You recycled WHAT?!

Last month, Wheaton had a recycling extravaganza - for six hours, residents could drop off all kinds of "unusual" items for recycling. I recently saw a list of these "unusual" items, and got a kick out it. So without further ado, here it is....remember, just six hours:

· Nearly 8,000 pounds of scrap metal

· 143 American flags to be appropriately retired by the American Legion

· 46 fire extinguishers

· 342 eye glasses and 8 hearing aids

· Approximately 8 pounds of keys

· 109 sealed lead acid batteries

· 37 bikes

· 20 pairs of crutches, 4 wheelchairs, 5 walkers

· 215 cell phones

· 216 ink jet printer cartridges

· 6,200 pounds of books and cardboard for recycling

In addition, residents dropped off a staggering 37,688 pounds of electronics on April 18 during Wheaton’s twice-a-month electronic recycling collection.

Am I the only one a little blow away by this? I'm not sure what strikes me more - how much stuff was recycled, or how much stuff probably isn't recycled most days, most places. Good job gang. 

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Mud and Munchies Part 2: Backyard Gardening for Everyone

Today's guest blogger is Heather from Wheaton...

Last month I wrote about starting a vegetable garden in your backyard. Did I mention that we are doing our garden this year with friends? We are square foot gardening this year. You can easily build your own box with a few simple supplies from a hardware store, but we ordered one of their kits because I am short on time and figured the money I spent was going to a good cause because they are a non profit organization. Well, we got our kit and we built it. It was really easy to put together. Anyone can do it...really, anyone.

Then we prepared our soil mixture. It's organic soil, compost and peat moss. I could not find vermiculite, but am not especially concerned. Then invited friends over to help us plant the first seeds. We can already see the peas and lettuce coming up...and so far weeding has been a breeze...
I've got some other crops started next to the box in more traditional rows and we are enjoying that too.

Interested in doing some yard sharing? Talk to your neighbors and friends. Pool your resources and share your time build friendships and get some delicious homegrown tomatoes out of the deal. Need ideas, encouragement or a place to connect online? Check out Hyperlocavore...they'll help you get started!

Heather blogs at In Te Domine. We're always looking for guest bloggers! If you'd like to share something with the Dupage Mamas community, send us your completed post or half-baked ideas.

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