 The holidays are suddenly upon us, and with that holiday magic comes delicious food, parties, and gifts of all kinds! Although this will be another holiday season in a pandemic, we can still find ways to safely celebrate and connect with our loved ones. If you are participating in any December festivities, it’s important to reflect on how our decision-making around the holidays can affect the environment. From the period between Thanksgiving to New Years, the United States creates 25% more waste than any other time of the year. This extra waste amounts to 25 million tons of garbage. As we all know, garbage ends up in landfills, which in turn release methane, pollute our waterways, and take up precious animal and plant habitat. As you prepare for your celebrations and finalize your presents, consider giving our planet a gift as well. Read the tips below on how to reduce your holiday waste and carbon footprint.  Food waste: As we prepare for our holiday meal we often become overzealous with our large portions and numerous dishes. This can lead to food waste, which is especially harmful in the landfill because food is broken down anaerobically and results in methane emissions, which is a greenhouse gas 70% more potent than carbon dioxide. Follow these guidelines to reduce your food waste.
Gifts: Giving presents to the people in our lives is a beautiful way to show our love, however many material gifts do not serve our planet. Consider these options to reduce your gift waste footprint.
 Wrapping paper: Traditional gift wrap is unfortunately not recyclable so it’s important to save and reuse any wrapping paper that’s gifted to you, and use alternatives such as the ones below.
Ecards: Instead of sending out a holiday card through the mail (which require materials to create and greenhouse gases to deliver), try using an ecard instead! Use this site to create your ecard for free: https://www.123cards.com/christmas-ecards/ Trees: Recycling your tree is easy in Asheville. Follow these guidelines to ensure that your tree gets to the proper place: https://www.ashevillenc.gov/news/how-to-dispose-of-or-recycle-that-christmas-tree-2/. Better yet, consider a potted Christmas tree that you can continue to use for years to come!  Lights: In the United States, Christmas lights use up more electricity than some economically disadvantaged countries, such as El Salvador or Ethiopia, do in a year. Most of our electricity is produced from fossil fuels, which result in greenhouse emissions and the release of other pollutants. Make sure to turn your light off during the day and don’t keep them on all night long. Consider solar lights like these: https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/g37975001/best-solar-christmas-lights/  New years/holiday party: Throw an eco-friendly holiday party using the following tips.
By Livia Charles, Sustainability Coordinator at Asheville GreenWorks
If you’ve ever strolled through a deciduous forest in the colder months you’ve probably noticed that, unlike the average lawn, no one rakes up the leaves. Instead, these fallen former solar panels accumulate on the forest floor and persist for many months to come. The leaves not only reintroduce carbon and other nutrients into the soil as they decompose, they also harbor their own little living world. For the smaller critters of the forest, the layer of leaves, also known as duff, can provide shelter from the elements, much-needed microclimates, camouflage, and even a crunchy, carbon-rich snack.
Spiders, worms, nematodes, snails, and other invertebrates also occupy this under-appreciated microcosm. However, the role of fallen leaves extends even further. Leaf litter provides a crucial food source for birds that need larvae to feed their young. Even herbaceous perennial plants, waiting out the winter underground, benefit from the insulation the leaves provide their root systems. Like any other facet of an ecosystem, when the leaves are taken away, the effects radiate outwards impacting far more than just the critters that call them home.
 The Friends of Hominy Creek Greenway, Inc. (FOHCG) invites the public to “Hominy Rising - Art & Awareness on the Greenway.” This multi-tiered event will include 18+ visual and performance artists celebrating 10 years of the Hominy Creek Greenway. Installations will be on exhibit the week of Oct. 2 -10 on the Hominy Creek Greenway, 80 Shelburne Road, West Asheville. Opening Party and Performances will take place on Oct. 2, 4 to 7 pm (rain date Oct. 9). Also included in the week of festivities is a Family Day on Oct. 3 at 1 pm and an Art Bark Walk on Oct. 9 at 10 am. This event is free but donations are appreciated (or become a member!) More info at FOHCG.org.
What: "Hominy Rising" celebrating 10 years of the Hominy Creek Greenway Where: 80 Shelbourne Rd., Hominy Creek Greenway, West Asheville Opening Event, 10/2 4-7pm. Rain date 10/9, 4-7pm. Exhibition Dates: October 2 - October 10, 2021 Family Day: Oct. 3 at 1 pm Art Bark Walk: Oct. 9 at 10 am Website: http://fohcg.org/join-us/arts-awareness/ Full Schedule and Description Available Here! The Friends of Hominy Creek Greenway will host 18+ visual and performance artists to celebrate the Hominy Creek Greenway’s 10th anniversary. The exhibition of temporary, outdoor art installations will be displayed from Saturday October 2 to Sunday October 10, 2021. The exhibition will celebrate the Hominy Creek Greenway’s 10th anniversary and reflect on the history, ecology and beauty of the greenway. This is a juried exhibit, artists chosen include Caro & Chri, Max Cooper, Claire Dima, Growing Wild Forest School, Harmony Village, Kimberly Hodges (poster artist), Jenna Jaffe, Britt McDermott, Jennifer Murphy, Tiffany Narron, Pagans & Androids, Reddenhollow, Jason Rojas, Lisa Smith & Students, Peter Speer, Lex Turnbull, Justin Wells, and Zelda & Vivi et al. Thank you to our sponsors including: Friends of Hominy Creek Greenway, Mosaic Realty, New Belgium Brewing, Mountain Pet Rescue, Goldfish Marmalade, Cellarest Beer Project, and Growing Wild School. The community Art Bark Walk is being hosted by Mountain Pet Rescue Asheville on Saturday, October 9th at 10:00 am to strut your leashed pup down the Hominy Creek Greenway to check out the Hominy Rising art installations. Doggie costumes are encouraged, but not required and if you don’t have your own four legged friend, no problem. Mountain Pet Rescue AVL will have adoptable pups looking for their new forever family! The theme of Hominy Rising is to highlight all aspects of the Hominy Creek Greenway experience including the history of the river and watershed, the ecology, the human impact, local biographies, folktales and legends, the story of the greenway, threats from development, the flora and fauna, its beauty, and in general, the spirit of the greenway. To find out more information for the project, visit http://fohcg.org/join-us/arts-awareness/. Contact FOHCG board president Bryan Tomes with questions. About the Hominy Creek Greenway After moving to Asheville from Atlanta in 2006 Doug “Brotherhug” Barlow led the effort to convince public officials to protect a secluded fourteen acre greenspace along Hominy Creek known as the “Waller Tract”. The price tag of the Waller Tract, however, was far too high for him to handle alone. So Barlow set out to convince public officials of the value of the narrow wedge of land along Hominy Creek. His case for more green space is a familiar one: Urban parkland can improve ecological health, provide a place to play and gather, and help residents connect with nature, making the city more livable. “It’s a magical place,”said Barlow. “The first time I saw the land I immediately felt that it needed to be public space.” Brotherhug Barlow Thanks to his efforts, in 2011 a coalition of public and private interests bought the Waller Tract on behalf of the City of Asheville for $139,000 in order to establish the Hominy Creek Greenway. The tract includes a portion of the world’s first hydroelectric powered trolley developed by lumber baron Edwin Carrier in 1892. Hominy Creek Dam, 1915 From the get-go, Barlow envisioned a community park planned by the community. For him, spearheading neighborhood movements is nothing new: In the 1980s, Barlow helped transform two acres of derelict urban Atlanta into a beloved community park and land trust. This time, he helped launch the Friends of Hominy Creek Greenway, Inc. (FOHCG) in 2011, a group of volunteers dedicated to creating and managing the parkland that borders a mile-long section of Hominy Creek in West Asheville. The FOHCG is partnering with local government, Asheville GreenWorks and other organizations to improve and manage the property. In addition to being a corridor for commuters, the Hominy Creek Greenway is an unusual piece of forest in the city, Barlow said. He hopes educators and artists will find inspiration from the Greenway’s history, beauty, and ecology. For more information about the project or the Hominy Creek Greenway contact FOHCG president Bryan Tomes. The FOHCG is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the Hominy Creek Greenway’s wild nature and history, and connecting West Asheville to the French Broad River and downtown Asheville. The FOHCG is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the Hominy Creek Greenway’s wild nature and history, and connecting West Asheville to the French Broad River and downtown Asheville.  Autumn Song In the deep fall don’t you imagine the leaves think how comfortable it will be to touch the earth instead of the nothingness of air and the endless freshets of wind? And don’t you think the trees themselves, especially those with mossy, warm caves, begin to think of the birds that will come — six, a dozen — to sleep inside their bodies? And don’t you hear the goldenrod whispering goodbye, the everlasting being crowned with the first tuffets of snow? The pond vanishes, and the white field over which the fox runs so quickly brings out its blue shadows. And the wind pumps its bellows. And at evening especially, the piled firewood shifts a little, longing to be on its way. ~ Mary Oliver  Let the leaves touch the earth this year by choosing to leave them on your lawns and yards. Fall is the perfect time to start composting. Read below to find out why! In fall, leaves from deciduous trees coat the ground. This layer of organic matter represents an opportunity to build your garden’s soil, protect your lawn during the colder months, and create habitat for pollinators. In order to take full advantage of the leaves in your yard, try leaf composting. The Benefits of Leaf Compost As leaves decompose, they form a beneficial soil amendment which can increase the health of your garden or lawn in a number of ways.
Composting leaves isn’t just good for your garden; this single act benefits the whole Asheville community. When residents of the City of Asheville bag their leaves and place them on the roadside, the city expends resources collecting and processing these leaves. This means taxpayer money must be allocated to removing a beneficial resource, which could enhance many backyards instead of ending up at an industrial composting site. The collection, transportation, and processing of leaf compost uses fossil fuels, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. Leaves bagged up and placed by the road may end up tipping into storm drains, where they slow or stop the flow of water. By clogging neighborhood storm drains, these leaves can lead to roadside flooding. When the leaves do pass through the drains, they enter nearby streams. Huge amounts of leaves pour into the waterway from neighborhood storm drains. This leads to eutrophication: an overload of nutrients in the water that causes oxygen depletion and, in extreme cases, large-scale fish kills or algae blooms. Remember: If you must bag your leaves for curbside pickup, use paper bags! Using paper bags smooths out the whole composting process because paper bags are compostable, just like leaves. How to Compost Leaves Simple leaf composting takes less work than creating a traditional compost. In traditional compost, you fill a bin with 3 parts brown material to 1 part green material. Brown material is primarily Carbon; it’s the building block of life on earth. The green material (ex. kitchen scraps and yard trimmings) contributes Nitrogen to the compost mix. Nitrogen-rich “greens” have a habit of getting stinky and attracting pests when not properly mixed with Carbon-rich “browns.” If you already have a compost pile going, fallen leaves are a valuable “brown” material used to balance the ratio of Carbon to Nitrogen. Composting isn’t hard, but leaf composting is even easier. Just add leaves.
 Leaf composting couldn’t be simpler, but the benefits are great. You’ll save streams eutrophication, give pollinators habitat, build healthy soil in your own garden, and avoid burning unnecessary fossil fuels. Asheville GreenWorks provides easy-to-assemble compost bins to house your leaves this fall. Reach out to us on Facebook, Instagram, or through our website to learn more about composting in your backyard! Happy Fall! This article is written for the residents of the City of Asheville in partnership with the City of Asheville.
 Like so many industries, the most progressive in the clean energy industry have recently started assessing and putting plans in place to increase diversity and inclusion and address systemic racism. The solar industry is disproportionately male- and white-dominated, as is the environmental movement in general as this article outlines, and we’re sad to say that Sugar Hollow follows this trend as well. But we're hoping to change that and have laid out a path to start making changes right here at home by:
WHAT IS A JUST TRANSITION? It’s incredibly important that all people, especially marginalized communities, benefit from the clean energy economy (this is the Just Transition philosophy) and Sugar Hollow wants to find partners in western NC to bring this philosophy to the local clean energy revolution. The Sierra Club describes a Just Transition as ‘moving our economy off of fossil fuels, and towards clean energy while providing just pathways for workers to transition to high-quality work with integrity.’ This set of principles, practices, and processes specifically aims to involve communities that have been left out of other economies and/or harmed by fossil fuels. SO WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? At Sugar Hollow, management and staff have formed an Inclusivity team to create a JEDI plan including the hiring of a consultant (with a focus on paying people of color for this work) to help us understand our unconscious biases and make changes thoughtfully and without causing additional harm. We’re also working with an Asheville program, Inclusive Hiring Partners, to be connected with a more diverse workforce and continue our education as a company. We’ve long supported Asheville GreenWorks and their community initiatives and were enthusiastic to hear that they too are working to bring JEDI into their organization and programming. For us, this alignment has made us want to be in an even closer partnership with these good folks as we continue to learn (and unlearn) together. We are a proud sponsor of GreenWorks’ Urban Forestry initiative, which aims to address the inequities experienced by under-resourced communities and communities of color -- fewer trees are planted and preserved in these communities, which make those living there much more susceptible to the negative impacts of climate change and the urban heat island effect. We’re donating $100 to Asheville GreenWorks for every referral we receive who goes solar. Feel free to recommend solar to friends and family and help us send money their way. (There’s a referral bonus for the person who refers as well which could be sent to Asheville GreenWorks too!) For more info, visit https://www.sugarhollowsolar.com/introduce-a-friend. Clary Franko Marketing Manager Sugar Hollow Solar    Written by GreenWorks staff with help from Curbside Management Asheville GreenWorks mission is to inspire, equip, and mobilize individuals and communities to take care of the places we love to live. That includes recycling education! Though our organization is not a recycling facility, we do host our Hard 2 Recycle collection events 4 times per year in Buncombe County and twice in Henderson County. And we strive to educate the general public about recycling in our area. We receive A LOT of questions about recycling - what can be recycled?, what can't be recycled and why?, where can it be recycled? We want you to know everything that we know, so here are the top items that GreenWorks receives questions about. We know that recycling can be hard to keep up with. Reach out to us if you have other questions at [email protected] or 828-254-1776. Thanks for doing your part to recycle right! BONUS Tips
WHERE TO RECYCLE...* Please note that "landfill" does not refer to throwing these items away but refers to recycling programs at the Buncombe County Landfill Old electronics - including cords, appliances, and computer accessories
 Styrofoam
TV/Computer monitors
 Plastics
Shredded Paper
 WNC Big Sweep is going virtual! Asheville GreenWorks will be sharing a mix of educational videos and activities, action steps and petitions, and hands-on service opportunities to highlight the 33rd WNC Big Sweep. Connecting with our streams and rivers is vital during these difficult times. Join us on social media from September 14th-20th to learn about our waterways, create positive environmental change, and help clean up our community by participating in a self-guided river or roadside cleanup any day that week. Post your cleanup photos using the hashtag #WNCBigSweep2020 for a chance to win some awesome prizes! How to Do a CleanupHas it been a while since you've participated in a roadside, river, or creek cleanup? Never fear! Watch the following video for a quick refresher on the basics. Do you have your own boat and want to get out on the water with your family or friends? We've put together a River Cleanup Guide with safety reminders, river public access points, and things to keep in mind to have a safe and enjoyable river cleanup. How to get cleanup suppliesIf you have a group of 3 people or less, we suggest picking up supplies from one of our 6 Cleanup Supply Stations. These stations are stocked with gloves, safety vests, and trash bags.
1) AGW Office @ 2 Sulphur Spring Road 2) AGW Office @ 318 Riverside Drive 3) The HOP @ 640 Merrimon Ave #103 4) Sutton / Dezio Law @ 70 Pisgah Hwy (on their back porch) 5) Buncombe County Sports [email protected] 24 Apac Circle (near the GreenWorks nursery entrance) 6) Sun Soo Martial Arts @ 800 Fairview Road 7) Mast General Store @ 15 Biltmore Avenue (out front) If you have a group of 4 or more or would like any special cleanup supplies, please contact [email protected] to arrange a pickup from our Riverside Office. By Finn Digman, Waste Reduction Education Coordinator for Asheville Greenworks If you haven’t seen our 5-minute reader, COVID-19 and Sanitation Workers: What You Can Do To Help, use this link to the short post, where you can read a quick summary of actions you can take to protect our community’s sanitation employees. This post will discuss ways local sanitation agencies and Asheville GreenWorks are working together to safeguard our sanitation workers. While the COVID-19 pandemic affects everyone, essential workers bear a greater burden than most. They touch more surfaces, interact with more people, and generally leave their homes more than the rest of us. So, to say thanks for their hard work, we need to do our part in keeping them safe. According to WasteDive, (a website devoted to sanitation-related topics) no cities besides New York have seen major outbreaks of COVID-19 in their sanitation workforce. To avoid a fate similar to New York City’s, we must take action. Here’s how: TRASH: Trash is the waste you bag up and put into your green City bin. The City of Asheville has their own sanitation department and collects trash using City trucks. Below is a list of what they’re doing to ensure their employees’ safety during the time of COVID-19.
Here’s what you can do to help your local City employees safe:
Here’s what Asheville GreenWorks is doing to help keep City employees safe:
RECYCLING: The City of Asheville contracts with Curbie to collect our recycling. Curbie is continuing as normal with a heightened awareness. Here’s what they say about how their employees are staying safe during the time of COVID-19.
COMPOSTING: One compost collection service in Asheville, CompostNow, picks up kitchen waste, which is different from yard waste. These are the steps CompostNow is taking to ensure their employees’ health during the spread of COVID-19.
Here’s what you can do to help your CompostNow employees safe:
Asheville GreenWorks is doing our part by:
Help your community the most by practicing the 3 Rs: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. By reducing the amount of packaging and products you take in, you expose yourself and essential workers to fewer daily interactions. Reusing your products keeps them in your home and away from sanitation workers. The age-old adage, “waste not, want not,” applies now more than ever. Follow Asheville GreenWorks to learn repurposing and upcycling techniques that will turn your trash into treasure. Finally, recycle right. This means recycling only “grocery-store” plastic containers, glass, and aluminum; check out Curbie’s website for a complete list of accepted recyclables. Remember: when in doubt, throw it out! Our city’s sanitation staff are working full-time to keep Asheville clean and safe. Please do your part to protect essential workers by following guidelines, washing your hands frequently, and following the advice of the CDC. From all of us at Asheville Greenworks, stay safe out there. We’ll see you online! This article is written for the residents of the City of Asheville in partnership with the City of Asheville.
By Finn Digman, Waste Reduction Education Coordinator for Asheville Greenworks For the evolving situation around COVID-19, trash, recycling, and compost collection remain vital to the ongoing health of our area. Can you imagine what our homes would look like without these services? Do you want to? Us neither. So, let’s take a moment to consider the health implications of working in sanitation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thankfully, the City of Asheville’s trash and recycling services are occurring as scheduled. The City is taking measures to ensure their workers’ safety. You can read more about these measures in Asheville Greenworks’ post about brush collection and in our upcoming 15-minute Reader: COVID-19 and Sanitation Workers: What We’re Doing to Help. Continuing these vital services means employees for the City, CompostNow, and Curbie are more at risk when coming into contact with our waste. In the time of COVID-19, the potential for contact holds some obvious health implications, and we want to help keep workers safe. Are you with us? Here’s what you can do to help. Wash your hands frequently and properly. During the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping your hands clean is especially important to help prevent the virus from spreading. You should always wash your hands after handling waste or touching waste receptacles. For more information on proper handwashing, follow this link. Wipe down cart lids and handles with disinfectant. Most carts are collected with a touchless, automated truck. However, at times, waste collectors must touch carts to properly get the waste into trucks. Wiping down your lids and handles reduces the potential risk of exposure for everyone. All trash must be bagged and bags must be tied. Your green City carts contain trash destined for the landfill. By bagging your trash, you reduce the potential exposure for trash collectors and workers at the landfill. Tightly bagged trash also minimizes loose litter, so it won’t go flying through your neighborhood. Sign up for AVL Collects. Follow this link to sign up for weekly collection reminders and information about service delays or cancellation notices. Do not bag your recycling. Processors at Curbie are required to manually open recycling in bags in order to sort it. Eliminate this risk factor by filling your blue City carts with loose recyclables. Recycle right. Minimize contact for recycling processors by ensuring you are disposing of acceptable recyclables. Generally, glass and plastic jugs, tubs, bottles, and jars are welcome. Follow this link for a comprehensive list of everything Curbie accepts. And remember: When in doubt, throw it out. Never recycle medical waste. Medical masks, gloves, and needles are not recyclable and pose a serious risk to workers who are not trained to handle them. For more information on medical disposal follow this link to Buncombe County’s Harm Reduction page. Wipe down your compost bins before setting them out. CompostNow is working hard to ensure the safety of its employees. Help them by disinfecting surfaces workers must touch. Put all your compost in the bin and secure the lid. CompostNow cannot accept extra compostables left beside their bins. You can request additional bins here. Skip service if you are experiencing symptoms. By skipping service for at least two weeks after you begin experiencing symptoms, you can reduce the risk of exposure to CompostNow employees. Brush can be composted in your yard. For more information about managing your yard waste, go to this Asheville Greenworks’ post. We are grateful for our dedicated sanitation workers and the services they offer. In this time of social isolation, social responsibility means protecting the essential employees that keep our society functioning. You can do your part by following the instructions above, as well as adhering to the CDC’s recommendations. Be safe out there, and stay tuned for more great content from Asheville Greenworks. This article is written for the residents of the City of Asheville in partnership with the City of Asheville.
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