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News about your environment and customer services Envir nmental Times

324 Maple St. Customer Service: *Pay-by-Phone: Text: Website: Ramona, CA 92065 (760) 789-0516 (855) 713-4261 (760) 313-6074 ramonadisposal.com*24 hours a day, seven days a week! Have the last 6 digits of your account number and your form of payment ready.

Winter 2018

Inside This Issue

Source Reduction VideoProper Disposal of Hot AshesHoliday Sustainability TipsChristmas Tree Recycling

Holiday Schedule Thanksgiving Day

Service Delayed

RDS will observe theThanksgiving holiday on

Thursday, November 22, 2018. Only customers whose regular collection day is on Thursday

or Friday will experience a one-day delay in service.

Christmas DayService Delayed

RDS will observe theChristmas holiday on

Tuesday, December 25, 2018. Residential collection will be delayed by one day following the holiday the remainder of

the week.

New Year’s DayService Delayed

RDS will observe theNew Year holiday on

Tuesday, January 1, 2019. Residential collection will be delayed by one day following the holiday the remainder of

the week.

Can We Help? Do you have questions regarding your service? Call and speak to one of our friendly customer service representatives.

NEW Source Reduction Video Online Now!Learn all about how you can reduce waste in our Source Reduction video. The five Rs, Rethinking, Refusing, Reducing, Reusing and Recycling are discussed along with how each relates to source reduction.

Visit edcodisposal.com under Recycling Videos to learn how your recycling efforts keep our communities On the Road to Zero Waste through these informative and fascinating new videos!

Proper Disposal of Hot AshesAs the fall and winter months roll in, the weather starts to get chilly and calls for a warm cozy fire in the fireplace. Unfortunately, sometimes residents burn up their trash and/or recycle carts by improper disposal of hot coals or ashes from fireplaces, grills, or mobile fireplaces designed for use on decks or patios. The scenario is often similar . . . “I thought the coals were cool”, or even worse, “I didn’t even think about it . . .”

The fact is that coals and ashes from fires can remain hot enough to start a fire for many hours or perhaps days after you think the fire is out. The exact amount of time for complete extinguishment and cooling depends on many factors such as how hot the fire was, what was burning, how much unburned fuel remains, etc. To be safe, simply treat all ashes and coals as hot, even when you think they had time enough to cool.

Hot coals can burn the heavy duty plastic trash and recycling cart and even spark a home fire, if the cart is next to the house. Also, if the ashes or coals are not cooled downed and end up in a trash or recycling vehicle, there is the potential to spark a horrific fire inside of the truck.

The following is recommended for proper disposal of coals and ashes:

• If possible, allow ashes and coals to cool in the area where you had the fire for several days. The fireplace or grill is designed to contain their heat safely.

• When it’s time to dispose of the ashes, transfer them to a metal container and wet them down. • DO NOT use galvanized containers as hot coals on the galvanized metal will release

noxious fumes. • DO NOT place other combustibles in the container. • DO NOT use a combustible container. • Keep the container outside your home and away from any combustibles until it’s time to

transfer the cooled ash to the trash cart on collection day.

Hot Ashes, Coals: Safe Disposal

Several times a year residents burn up their trash and/or recycle carts by improper disposal of hot coals or ashes from fireplaces, grills or mobile fireplaces designed for use on decks and patios. The scenario is often similar, "I thought the coals were cool," or "I didn't even think about it . . ."

Even cold appearing coals and ashes from fires can remain hot enough to start a fire for hours and even days after you think the fire is out. The exact amount of time for complete extinguishment and cooling depends on many factors like how hot the fire was, what was burning and how much unburned fuel remains. To be safe, treat all ashes and coals as “hot,” even when you think they had time enough to cool.

The damage in these photos resulted from fires caused when hot ashes were placed in a plastic trash cart.

Hot coals can burn the heavy duty plastic trash and recycle cart and even spark a home fire, if the cart is next to the house. Also, if the ashes or coals are not cooled downed and end up in a refuse or recycling vehicle, there is the potential to spark a horrific fire inside of the truck.

Also remember when disposing of fireworks that are not totally spent—even those that you think may be a “dud”--the spark of fire maybe still be burning.

To properly dispose of ashes or coals we recommend the following:

• If possible, allow ashes and coals to cool in the area where you had the fire for several days. The fireplace or grill is designed to contain their heat safely.

• When it's time to dispose of the ashes, transfer them to a metal container and wet them down.

• Keep the container outside your home and away from any combustibles until the trash is hauled away.

• DO NOT use galvanized containers as hot coals on the galvanized metal will release noxious fumes.

• DO NOT place other combustibles in the container. • DO NOT use a combustible container (see photo).

If you have any questions, please contact City Hall at (562) 866-9771 ext. 2140.

Website: ramonadisposal.com

Family Owned & Operated

Holiday Sustainability Tips

We’ve reached that time of year when the holidays are close upon us. Below are just a few sustainable ways you can help keep our earth merry and bright!

Did You Know?

👻 In 1966, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown debuted and pillowcases found a second life as earth-friendly ghost costumes and treat bags!

🍽 SaveTheFood.com offers a wonderful tool called the Guest-Imator, a dinner party calculator that estimates how much food you need to keep guests full and happy. Give it a try this holiday season at www.savethefood.com/guestimator and reduce your holiday food waste!

🥘 Residents can recycle kitchen fat, oil and grease (FOG) that’s left over from all your daily and holiday cooking. Simply collect used FOG in a leakproof container and when the container is full RDS residential customers can drop it off free of charge at RDS’s Buyback Center located at 324 Maple Street, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday and 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. on Saturdays (closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Years Day). The FOG will then ultimately be processed, filtered and converted into biodiesel by a third party processor.

Green your Halloween:• Reuse household items, like a decorated pillowcase, as a candy

carrier.• Exchange costumes with family and friends, reducing textile

waste and giving old costumes a second life. • Trick-or-Treat nearby instead of driving around town to save

fuel and reduce emissions.• Use every part of your pumpkin! Cook seeds from your locally-

grown pumpkin for a healthy snack. The pumpkin flesh can be saved and made into pumpkin pies, soups, breads, and many other tasty treats. Compost your pumpkin at the end of the season. Composting provides nutritious soil to add in your garden.

Green your Gratitude:• Shop local and in-season foods at your local farmer’s market

to limit the carbon emissions associated with the journey food takes before it makes its way on your table.

• Cook only what you need and store leftovers in reusable containers, not single-use plastic bags or plastic wrap, to help reduce waste generation.

• Compost food scraps and other compostable material in your home compost.

Dream of a Green Christmas:• Recycle wrapping paper, gift boxes, greeting cards, cardboard

and recyclable glass, plastic and metal containers in your blue recycling cart.

• Use artificial decorations that can be reused for years to come.• Reuse plastic and Styrofoam packing materials. Save packing

peanuts and bubble wrap to reuse when mailing gifts or collect and donate these materials to a local postal store.

• Buy products made from recycled material. Look for a label on gift wrap packaging or on the back of greeting cards that indicates that the item is made from post-consumer recycled material.

Christmas Tree RecyclingPlease place botanical decorations inside your green waste cart on your collection day and follow these guidelines when setting out your Christmas tree for curbside collection on your regular collection day December 26, 2018-January 11, 2018:

• Remove the lights, ornaments, tinsel and tree stand • Cut tree in 4-foot lengths and trim off branches

• Place tree inside your green waste cart for collection on your service day

A drop-off site will also be available on December 29-30, 2018 and January 5-6, 2019 from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. at the following locations: Ramona High School and The Village Shopping Center – San Diego Country Estates. Drop-off locations are for CHRISTMAS TREES ONLY. Christmas trees do not need to be cut down for recycling at drop-off locations.