HOME CHECKLIST
During the holidays, all those boxes, beverage containers and gift wrap really pile up. In fact, Americans throw away 25 percent more trash than usual between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. That adds up to about 25 million extra tons of garbage nationwide.In California, about 100 million plastic water bottles will be trashed during the holiday season.
If recycled, those water bottles could be used to make 48,000 sweaters or 220,000 square feet of carpeting, according to CalRecycle.
"Tons of empty beverage containers are generated during this time of year and these cans, glass and plastic bottles should also be recycled," said Doug Eubanks of Sacramento County's Department of Waste Management and Recycling. "The amount of garbage sent to the landfill increases dramatically during this time. We can recover these materials if residents use their curbside recycling program."
If hosting a party tonight and/or tomorrow, set up a recycling bin in the kitchen for bottle and can disposal. Those containers can then be added to your weekly pick-up.
In addition, greeting cards, envelopes, gift boxes, wrapping paper, phone books, calendars, cardboard, advertising circulars, catalogs, paper boxes, computer paper and, of course, this newspaper can be recycled.
For more ideas, click on www.holidayrecycling.com.
GARDEN CHECKLIST
• Clean up leaves and debris around fruit trees and rose bushes to prevent the spread of disease.
• Start pruning roses. They've been slow to go into dormancy this winter (many were blooming around Sacramento just before Christmas), but it's time to get to work on this annual chore. Trim off any remaining leaves from canes.
• Apply oil to fruit trees to control scale, mites and aphids. Oils need 24 hours of dry weather after application to be effective, so wait if there's rain the forecast. Don't apply on foggy days.
• This also is the time to spray a copper-based oil to peach and nectarine trees to fight leaf curl.
• In the vegetable garden, plant fava beans, mustard, onion sets, garlic, radicchio and radishes. Transplant bok choy, kale, leaf lettuce and slips of white potatoes.
• Plant bare-root asparagus and root divisions of rhubarb.
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Call The Bee's Debbie Arrington, (916) 321-1075.
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