Living environmentally sustainable is easier than most people think.
Secretary of Sustainable Moorestown Lisa Petriello said anybody can practice environmental sustainability. Repurposing old items, creating a compost pile and even having a rain barrel in your yard are a few simple sustainable practices.
“We recycle everything. We will even bring recyclables that can’t be taken at the curb and bring them where they need to be,” she said.
Petriello, who is a master gardener and a Rutgers Environmental steward, said she also has a compost pile in her backyard.
“It’s something anybody can do,” she said.
According to Petriello, composting is as simple as taking any leftover scraps from meals and shredding junk mail or unused paper and putting it in your backyard.
She said sometimes people make it harder than it needs to be, but materials such as leftover rice, eggshells, cereal, banana peels, apple cores, bits from salad and more can be used in a compost pile.
Petriello said people who compost should not use meat or dairy products, and the pile should contain both green and brown materials.
She said many people think composting would attract critters and cause odors. However, if the proper materials are used, critters and smell are not a problem.
According to Burlington County’s information on backyard composting, there are five main elements in a compost pile — browns, greens, organisms, air and water. Green materials include grass clippings, weeds, flowers, vegetative kitchen scraps, coffee grinds and filters, tea bags and eggshells.
Brown materials include leaves, dried plant materials, sawdust, chipped twigs and branches, and shredded paper.
Petriello said brown materials could be something as simple as junk mail or old newspapers.
The best way to compost is to layer the materials in a compost bin or out in the open, the county’s website says. The pile needs to be kept moist. If you don’t want the compost sitting on your grass, various types can be made or purchased.
According to Burlington County’s information on composting, bins made from wire, wood pallets or plastic lumber are the best types of bins for compositing.
Petriello said the final compost product could be used as mulch to help retain water in plants and provide natural nutrients.
Rain barrels are another simple way Moorestown residents can live sustainably.
Petriello said she has a rain barrel in her yard that collects water to help water her plants, saving her money on water usage.
Eventually, she would like to create a rain garden.
According to the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Burlington County Rain Garden’s website, rain barrels are placed under a gutter’s downspout.
The water from the barrel can be used for watering gardens, replenishing ground water, and reducing flooding and local stream pollution.
While a rain barrel is usually a 50-gallon storage container for water, a rain garden is a shallow landscaped depression intended to collect and treat storm water before it becomes runoff, the website says.
“Part of our mission with Sustainable Moorestown is to educate residents about the environment and about what we are doing and what we can do and what we have done,” Petriello said, adding humans are the only species that takes more out of the environment than it puts back. “We are just hoping to do our part.”
STEM’s upcycling event
Petriello said residents could give back to the environment in other ways besides in the garden. She said recycling or repurposing old items is another way people can live sustainably.
Committee Chair of Sustainable Moorestown Cathy Ward said STEM created a contest to help people learn about recycling, or “up-cycling,” household materials, and become more interested in Sustainable Moorestown.
The kickoff meeting for Adventures in Upcycling was held on Monday, March 11, at the Moorestown Library where residents met local experts to help them with an upcycling project. A few examples of how to upcycle were also displayed.
Ward said people could turn anything from tin cans, jars or even a toilet seat into a planter. But creating planters out of old items is only one basic in upcycling.
She said some people repurpose doors to make shelves. Ward said she saw someone turn an old TV cabinet into a bookcase.
The contest will end on Moorestown Day on June 1. The winner’s item will be displayed at Moorestown Day. Groups and individuals can sign up for the contest.
Contest participants must show off his or her creativity by re-purposing unused or discarded materials found at home or even on the curb. The most creative upcycled creation will win the contest.
For more information contact Cathy Ward at (856) 235–2992 or email at sustainablemoorestown@moorestown.nj.us.
