makes for a greener holiday season

Calgary's annual Tree Recycling program sees your Christmas conifer re-purposed into mulch instead of a landfill landmark.

"Last year we kept approximately 35,000 trees out of the landfill," said Darcy Cairns, superintendent of programs for Waste and Recycling Services with the City. "It's easy to participate - we collect trees from homes and there are also eight drop off locations to bring your trees to. The great thin is that the trees are turned into mulch that residents can use for gardening and landscaping afterwards."

I started my flower seeds last weekend and I am not using a greenhouse. I am using my growop — a bank of lights tucked into a niche off the kitchen.

The phrase "grow-op" has certain negative implications but I swear I'm not breaking any laws. I love flowers and I hate the big price of buying them retail so I am starting a few at home from seed.

Making yards beautiful while making space for the birds and the bees

* Part one of a three part YYC Grows series

Rob Avis is used to building things that last. With a background in mechanical engineering, the Calgary resident has always had a focus on what makes things tic.

These days, however, he's focused on building a sustainable future. Rob and wife Michelle are cofounders of Verge Permaculture, a Calgary-based company that incorporates the principals of permaculture into landscape design – a trend that`s becoming increasingly prominent throughout Calgary in recent years.

With National Environment Week in full swing, Built Green Canada has issued a challenge to municipalities across the country to encourage green building as part of their policies.

Built Green, in a release, explained municipalities that incent builders to construct with more sustainable means using programs like Built Green reduce the load on civic infrastructure such as water, electrical, waste and more. 

Residents in Cochrane who live in condos, apartments and townhouses will soon have access to home recycling.

In a release, the Town is changing its Waste Management Bylaw to include multi-family complexes.

"The revisions to the bylaw help multi-family complexes include recycling in their waste service," said Sharon Howland, manager of waste and recycling. "It's about making it easier for people in Cochrane to recycle, and to move us closer to the goals in the Zero Waste Framework.

January 1 saw a mad dash to home improvement stores, drug stores and any business that carries incandescent light bulbs, especially the 60 and 40 watts. The mad dash led to long lines, hoarding hundreds of dollars worth of the now 'illegal' light bulbs. A black market was created, causing people to trade precious metals for this now outlawed commodity.

Ok, maybe not.

Some Calgary residents have a big blue bin for their recyclable materials, some take their recyclables to a depot, and for others it all hits the trash bin.

The City of Calgary is exploring a recycling program for anyone living in a multi-family unit, which is a five or more dwelling unit. By January 2016 residents should see a recycling option in their building.

Despite the potential of higher costs, Canadians are more likely to choose renovations that include greener options than not when updating their homes, according to a recent Scotiabank poll.

The Scotiabank Home Renovations Poll reports two-thirds of Canadian homeowners are more likely to chose green home renovations over nongreen renovation options, making their homes more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. Albertans considered green renovations 65 per cent of the time.