Reusing water from washing machines and showers can help homeowners save water and money. An illegal system built at Berkeley’s EcoHouse helped bring increased acceptance for the drought-friendly irrigation method.
Recycling
Posted inCommunity
How to get rid of your Christmas tree in Berkeley. Hint: You can’t leave it on the curb
Trees must be cut up and put in green plant debris carts or taken whole to the city’s transfer station.
Posted inCity
Confused about recycling in Berkeley? We answer your top 10 questions
Consumers should reduce and reuse — before recycling. Also, avoid “wish-cycling” low-quality items in hopes they’ll be processed abroad.
Posted inCity
Berkeley fine-tunes its plans for a ‘jewel’ of a waste facility
The city is shaping a vision for a new waste management facility at its current site at Second and Gilman streets. There are currently three proposals on the table.
Posted inCity
Berkeley will pick up your Christmas tree — but wants it inside your compost cart
Recycling entire trees can damage the city’s collection trucks, and the new policy requiring they be cut up and put in the compost bin is an attempt to avoid sidelining the broken trucks for weeks.
Posted inCity
Berkeley looks to overhaul its waste facility with future needs in mind
Berkeley is holding two public meetings this week to get input on creating a new transfer station for recycling, trash, compost and other salvageable materials.
Posted inCommunity
Video: At the Repair Café, neighbors squeeze more life out of stuff
At a community event in Berkeley, volunteer fixers revive the practice of repairing rather than discarding — and share a little know-how along the way.
Posted inCity, Crime & Safety
Gov. Brown pardons Berkeley Ecology Center employee at risk of deportation
“There are many opportunities that have opened up for me,” said Daniel Maher, who lost his legal status when he was convicted of crimes in the 1990s.
Posted inBusiness
Owners of Berkeley institution Urban Ore consider its future
Daniel Knapp and Mary Lou Van Deventer are getting ready to retire but hope that their employees can buy the business.
Posted inArts, City
‘Wasted’: A novel set in Berkeley’s recycling world
Photo: John Byrne Barry John Byrne Barry has a thing for trash. Barry lived in Berkeley for 30 years, served on the board of the Ecology Center, and wrote about recycling issues for local publications, including the East Bay Express. But he found the world of recycling so intriguing that he couldn’t get it out […]
Posted inCity
Berkeley is struggling to reach zero waste goal by 2020
Students at John Muir Elementary sort for composting and recycling, but more Berkeley residents need to recycle in order for the city to meet its 2020 zero waste goal. Photo: Green Schools Initiative A recent audit of several City of Berkeley departments has revealed that the city is in jeopardy of not meeting its zero waste goal […]
Posted inCity
Berkeley to increase garbage collection fees by 25%
Berkeley began using automated single-operator garbage trucks as a cost-saving measure in late 2012. Photo: City of Berkeley Faced with a projected shortfall of nearly $3 million for waste pick-up services, Berkeley officials voted unanimously late Tuesday night to increase residential pick-up fees by almost 25% beginning in July. Customers will also see a new description […]