Green Notes

Green notes are handy tips from the Wayne Green Team for how to incorporate Earth friendly actions in and outside your home. Check back for our monthly update, which is also included in the City of Wayne’s Utility Newsletter. Any questions, just email us!

December 2023 – Save your green while being green this holiday season

Ready to save money this holiday season? Follow our 3 easy tips to help keep both your wallet and the environment green.

Shop local. Shopping local supports our hometown businesses. You’ll love all the creative gifts and services Wayne has to offer. And, you’ll save time and money by not driving out of town and fighting the crowds in bigger cities. Plus, think how useful a gift certificate to a local business for a massage, haircut, car wash, or oil change would be.
Give an Experience. Time together can be more valuable than an item that’s rarely used. Make coupons for doing special things together, like taking a walk, playing a game, or cooking a meal. Try saving time for someone by offering to do chores or other time-consuming tasks.
Make it from scratch. Think about making a card with a hand-written note, a list of 10 reasons your family member is special, or holiday ornaments from recyclable materials, like toilet paper rolls and egg cartons. Sometimes the best gift is one you can’t buy.

Recycle Strings of Lights. Bring any old strings of holiday lights to the Wayne Recycling & Trash Center and place in the bins marked for lights. These are recycled for the copper wire inside.

Use the City’s Tree Pile. You can dispose of your Christmas tree and greenery at the end of the holiday season at 1810 Industrial Road. Please remove all decorations or tinsel.

For more tips on the Green Path to the Good Life, like the Wayne Green Team on Facebook or visit www.cityofwayne.org/greenteam. Thank you for recycling right and supporting our Zero Waste efforts in Wayne!

November 2023 – Over 15,000 Pounds of Electronics Recycled

Congratulations to our community for recycling 15,685 pounds of electronics last month, a 15% increase from 2022. We served 125 cars and raised $3,000 to support our Zero Waste program, like paying to recycle light strings and more. Since 2013, our community has recycled 175,000 pounds of electronics. Your efforts help keep harmful materials out of our landfill. Thank you for making a difference.

We also give special thanks to the many people who helped make this event a success, including volunteers from the Wayne Green Team, and Wayne State College Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams; City of Wayne staff and police; our vendor, the Retrofit Companies; and the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy for financial support.

For more tips on the Green Path to the Good Life, like the Wayne Green Team on Facebook or visit www.cityofwayne.org/greenteam.

September 2023 – Electronics Recycling Event

The City of Wayne Green Team is hosting its 10^th annual electronics recycling collection event on Saturday, September 23rd, 8am – 10am (ends earlier if the truck fills up). Drive eastbound on 3^rd street between Lincoln and Pearl in front of the City Hall parking lot to responsibly dispose of your electronics. Bring your old TVs, computers, cell phones, printers, cords and more to recycle right and keep electronics out of the landfill, where they can become hazardous to our soil and groundwater. This year, you can even bring VHS tapes, vacuums, blenders, toasters, and kitchen mixers. See our website for a full list of items accepted by our recycling vendor, the Retrofit Companies. Sorry, no large appliances, dehumidifiers, or batteries.

This block of 3^rd Street will be closed to traffic. Enter from Lincoln Street to unload your electronics and exit onto Pearl Street.

FEES: Suggested donation of $10 per carload or $50 per business load of reasonable size. Fees for CRTs (tube) of $5/monitor and $10/TV (no charge for flatscreens); $15/microwave.

For more tips on the Green Path to the Good Life, like the Wayne Green Team on Facebook or visit www.cityofwayne.org/greenteam.

August 2023 – New Recycling Drop Off for Aluminum Cans at Pac N Save

Thanks to our local Wayne Boy Scouts Troop #174, you can bring your aluminum cans to Pac N Save for recycling. The Boy Scouts have converted a horse trailer into a recycling drop off container. Only aluminum cans are accepted (no tin food cans), and you must place them in a bag inside the trailer. Please don’t dump cans in the trailer. That will make for quite a mess when the Boy Scouts and their parents (all volunteers!) empty it. Thank you again to our local Wayne Boy Scouts and Pac N Save for supporting a new recycling location in Wayne.

Electronics recycling next month. Join us for our annual electronics recycling event Saturday, September 23, 8:00 – 10:00 am, on 3^rd Street between Lincoln and Pearl. Be sure to save your TVs, computers, cell phones, gaming consoles, and more for this annual event so you can recycle right.

For more tips on the Green Path to the Good Life, like the Wayne Green Team on Facebook or visit www.cityofwayne.org/greenteam.

July 2023 – Recycle Right in the Park

This summer, the blue recycling bins are back throughout Wayne city parks, making recycling accessible for people enjoying the outdoors. Look for the twinned bins—recycling and trash side by side—to properly dispose of your unwanted items. The park recycling bins only accept plastic beverage bottles and aluminum cans that are empty of all liquids. Please do not put any other items in these bins, such as plastic straws, food wrappers, or even plastic drink cups, which all belong in the trash bin. Any amount of trash contaminates the recycling load.

Electronics recycling coming this fall. Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 23, 8:00 – 10:00 am, on 3^rd Street between Lincoln and Pearl. Stay tuned for details and save up your electronics until then.

Special Green Team Meeting. Join us for a special Green Team meeting on Tuesday, July 11th, noon, at the SNBuilding Conference Room located at 1010 Main Street. City Administrator Wes Blecke will attend to discuss green infrastructure and investments by the city.

For more tips on the Green Path to the Good Life, like the Wayne Green Team on Facebook or visit www.cityofwayne.org/greenteam.

June 2023 – How to Keep an Eco-Friendly Lawn

Want to keep your lawn green while being green? Try these eco-friendly lawn tips this summer.

Develop deep, healthy roots for your lawn by watering deeply and infrequently, and preferably at night. Watering during the day leads to higher evaporation and inefficient use of your water.
Leave grass long and avoid cutting off more than 1/3 of the height of the grass. This keeps your soil in shade and reduces evaporation. It also allows your grass to out-compete weeds.
Use a mulching (higher) setting on your lawnmower and leave clippings on. The clippings decompose and allow for recycling of nutrients.
Overseed lawn in the fall. Newer grass will develop strong roots over the winter.

Electronics recycling coming Saturday, September 23, 8:00 – 10:00 am, on 3^rd Street between Lincoln and Pearl.

For more tips on the Green Path to the Good Life, like the Wayne Green Team on Facebook or visit www.cityofwayne.org/greenteam.

May 2023 – Congrats to Johnnie Byrd Brewing Company, our Zero Hero of the Year!

Last month, the Wayne Green Team presented Johnnie Byrd Brewing Company with our Zero Hero award recognizing outstanding work in reducing, reusing, and recycling within the community of Wayne.

Since owner Greg Ptacek opened Johnnie Byrd Brewing Company in 2017, he has made sustainability part of its core values. Johnnie Byrd brews all beers with 100% renewable energy, purchased from the City of Wayne via Renewable Energy Credits. All the grain used to make beer and spirits is fed to local cattle and kept out of the landfill. It invests in reusable to go containers, such as glass growlers and aluminum cans, both of which are infinitely recyclable. It is repurposing nearly 2,500 wine bottles served in the taproom for a special project. Johnnie Byrd does not use paper towels in its main bathrooms. Instead, it uses washable, reusable cloth towels, keeping an estimated 2,900 cubic feet of trash out of landfills, or enough to fill 3 large school buses. Johnnie Byrd Brewing Company is a business committed to sustainability. Thank you for being a Zero Hero in our community!

Save the date for electronics recycling. Our annual electronics recycling event returns on Saturday, September 23, 8:00 – 10:00 am, on 3^rd Street between Lincoln and Pearl.

Join us at our next Green Team meeting Tuesday, May 9, noon, in the SNBuilding’s 2^nd floor conference room at 1010 Main Street. For more tips on the Green Path to the Good Life, like the Wayne Green Team on Facebook or visit www.cityofwayne.org/greenteam.

April 2023 – Celebrate Earth Day every day!

Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970 on April 22 to focus a national day on the environment. This annual event is recognized around the world, with the goal to protect and sustain our Earth and its resources. Join us this month at our special events celebrating the Earth.

Attend our Zero Waste Chamber Coffee on Friday, April 21, 10am. Bring your own mug to the Wayne Public Library as you hear the latest on how to reduce, reuse, and recycle in Wayne with our hands-on demos and local green living experts. We’ll also announce the recipient of this year’s Zero Hero award.
Watch our free Earth Day movie, Kiss the Ground, at the Majestic Theatre, Sunday, April 23, 7pm. Join us at the Majestic for a free screening of the moving documentary, Kiss the Ground. The film provides a solution to heal our planet and keep our species away from the extinction list by using our Earth’s soil. Through regenerative agriculture, we can help balance our climate, replenish our freshwater supplies, and feed the world. Kiss the Ground unveils a game changer to our climate crisis. Doors open at 6:30pm with demos and zero waste living tips, and the 84-minute film begins at 7 pm. This free event is hosted for our community by the City of Wayne Green Team, the WSC Green Team, and the A. Jewell Schock Natural History Museum, with funding from the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy.
Visit the Haskell Ag Lab in Concord for an Arbor Day/Earth Day Spring Fling Saturday, April 29, 1-4pm. Free events include an arboretum tour, tree planting demo, butterfly program, pollinator garden presentation, kid activities, and more. For details, visit Arbor Day/Earth Day Spring Fling 2023 | Nebraska Extension (unl.edu).

For more tips on the Green Path to the Good Life, like the Wayne Green Team on Facebook or visit www.cityofwayne.org/greenteam.

March 2023 – Glass Recycling Makes a Ripple

Since 2016, the City of Wayne has recycled over 142 tons of glass through a program with Ripple Glass, a Kansas City company that recycles glass to make bottles and fiberglass insulation. The average American uses 80 pounds of glass every year, and all of it can be recycled endlessly, saving energy and raw materials. When our glass bunker at the Wayne Recycling & Trash Center (RTC) is full, a truck picks up the glass and takes it to Kansas City for free. Ripple Glass has grown to cover 100 communities across 9 states. Follow these tips to recycle glass in Wayne, and your small act can make a big ripple.

HOW DO I RECYCLE GLASS IN WAYNE? Bring your clean and empty glass bottles to the marked bins at the RTC located at 110 Windom Street. Remove any plastic bags or cardboard as these cannot be recycled with glass. For your safety and to prevent contamination, do not place glass directly into the concrete bunker outside where it is crushed for transport.

WHAT GLASS IS ACCEPTED? Glass food and beverage containers (all colors and labels can stay on), drinking vessels (pint, wine, mason jars), candle jars (leftover wax is okay), cosmetic bottles/jars (no lids), windows with frames & hardware removed.

WHAT IS NOT ACCEPTED? Ceramic, porcelain, milk glass, China/leaded glass, mirrors, laminated glass/windshields, Pyrex or Corningware, dishware, light bulbs, plastic bags.

CAN I RECYCLE GLASS CURBSIDE? No. Waste Connections does not accept glass in its curbside recycling. The only place you can recycle glass in Wayne is at the RTC.

For more tips on the Green Path to the Good Life, like the Wayne Green Team on Facebook or visit www.cityofwayne.org/greenteam.

February 2023 – What to do with Leftover Medication?

If you have unused, expired, or unneeded medications in your home, don’t flush them down the toilet or throw them in the trash. You can dispose of these properly by taking them back to our local pharmacies in Wayne, U-Save and Providence Community Pharmacy. Doing so reduces the chance of accidental poisoning of children or pets and decreases potential contamination of surface or groundwater.

How does it work? Take your leftover medications to the pharmacy in the original bottle or container they came in. If they are acceptable non-controlled substances, the pharmacist will place them in a container to be shipped to an approved incinerator for disposal. If you have controlled substances, the pharmacist will give you a special postage-paid envelope for safe return and disposal. You can also take back over-the-counter medications, liquid medications less than 4 ounces, pet medications, creams, lotions, and ointments.

Thanks to the Nebraska MEDS program, pharmacies in nearly 300 communities across Nebraska can now take back most medications for safe disposal. For more info, talk to your local pharmacist or visit www.leftovermeds.com.

For more tips on the Green Path to the Good Life, like the Wayne Green Team on Facebook or visit www.cityofwayne.org/greenteam.

January 2023 – Ready for a Green New Year?

Start your new year off right by cleaning out what you no longer need or want. Wayne has so many options to donate or resell stuff at thrift stores like Micah’s Closest, Thrift Warehouse, and Bubba’s Baggage. See the full list of where to take odds and ends on our website at www.cityofwayne.org/greenteam, which includes items like prescription medicines, eyeglasses, books, plastic bags, inkjet cartridges, and more.

You can always recycle for free at the Wayne Recycling & Trash Center (RTC), located at 110 Windom Street and open Mon and Fri, 9:00am – 1:30pm, Tue 11am – 2pm, and Sat, 8:00am – noon. The station accepts glass, cardboard, tin cans, plastics bottles (no plastic bags or Styrofoam), strings of lights, and scrap metal, and has recycling drop offs for Wayne Boy Scout Troop #174 of aluminum cans, newspapers, magazines, and mixed paper.

Use the City’s Brush Pile. Bring your Christmas tree free of any decorations or tinsel to the City’s brush pile at 1810 Industrial Road.

Green Team Meeting January 10: We invite you to attend our Green Team meetings the 2^nd Tuesday of each month at noon in the conference room of the SNBuilding at 1010 Main Street in Wayne (with the exception of no meetings in June, August, and December).

December 2022 – Inkjet Cartridge Recycling is Back!

You can once again recycle your inkjet cartridges at the Wayne Public Library. Earlier this year, we lost the vendor who recycled these cartridges. Thanks to research by our Wayne Green Team volunteers, however, we found a new one, Evolve Recycling, to process these materials. The drop off station is now by the interior door to the library and includes bins to recycle inkjet cartridges, small household batteries (like AA and AAA), cell phones, and eyeglasses.

Recycle Strings of Lights. Bring any old strings of holiday lights to the Wayne Recycling & Trash Center and place in the bins marked for lights. These are recycled for the copper wire inside.

Use the City’s Brush Pile. Don’t forget you can dispose of your Christmas tree and greenery at the end of the holiday season at 1810 Industrial Road. Please remove all decorations or tinsel.

November 2022 - Over 13,600 Pounds of Electronics Recycled

Congratulations to our community for recycling 13,650 pounds of electronics and raising over $3,000 at our collection event in September. We also served 140 cars, nearly the same amount as last year. Funds raised help support our Zero Waste programs, like paying to recycle batteries, light strings, and more. Since 2013, we have now recycled nearly 160,000 pounds of electronics. Your efforts help keep harmful materials out of our landfill. Thank you for making a difference.

We also give special thanks to the many people who helped make this event a success, including 58 volunteers from the Wayne Green Team, Wayne State College Men’s Basketball team, and Wayne State College Women’s Soccer team; City of Wayne staff and police; our vendor the Retrofit Companies; and the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy for financial support. We will host another electronics recycling event next September.

Recycle Strings of Holiday Lights. As you decorate for the holidays, remember you can recycle light strings that no longer work. Collection bins are at the Wayne Recycling & Trash Center during regular hours: Monday and Friday, 9am-1:30pm; Tuesday 11am-2pm; Saturday 8am-noon. The light strings will be recycled for its copper wire by Retrofit. When buying new holiday lights, consider LED ones, which last longer, use less energy, and save you more money in the long run. Now that’s a bright idea!

October 2022 - Stuck with the Yuck?

If you've been wondering where you can take your yucky household hazardous waste items like oil & latex paint, cleaning chemicals, pesticides, and aerosol cans, try the City of Norfolk's Household Hazardous Waste Facility (HHW). This HHW Facility serves the entire Lower Elkhorn Natural Resource District, which includes all of Wayne County and surrounding areas. Located at 610 E Monroe Ave in Norfolk, it is open Monday thru Friday, 7:30 am to 5:00 pm and Saturday, 7:30 am to noon. Only households are allowed to bring their HHW. Check the website for a list of acceptable items and call first with questions and to ask about any fees: 402-844-2231 or https://norfolkne.gov/government/departments/solid-waste-division/household-hazardous-waste-facility.html. Other disposal options for businesses are listed on the website.

Unfortunately, we do not have a date set for a HHW collection event in Wayne, but we are working with another organization to hopefully co-host one. With luck, we will be able to have one next year so be sure to look for info in this newsletter.

September 2022 - Electronics Recycling Event

The City of Wayne Green Team is hosting an electronics recycling event on Saturday, September 24th, 8am-10am (ends earlier if the truck fills up). Drive eastbound on 3rd Street between Lincoln and Pearl in front of the City Hall parking lot to responsibly dispose of your electronics. Bring your old TVs, computers, cell phones, printers, cords and more to recycle right and keep electronics out of the landfill, where they can become hazardous to our soil and groundwater. This year, you can even bring VHS tapes, vacuums, blenders, toasters, and kitchen mixers. See our website for a full list of items accepted by our recycling vendor, the Retrofit Companies. Sorry, no large appliances, dehumidifiers or batteries.

The block of 3rd Street will be closed to traffic. Enter from Lincoln Street to unload your electronics and exit onto Pearl Street.

FEES: Suggested donation of $10 per carload or $50 per business load of reasonable size. Fees for CRTs (tube) of $5/monitor and $10/TV (no charge for flatscreens); $15/microwave.

August 2022 - Passion for our Parks

Did you know the City of Wayne has more than 10 beautiful parks for our community to use? That's a lot of wonderful green spaces to enjoy for picnics, playing, relaxing and more. Bressler and Sunnyview are two of our biggest parks, but we also have Victor, Viken and Ashley Parks, to name a few others. The city has a big job of keeping these parks maintained, from managing playground equipment and picnic tables to collecting trash and recyclables. Big thanks to the city employees who help care for our parks! We are looking for people interested in helping to promote and preserve our beautiful city parks. If you are passionate about these fun green spaces, then become a Park Pal by contacting Jason Barelman at jasonbarelman@gmail.com. Stay tuned for more information from the Park Pals.

Electronics Recycling: Saturday, September 24, 8:00-10:00 am on 3rd Street between Lincoln and Pearl. Details coming in next month's newsletter. Be sure to save up your old electronics until then.

July 2022 - Recycle Right in the Park

This summer, the blue recycling bins are back throughout Wayne city parks, making recycling accessible for people enjoying the outdoors. Look for the twinned bins -- recycling and trash side-by-side -- to properly dispose of your unwanted items. The park recycling bins only accept plastic beverage bottles and cans that are empty of all liquids. Please do not put any other items in these bins, such as straws, food wrappers, or even plastic drink cups, which all belong in the trash bin. Any amount of trash contaminates the recycling load.

Electronics recycling coming this fall. Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 24, 8:00-10:00 am, on 3rd Street between Lincoln and Pearl. Stay tuned for details and save up your electronics until then.

Special Green Team Meeting Next Month. Join us for a special Green Team meeting on Tuesday, July 19th, noon, at the SNBuilding Conference Room located at 1010 Main Street. City Administrator Wes Blecke will attend to discuss green infrastructure and investments by the city.

June 2022 - How to Keep an Eco-Friendly Lawn

Last month we hosted a special meeting on Eco Lawn Care 101 and learned some valuable tips to keeping your lawn green while also being Earth friendly this summer.

Develop deep, healthy roots for your lawn by watering deeply and infrequently, and preferably at night. Watering during the day leads to higher evaporation and inefficient use of your water.
Leave grass long and avoid cutting off more than 1/3 of the height of the grass. This keeps your soil in shade and reduces evaporation. It also allows your grass to out-compete weeds.
Use a mulching (higher) setting on your lawnmower and leave clippings on. The clippings decompose and allow for recycling of nutrients.
Overseed lawn in the fall. Newer grass will develop strong roots over the winter.

Electronics Recylcing coming Saturday, September 24, 8:00-10:00 a.m., on 3rd Street between Lincoln and Pearl.

May 2022 - Congrats to Thrift Warehouse, our Zero Hero of the Year!

Last month, the Wayne Green Team presented Thrift Warehouse with our Zero Hero award recognizing outstanding work in reducing, reusing and recycling within the community of Wayne.

Thrift Warehouse opened in 2016 selling used household goods, then started selling used clothes on consignment. Thrift Warehouse takes in an average of 5,000 pieces of clothing each month for resale. They also recycle whatever possible, including cardboard, glass, and paper. They do not buy any new bags, but reuse whatever comes into the store through donation. They refer children's clothing to Micah's Closet in Wayne, and if bedding comes in that isn't fit for use, it is donated to dog rescues.

Thrift Warehouse has made a big impact reducing waste in our community by leading secondhand use of clothing, household goods and more. Thank you for being a Zero Hero in our community!

Save the date for electronics recycling. Our annual electronics recycling event returns on Saturday, September 24, 8:00-10:00 am, on 3rd Street between Lincoln and Pearl.

Join us at our next Green Team meeting Tuesday, May 10, 5-6 pm, for a special presentation on Eco-Lawn Care 101 to learn about environmentally friendly ways to care for your lawn, such has how to water your lawn efficiently and reduce weeds. This meeting will be in the SNBuilding Gym at 1010 Main Street.

April 2022 - It's Time to Celebrate Earth Day

Every April 22 on Earth Day, we are reminded how valuable our planet is and how important it is to protect our limited natural resources. Let's act this month (and always!) to show our commitment to reducing waste and living a sustainable life.

Attend our Zero Waste Chamber Coffee on Earth Day, Friday, April 22, 10 am - Bring your own mug and join us for coffee and homemade pastries at the Wayne Public Library. You'll learn the latest on how to reduce, reuse and recycle in Wayne with our hands-on demos.

Watch our free Earth Day movie, My Octopus Teacher, at the Majestic Theatre, Sunday, April 24 at 7 pm. Join us at the Majestic for a free screening of the uplifting documentary, My Octopus Teacher. The film follows the story of an unusual friendship between a filmmaker and an octopus living in a South African kelp forest. My Octopus Teacher helps us discover the fragility of human life and humanity's connection to nature. This film won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 2021. Doors open at 6:30 pm for recycling demos, and the 85-minute film begins at 7 pm. This free event is hosted by the City of Wayne Green Team, the WSC Green Team, and the A. Jewell Schock Museum of Natural History.

Visit the Haskell Ag Lab in Concord for a Roots to Leaves Earth Day Celebration Saturday, April 30, 1-4 pm. Free events include an arboretum tour, kid activities, and demos on tree planting, tree and shrub pruning, plants and pollinators, how to begin a vegetable garden, and more. For details, visit hal.unl.edu/earthday2022.

March 2022 - Glass Recycling Makes a Ripple

Since 2016, the City of Wayne has recycled over 116 tons of glass through a program with Ripple Glass, a Kansas City company that recycles glass to remake into bottles and fiberglass insulation. The average American uses 80 pounds of glass every year, and all of it can be recycled endlessly, saving energy and raw materials. When our glass bunker at the Wayne Recycling & Trash Center (RTC) is full, a truck picks up the glass and takes it to Kansas City for free. Ripple Glass has grown to cover 100 communities across nine states, and recycled 43,500 tons of glass last year. Follow these tips to recycle glass in Wayne, and your small act can make a big ripple

HOW DO I RECYCLE GLASS IN WAYNE? Bring your clean and empty glass bottles to the marked bins at the RTC located at 110 Windom Street. Remove any plastic bags or cardboard as these cannot be recycled with glass. For your safety and to prevent contamination, do not place glass directly into the concrete bunker outside where it is crushed for transport.

WHAT GLASS IS ACCEPTED? Glass food and beverage containers (all colors and labels can stay on), drinking vessels (pint, wine, mason jars), candle jars (leftover wax is okay), cosmetic bottles/jars (no lids), windows with frames & hardware removed.

WHAT IS NOT ACCEPTED? Ceramic, porcelain, milk glass, China/leaded glass, mirrors, laminated glass/windshields, Pyrex or Corningware, dishware, light bulbs.

CAN I RECYCLE GLASS CURBSIDE? No. Waste Connections does not accept glass in its curbside recycling. The only place you can recycle glass in Wayne is at the RTC.

February 2022 - Vinegar as a Natural Cleaner

Vinegar is a great natural cleaner for the home that's cheap and widely available. It's also non-toxic, lasts for a long time without losing strength, and is much safer to have under your sink than bleach, ammonia, or other toxic cleaning products. Here are three green cleaning recipes for you to try out in the home.

(1) Tile: mix a paste of baking soda and vinegar then scrub on tile. Rinse with warm water.

(2) Garbage disposal: pour 1/4 cup of vinegar in disposal and let sit for a couple of minutes, then turn on.

(3) Hard water build-up: for stubborn hard water deposits on faucets or shower heads, fill a plastic bag with enough distilled white vinegar to cover the fixture and then let it soak overnight.

Special Green Team Meeting February 8th. Join us at our monthly meeting on February 8, 5pm-6pm, for a Community Solar Powre 101 talk led by Josh Moenning, mayor of Norfolk, Nebraska. Learn about Norfolk's 8.5-megawatt community solar project, his experiences in the renewable energy field, and how clean energy projects can create economic and environmental benefits in our communities. This special evening meeting will be held in the SNBuilding Gym at 1010 Main Street in Wayne.

January 2022 - A Green Start to the New Year

If your house feels full of too many holiday purchases, then do a home cleanse to see what you no longer need or want. Wayne has great options to donate or resell stuff at thrift stores like Micah's Closet or Thrift Warehouse. We have a full list of where to take odds and ends on our website at www.cityofwayne.org/greenteam, which includes items like prescription medicines, eyeglasses, books, plastic bags, inkjet printer cartridges, and more.

You can always recycle for free at the Wayne Recycling & Trash Center (RTC), located at 110 Windom Street and open Monday and Friday (9:00am-1:30pm), Tuesday (11:00am-2:00pm) and Saturday (8:00am-noon). The station accepts glass, cardboard, tin cans, plastic bottles (no plastic bags or styrofoam), strings of lights, and scrap metal and has recycling drop offs for Wayne Boy Scout Troop #174 of aluminum cans, newspapers, magazines and mixed paper.

Use the City's Brush Pile. Bring your Christmas tree free of any decorations or tinsel to the City's brush pile at 1810 Industrial Road.

Green Team Meeting - January 11: We invite you to attend our Green Team meetings the 2nd Tuesday of each month at noon in the conference room of the SNBuilding at 1010 Main Street in Wayne (with the exception of no meetings in June, July and December).

December 2021 - Simplify Your Holidays

Simplifying the holidays doesn't mean you have to stop giving (or receiving) gifts. It's about seeking meaningful, eco-friendly alternatives that don't harm the planet or create unnecessary waste. And often these alternatives are more memorable, unique and economical than mass-produced items found in big box stores. Give our eco-friendly tips a trip and find more holiday ideas at www.simplifytheholidays.org.

1. Always shop local. Shopping local supports our hometown businesses. You'll be surprised at how many creative gifts and services Wayne has to offer. And you'll save time and money by not having to drive out of town and fight all the crowds in bigger cities. Plus, think how useful a gift certificate to a local business for a massage, haircut, car wash, or oil change would be.

2. Make a memory. Give an experience with time together, like baking cookies to share, or try something new and adventurous to do, like exploring a state park with a winter picnic of hot cocoa and cookies.

3. Gift your talent. Are you good at things like organizing, cooking, or repairing broken stuff? Give someone a few hours to help them clean out closets, set up a meal plan, or repair that broken bike. Your loved ones will appreciate your expertise, and you may both get some quality time together.

Recycle Strings of Light. Bring any old strings of holiday lights to the Wayne Recycling & Trash Center and place in the bins marked for lights. These are recycled for the copper wire inside.

Use the City's Brush Pile. Don't forget you can dispose of your Christmas tree and greenery at the end of the holiday season at 1810 Industrial Road. Please remove all decorations or tinsel.

November 2021 - Nearly 25,000 Pounds of Electronics Recycled

Congratulations to our community for recycling nearly 25,000 pounds of electronics and raising over $4,300 to support our Zero Waste programs at our collection event in September. Since 2013, we have now recycled over 145,000 pounds of electronics! Your efforts help keep harmful materials out of our landfill. Thank you!

Special thanks to the many people who helped make this event a success, including volunteers from the Wayne Green Team, and Wayne State College Men's Basketball and Women's Soccer teams; City of Wayne staff and police; our vendor the Retrofit Companies; and the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy for financial support.

Recycle Strings of Holiday Lights
As you decorate for the holidays, remember you can recycle light strings that no longer work. Collection bins are at the Wayne Recycling & Trash Center during regular hours: Monday and Friday, 9am-1:30pm; Tuesday 11am-2pm; Saturday 8am-noon. The light strings will be recycled for its copper wire by Retrofit. When buying new holiday lights, consider LED ones, which last longer, use less energy, and save you more money in the long run. Now that's a bright idea!

October 2021 - Special Household Hazardous Waste Event in Wayne

On Saturday, October 16, from 8-10 a.m., you can recycle your household hazardous waste (HHW) at the Wayne Recycling & Trash Center (RTC) at 110 Windom Street. Your $10 drop-off fee includes HHW items such as latex & oil-based paint, pesticides, herbicides, oil, cleaning chemicals, yard & garden chemicals, anti-freeze, car batteries, mercury & mercury containing devices, and fluorescent light bulbs, including CFLs. Household quantities only. Not Accepted: tires, electronics, appliances, PCBs, picric acid, science lab materials, radioactive materials, or biological hazards. This event is sponsored by Northeast Nebraska RC&D, Nebraska Environmental Trust, Wayne Green Team and Waste Connections.

September 2021 - Electronics Recycling, Saturday, Sept. 18

For the 8th time, the City of Wayne Green Team is hosting an electronics recycling collection event on Saturday, Sept. 18, 8am-10am (ends earlier if the truck fills up). Drive eastbound on 3rd Street between Lincoln and Pearl in front of the City Hall parking lot to responsibly dispose of your e-waste. Bring your old TV's, computers, cell phones, printers, cords and more to recycle right and keep electronics out of the landfill, where they can become hazardous to our soil and groundwater. This year, you can even bring VHS tapes, vacuums, blenders, toasters (but no toaster ovens) and kitchen mixers. Click here for a full list of details and items accepted by our vendor, The Retrofit Companies.

July 2021 - Where Can I Recycle Plastic Bags in Wayne

Plastic bags require a different type of recycling than plastic bottles and containers. That's why it's important to bring them to designated locations for recycling instead of placing them in your curbside recycling container. Our local grocery stores in Wayne, Pac N Save and Quality Foods, each have a plastic bag recycling bin at their store marked Bag-2-Bag. These bins accept:

Plastic retail bags
Produce bags
Newspaper bags
Dry cleaning bags
Paper towel and toilet paper wrap
Over wrap on cases of soda or canned vegetables
Sealed air pouches in mailed packages (aka "Air Pillows")
Ziploc and other zipper style bags (with zippers removed)

The Wayne Recycling & Trash Center (RTC) does NOT accept plastic bags for recycling. Plastic bags can cause machine failures and other problems at recycling centers when improperly put in your curbside recycling. Please take your plastic bags to the grocery store for recycling. Better yet, bring your own reusable bag when you shop and skip the plastic bag entirely. Both Pac N Save and Quality Foods offer a reusable bag credit of 5 cents per bag!

Save the date for electronics recycling on Saturday, September 18, 8:00-10:00 a.m. on 3rd Street between Lincoln and Pearl.

June 2021 - Take Household Hazardous Waste to Norfolk

You can take your household hazardous waste items like oil & latex paint, cleaning chemicals, pesticides, aerosol cans, and even nail polish remover, to the City of Norfolk's Household Hazardous Waste Facility. The HHW Facility serves the entire Lower Elkhorn Natural Resource District, which includes all of Wayne County and surrounding areas. Located at 610 E Monroe Ave in Norfolk, it is open Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM to 5 PM and Saturdays from 7:30 AM to Noon. Only households can bring their HHW. Check the website for a list of acceptable items or call first with questions: 402-844-2231. (Other disposal options for businesses are listed on the website.)

The Wayne Recycling & Trash Center (RTC) at 110 Windom Street has moved recycling bins back to the south bay of the building. Bins are marked for cardboard (be sure to flatten), glass, cans, and mixed plastics and tin (no Styrofoam). You can still leave paper in the Boy Scouts trailer on the east side of the lot. The RTC is operated by Waste Connections and open Monday and Friday, 9 am-1:30 pm, Tuesday 11 am-2 pm, and Saturday 8 am-noon or by appointment. For any questions, call 402-375-1856.

Electronics Recycling is set for Saturday, September 18, 8:00-10:00 am on 3rd Street, between Lincoln and Pearl.

May 2021 - Celebrate our Zero Heroes

The Wayne Green Team presented the Wayne Boy Scouts, Troop 174, with our Zero Hero award last month, recognizing their outstanding work in reducing, reusing, and recycling within the community of Wayne.

The Wayne Boy Scouts recycle paper and aluminum cans in the community, picking up items the third Saturday of every month for free from residential curbsides. They also accept paper and cans at the Wayne Recycling & Trash Center (RTC) in separate containers. Last year, the community helped our local Boy Scouts recycle four semi-trailers full of paper and one trailer full of baled aluminum cans. These materials are turned into home insulation and aluminum cans.

The recycling program raises funds for the Scouts for youth camps and activities. Over 20 Boy Scouts and their families participate in picking up cans and paper from Wayne homes each month, all as a free service. We are proud to recognize the Wayne Boy Scouts for their impact at reducing waste in our community and being this year's Zero Heroes. For more information about the Boy Scouts' recycling program, contact their Recycling Coordinator, Mike Schlickbernd at (402) 375-3700.

Save the date for Electronics Recycling! Our annual electronics recycling event returns on Saturday, September 18, 8:00-10:00 AM on 3rd Street between Lincoln and Pearl.

April 2021 - Take Action for Earth Day

Every April 22 on Earth Day, we are reminded how valuable our planet is and how important it is to protect our limited natural resources. Let's take action this month -- and always -- to show our commitment to sustainability.

Take Our Survey. The Wayne Green Team wants to know how our community uses the Wayne Recycling & Trash Center (formerly Transfer Station). Do you know what can be recycled there? Do you want different hours? Help us improve the RTC by taking our brief survey at https://arcg.is/WTafi, in English or Spanish. Paper copies are also available at Wayne City Hall.

Attend Our Zero Waste Chamber Coffee at the Library, Friday, April 23, 10 am. Join us virtually on Facebook Live @Wayne, NE or in person at the Wayne Public Library (masks required). You'll learn the latest on how to reduce, reuse and recycle in Wayne.

Watch our free Earth Day movie, The Biggest Little Farm, at the Majestic Theatre, Sunday, April 25, 7 pm. Join us at the Majestic for a free screening of the uplifting documentary, The Biggest Little Farm. The film chronicles the eight-year quest of a young couple as they trade city living for 200 acres of barren farmland and a dream to harvest in harmony with nature. The Biggest Little Farm provides us all a vital blueprint for better living and a healthier planet. Doors open at 6:30 pm for exhibits and raffle, and the 91-minute film begins at 7 pm. Raffle tickets are one for $5 or five for $20 and raise funds for the WSC Green Team. This free event is hosted by the City of Wayne Green Team, the WSC Green Team, and the A. Jewell Schock Museum of Natural History.

March 2021 - Get Charged to Recycle Your Batteries

Our battery recycling program is still going strong! Thanks to the Wayne Public Library, you can still drop off your batteries for recycling in the bucket outside the library's door during regular business hours. Only small, household batteries are accepted for recycling at the Wayne Public Library. These include alkaline, zinc carbon, NiMH, NiCd, less than 9 volts, and non-lithium button cell. Lithium & lithium-ion with exposed terminals require taping to avoid sparks during shipping. We do not accept large batteries, such as lead acid, electronic batteries, and over 9 volts, and no plastic bags in the bucket.

Carefully follow the instructions on our website and posted at the library. Always be sure to tape terminals on required batteries to avoid any spark during shipping. Safety first! This year, we received funding from the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy to help cover costs for shipping household batteries to the recycling vendor. Thank you for your support of this important waste reduction effort.

February 2021 - Beeswax Making a Buzz

Looking for an alternative to plastic wrap for food so you can cut down on single-use disposable waste at home? Give beeswax wraps a try and you'll be buzzing with excitement. These reusable coverings are a great alternative to plastic wrap and do a better job of keeping food fresh. They are made of beeswax, jojoba oil, tree resin and either cotton or cotton and hemp fabric. These ingredients have preservative properties to help food last longer, thereby reducing food waste. And beeswax wraps decrease household waste overall by taking the place of plastic bags, disposable containers, and plastic wrap. After about a year of use, you can compost the wraps. Our local shop, The Flower Cellar, sells them in Wayne, so you can check them out in person. Give beeswax wraps a try and you'll see what all the buzz is about.

Join us for our next monthly Green Team meeting Tuesday, February 9, at noon via Zoom. Contact greenteam@cityofwayne.org for details.

January 2021 - Try the 30-Day Minimalism Challenge

Ready to make a green resolution? Start with a plan to declutter, live simpler, and maybe even reclaim a little sanity. One approach to the 30-day minimalism challenge is on day one, you get rid of one thing, on day two, two things, and so on. By the end of the month, you will have removed 465 items from your living space. Search for 30-day minimalism on the internet and you'll find many tips, lists and printable charts to help keep you on track. There are many options to get rid of something in Wayne, including reselling, donating or recycling. If you're not sure what to do with an item, look up www.earth911.com for options, and always check our options at www.cityofwayne.org/greenteam for where to recycle or donate in Wayne. One person's trash is often another person's treasure!

Recycle Strings of Lights - Bring any old strings of holiday lights to the Wayne Recycling & Trash Center and place in the bins marked for lights. These are recycled for the copper wire inside.

Use the City's Brush Pile - Bring your Christmas tree free of any decorations or tinsel to the City's brush pile at 1810 Industrial Road.

December 2020 - Make Your Holidays Green

Save money and the environment this holiday season with three easy tips on being green.

Re-gift. Have something you no longer want, like a good book you've read, or a nice shirt you don't wear? Don't be shy about re-gifting. You'll extend the life of the item and pass it on to someone who will appreciate it.
Shop local. Our community has wonderful stores that offer creative gifts and services. Shop in town before spending dollars outside of our community and on extra fuel to drive there and back, and save the gift of extra time for yourself.
Wrap it with care. Save paper and money when wrapping presents this year. Try reusing gift bags and ribbon, wrapping with newspaper or paper grocery bags you can decorate yourself and later recycle, or using cloth such as a scarf or dish towel to wrap a gift. You'll generate less waste and save tons of paper.

Recycle Strings of Holiday Lights. Decorating for the holidays only to discover your holiday lights no longer work? Don't throw them out when you can recycle them instead. The Wayne Recycling & Trash Center has specially marked bins for light strings during its regular hours of operation: Mon and Fri, 9am-1:30pm; Tue 11am-2pm; Sat 8am-noon. The strings will be recycled for copper wire by Retrofit in Minneapolis. When buying new holiday lights, consider LED ones, which last longer, use less energy and save you money in the long run. Now that's a bright idea!

Use the City's Brush Pile. Located at 1810 Industrial Road, you can dispose of your Christmas tree (without any decorations or tinsel) and greenery at the end of the holiday season.

October & November 2020 - Stuck with the Yuck?

If you've been wondering where you can take your yucky household hazardous waste items like oil & latex paint, cleaning chemicals, pesticides, aerosol cans, and even nail polish remover, try the City of Norfolk's Household Hazardous Waste Facility. The HHW Facility serves the entire Lower Elkhorn Natural Resource District, which includes all of Wayne County and surrounding areas. Located at 610 E Monroe Ave in Norfolk, it is open Monday through Friday, 7:30 am to 5:00 pm, and Saturday 7:30 a.m. to noon. Only households are allowed to bring their HHW. Check the website for a list of acceptable items or call first with questions: 402-844-2231 -or- https://norfolkne.gov/government/departments/solid-waste-division/household-hazardous-waste-facility.html. Other disposal options for businesses are listed on the website.

A reminder that our annual electronics recycling event has been postponed until next fall due to COVID-19. If you prefer not to wait, try Nebraska Electronics Recycling & Disposal in Norfolk. Call first at 402-750-6093 to confirm what they will take and if there are any fees.

September 2020 - Help the Boy Scouts Recycle Paper & Cans

The Wayne Boy Scouts have restarted their monthly curbside pick-up of paper and cans for recycling. Place your newspapers, office paper, books, magazines, envelopes, and chip board (e.g. cereal/soda/pasta boxes) in paper bags at the curb by 8 am on the third Saturday of each month (no plastic bags, please). You may also leave aluminum cans in a separate paper bag or box on the curb. This is a great community service, and the funds raised from recycling support Boy Scout activities. Special thanks to our local Boy Scouts for their efforts. We love it when being green helps you earn some green.

Want to recycle those items more than once a month? Bring them to the Wayne Recycling & Trash Center and place your bags of paper in the Boy Scout Trailer, and the aluminum cans in the marked bin along the entrance into the center. Remember to keep a safe distance from others. The Wayne Recycling & Trash Center is located at 110 Windom Street and is open Monday & Friday 9 am-1:30 pm; Tuesday 11 am-2 pm; and Saturday 8 am-noon.

Electronics Recycling Postponed
Due to safety concerns for our volunteers and participants, our annual electronics recycling event is postponed until next year. We know our community has come to rely on this event and hope that you will hang onto your electronics until next fall. If you are eager to properly dispose of your electronics now, try contacting Nebraska Electronics Recycling & Disposal in Norfolk to see if they will accept your electronics. Thank you for your understanding and patience with our team of committed volunteers!

July & August 2020 - Recycle Right in the Park

This summer, the blue recycling bins are back throughout Wayne city parks with picnic tables, making recycling accessible for people enjoying the outdoors. Look for twinned bins -- recycling and trash side-by-side. The park recycling bins only accept plastic bottles and cans that are empty of all liquids. Please do not put any other items in these bins, such as plastic straws, food wrappers, or even plastic cups, which all belong in the trash bin. Any amount of trash contaminates the recycling load.

Electronics Recycling Update
We are uncertain if we will host our annual electronics recycling event in September or postpone until next year. Please stay tuned for more info next month.

Thank you for for efforts to be green and reduce waste, even during these challenging times.

June 2020 - Cleaning Out Closets

You may have been doing some spring cleaning while staying at home and are ready to offload your items. The good thing is you have options in Wayne. Thrift Warehouse is accepting spring and summer clothing (on consignment at 40%) and household goods and furniture. Micah’s Closet will also be accepting clothing donations beginning July 1. Once the Wayne Public Library reopens, you can take your glasses, cell phones, inkjet cartridges, and batteries in for recycling. Remember to limit your batteries to small household ones only, and follow instructions for proper taping of terminals on lithium and lithium-ion batteries, and do not include plastic bags. See full instructions on how to recycle batteries on our website.

Thank you for your efforts to be green and reduce waste, even during these challenging times.

May 2020 - Recycling Right at the RTC

The Wayne Recycling & Trash Center, known now as the RTC and formerly as the transfer station, remains open to the public by Gill Hauling with new rules. To keep everyone safe, please follow social distancing guidelines and stay at least 6 feet apart from others; do not visit with others; and wait in your vehicle until the next dumpster or trash bay is empty.

The trash bay is open and limited to one vehicle at a time. Indoor recycling is closed, but Gill has set recycling bins outside for (1) glass in blue bins, (2) comingled tins/plastics/cardboard, and (3) cans. The Boy Scouts trailer is open for paper with only one person permitted inside at a time.

Thank you for followin these important rules so we can keep reycling during this pandemic. Visit our website for an updated flyer on what items are accepted for recycling. For questions, call Gill Hauling at (402) 375-1856.

Zero Hero Award
Congratuations to Pac N Save, recipient of our Zero Hero award for outstanding work in reducing, reusing and recycling within the community of Wayne through its Bag Credit Donation Program. For every bag a customer reuses, Pac N Save gives back five cents to either take off the bill or donate to a designated community organization for the quarter.

Since September 2018, over 44,000 bags have ben reused, nearly 35,000 bag credits have been donated, and more than $1,700 has been donated to six community organizations and projects, including the Wayne Green Team, Haven House, Wayne Community Theatre, TeamMates, Wayne Elementary Playground and the Wayne Food Pantry. Thank you Pac N Save and our community for supporting reusable bags and giving back!

April 2020 - Celebrating 50 Years of Earth Day

April 22, 2020 will mark 50 years of Earth Day, now a global celebration. Due to precautions surrounding the coronavirus, our Earth Day events this year are cancelled, but we continue to celebrate its meaning and history.

Earth Day started as a unified response to an environment in crisis -- oil spills, smog, rivers so polluted they literally caught fire. 20 million Americans took to the streets, college campuses (including Wayne State College) and hundreds of cities to protest environmental ignorance and demand a new way forward for our planet.

The Earth Day movement launched a wave of action, including passage of landmark environmental laws in the U.S., such as the Clear Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts, along with the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. Many countries adopted similar laws following our lead in the U.S.

Now more than ever, it is important we continue the efforts started 50 years ago by recognizing the value of our environment and our ability to protect it. Our community has shown this commitment through a variety of efforts, including electronic recycling events, household hazardous waste collections, Earth Day documentaries, and a thriving reuse market.

Let’s keep up the good work and celebrate Earth Day every day with our actions. Reduce waste by shopping local, eating all the food on your plate and in your fridge, carrying a reusable water bottle, skipping plastic straws and so much more. Check out updates to our flyers for the Wayne Recycling & Trash Center, the Battery Recycling Program and Zero Waste in Wayne on our website. Together, we can protect our environment and leave it beautiful for future generations.

March 2020 - Recycle Your Batteries Right

Last year we made a change to our battery recycling program to help manage costs and collection. Only small, household batteries are accepted for recycling at the Wayne Public Library. These include alkaline, zinc carbon, NiMH, NiCd, less than 9 volts, non-lithium button cell, and lithium & lithium-ion with exposed terminals that require taping. We do not accept large batteries, such as lead acid, electronic batteries, and anything over 9 volts.

Unfortunately, some people are still dropping off the larger drill batteries and other types over 9 volts. Please carefully follow the instructions on our website and posted at the library. Always be sure to tape terminals on required batteries to avoid any spark during shipping. Safety first! This battery recycling program is costly and limited to only small household types. Thank you for your understanding and support.

February 2020 - Give Vinegar a Try

Did you know vinegar is use for more than just cooking? It’s a great natural cleaner for the home. Besides being effective, vinegar is cheap and widely available. Plus, it’s non-toxic, lasts for a long time without losing strength, and is much safer to have under your sink than bleach, ammonia, or other toxic cleaning products. Here are just three green cleaning recipes for you to try out in the home:

1. Window Cleaner: Mix a half-cup of vinegar with a half-cup of water and put into a spray bottle. Squirt on windows then scrub with newspaper, not paper towels, which cause streaking.

2. Laundry: Add 1/4 cup of vinegar to your rinse cycle when washing clothes. It’ll help make colors brighter, remove smells, and break down detergent build up.

3. Hard Water Build Up: For stubborn hard water deposits on faucets or shower heads, fill a plastic bag with enough distilled white vinegar to cover the fixture and let it soak overnight.

Join us for our next Green Team meeting on Tuesday, February 11 at noon in the back room at Tacos N More.

January 2020 - A Green Start to the New Year

If your house feels full of too many holiday purchases, then it’s time to take stock and do a home cleanse to see what you no longer need or use. Wayne has great options for you to donate or resell your stuff at our local thrift stores and more. A full list of where to take reusable goods in Wayne is at www.cityofwayne.org/greenteam. The list includes eyeglasses, books, prescription medicines, plastic bags, inkjet printer cartridges and more.

You can always recycle for free at the Wayne Recycling & Trash Center located at 110 Windom Street, open Monday and Friday (9:00 am-1:30 pm), Tuesday (11:00 am-2:00 pm) and Saturday (8:00 am-noon). The station accepts glass, cardboard, plastic bottles (no plastic bags) and scrap metal, and has recycling drop offs for local Boy Scout Troop #174’s collcetion of aluminum cans, newspapers, magazines, and mixed paper. Don’t forget you can still bring your strings of holiday lights in for recycling through the end of January.

Take Trees to the City’s Brush Pile. At the end of the holiday season, dispose of your Christmas tree (without any decorations or tinsel) and greenery at the City’s brush pile at 1810 Industrial Road.

Green Team Meeting January 14: We invite you to attend our Green Team meetings the 2nd Tuesday of each month at noon in the back room of Tacos n More, with the exception that meetings are not held during the months of June, August and December. Come join us and help Wayne continue its journey to zero waste!

December 2019 - Get Ready for a Green Holiday!

Go green this holiday season with easy tips to save money and reduce waste!

1. Give and Experience. Time together can be more valuable than an item that’s rarely used. Make coupons for doing special things together, like taking a walk, playing a game, or cooking a meal. Try saving time for someone by offering to do chores or other time-consuming tasks.

2. Buy Battery-Free Gifts. Batteries are expensive and difficult to recycle so keep your gift giving simple and make it battery-free. Or give rechargeable batteries and a charger if you must.

3. Select Gifts That Don’t Require Much Packaging. Gift certificates, tickets to a show, potted plants or homemade treats work great. Reuse gift bags, ribbons or a bow if you do need to wrap, or use cloth like a scarf or dish towel to wrap a gift.

4. Re-Gift. Have something you no longer want, like a good book you’ve read or a nice shirt you don’t wear? Don’t be shy about re-gifting. You’ll extend the life of the item and pass it on to someone who will appreciate it.

5. Shop Local. Our community has wonderful stores that offer creative gifts and services, along with opportunities at local craft and book fairs to buy something special. Shop in town before spending dollars outside of our community and on extra fuel to drive there and back, saving the gift of extra time for yourself.

Recycle Strings of Lights. Bring your old strings of holiday lights for recycling to the Wayne Recycling & Trash Center and place in the bins marked for lights. These are recycled for the copper wire inside. When replacing, consider LED lights, which last longer, use less energy, and save money. Now that’s a bright idea!

Use the City’s Brush Pile. At the end of the holiday season, dispose of your Christmas tree (without any decorations or tinsel) and greenery at the City’s brush pile at 1810 Industrial Road.

November 2019 - A Mess Turned Into Success

Last month, over 80 households brought their messy household hazardous waste to our successful collection event sponsored by the Northeast Nebraska Resource Conservation & Development: 2,350 pounds of paint, 1,320 pounds of pesticides, 90 gallons of oil, 15 gallons of antifreeze, 257 light bulbs, 100 pounds of car batteries, and 420 pounds or other recyclable material. We thank the RC&D for choosing Wayne three out of the last four years so we can properly dispose of such hazardous waste. We also thank the Nebraska Environmental Trust, Gill Hauling, the City of Wayne and the Wayne State College Women’s Soccer team for support. With committed partners like these in our community, we are closer to our goal of Zero Waste in Wayne.

Recycle Strings of Holiday Lights
Decorating for the holidays only to discover your holiday lights no longer work? Well don’t throw them out when you can recycle them instead. Collection bins are set up to recycle strings of lights at the Wayne Recycling & Trash Center (formerly known as our Transfer Station) during its regular hours of operation: Monday and Friday, 9 am-1:30 pm; Tuesday 11 am-2 pm; Saturday 8 am-noon. The strings of lights will be recycled for its copper wire by a company called Retrofit in Minneapolis. When buying new holiday lights, consider LED ones, which last longer, use less energy, and save you money in the long run. Now that’s a bright idea!

October 2019 - 17,000 Pounds of Electronics Recycled

Congratulations to our community for recycling over 17,000 pounds of electronics and raising $2,900 to support our Zero Waste programs. In seven years, we have now recycled over 120,000 pounds of electronics. Your efforts help keep harmful materials out of our landfill.

Special thanks to the many people who helped make this event a success, including volunteers from the Wayne Green Team, Wayne State College Men’s Basketball team and WSC Women’s Soccer team; City employees Todd Hoeman and Officer Cory Moeller; our vendor First Choice Recycling; and the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy for grant funding.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection on Saturday, October 12, 8-10 am at the Wayne Transfer Station, 110 Windom St. Your $10 drop-off fee includes household hazardous waste items such as latex and oil-based paint, pesticides, herbicides, oil, yard & garden chemicals, cleaning chemicals, anti-freeze, car batteries, mercury & mercury-containing devices including light bulbs. Household quantities only. Not Accepted: tires, household batteries, electronics, appliances, PCBs, picric acid, science lab materials, radioactive materials, or biological hazards. Sponsored by Northeast Nebraska RC&D, Nebraska Environmental Trust, Wayne Green Team and Gill Hauling.

September 2019 - Electronics Recycling: Saturday, Sept. 14th

For the seventh year in a row, the City of Wayne Green Team is hosting an electronics recycling collection event on Saturday, September 14 from 8:00am to 10:00 am (ends earlier if the truck fills up). Drive eastbound on 3rd Street between Lincoln and Pearl in front of the City Hall parking lot to responsibly dispose of your e-waste. Bring your old TVs, computers, cell phones, printers, cords and more to recycle right, and keep electronics out of the landfill, where they can become hazardous to our soil and groundwater.

Note: this block of 3rd Street will be closed to traffic. Enter from Lincoln Street to unload your electronics and exit onto Pearl Street.

Fees: Suggested donation of $10 per carload or $50 per business load of reasonable size. Fees for CRTs (tube) are $5/monitor and $10/TV (no charge for flatscreens); and $10/microwave. Sorry, no large appliances, batteries or VHS tapes are accepted. A full list of acceptable items and fees are on our website.

HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION coming to Wayne in October. Date TBD. Details next month.

August 2019

This summer, the blue recycling bins are back throughout Wayne city parks, making recycling accessible for people enjoying the outdoors. Look for twinned bins -- recycling and trash side by side. The parking recycling bins can only accept plastic bottles and cans that are empty of all liquids. Please do not put any other items in these bins, such as plastic straws, food wrappers, or even plastic cups, which all belong in the trash bin. Any amount of trash contaminates the recycling load. Grow an Extra Row for the Wayne Food Pantry

Is your garden starting to overflow? Then now is the perfect time to help our local food pantry in Wayne by donating fresh produce from your garden. While picking your produce, set aside a bag of beans, a few tomatoes, spinach, cucumbers, squash or anything fresh from the garden. Bring your garden produce to the Wayne Food Pantry at the First Presbyterian Church, Tuesday-Friday, 9am-noon, or to the Mobile Food Pantry Truck at Our Savior Lutheran Church on the last Saturday of each month. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but if everyone contributes, it will add up fast. Thanks for growing that extra garden row! SAVE THE DATE: Electronics Recycling, Saturday, Sept. 14, 8-10 am. More details next month.

July 2019 - Recycle Right in the Park

This summer, the blue recycling bins are back throughout Wayne city parks, making recycling accessible for people enjoying the outdoors. Look for twinned bins, recycling and trash side by side. The park recycling bins only accept plastic bottles and cans that are empty of all liquids. Please do not put any other items in these bins, such as plastic straws, food wrappers or even plastic cups, which all belong in the trash bin. Any amount of trash contaminates the recycling load.

Electroncis Recycling Coming: Save the date of Saturday, September 14, 2019, 8am-10am on 3rd Street between Lincoln and Pearl Streets again. More details coming soon.

June 2019 - Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food

The Wayne Farmer’s Market returns Wednesday, June 5, on the grounds of the Wayne County Courthouse off of Lincoln Street (due to construction), offering fresh seasonal produce, eggs, baked goods, jams and jellies, live music and much more. Updates will be posted on the Wayne Farmer’s Market Facebook page. Bring your reusable shopping bag to check out the Wayne Farmer’s Market this summer Wednesdays from 4-6 pm and Saturdays from 9am-noon, through mid-October.

May 2019 - Changes to Battery Recycling Program

Starting May 1, we are implementing two big changes to our battery recycling program:

Only small, household batteries will be accepted for recycling. These include alkaline, zinc carbon, NiMH, NiCd, less than 9 volts, non-lithium button cell and lithium & lithium-ion with exposed terminals that require taping. We will no longer accept large batteries, such as lead acid, electronic batteries, and anything over 9 volts.
The battery drop-off location will move to the Wayne Public Library, at 410 Pearl Street, from City Hall.

Why are we making these changes? The battery recycling program started in December 2017 and has been a smashing success, preventing over 500 pounds of batteries with toxic materials from entering the landfill in our first year. Unfortunately, it has also cost more than expected -- $1,700. Each bucket holds up to 55 pounds of batteries and costs $110 to send to Battery Solutions for recycling. We often received boxes of larger-sized batteries, such as lead acid and 9+ volt batteries (e.g., drill batteries), that required additional funds to ship. Although our community’s willingness to recycle batteries is wonderful, we need to raise more funds to support this program.

What should you do with your larger batteries? We may be able to accept them for a fee at our fall electronics recycling event, but until we secure more funding, we won’t know for sure. Stay tuned for more info. We do take free-will donations at any time via City Hall!

How are these batteries recycled? The Wayne Green Team sends these batteries to Battery Solutions in Michigan. They carefully sort the batteries based on chemistry to prepare them for recycling. To learn more about how these batteries are recycled, visit Battery Recycling Information.

Where can I find more info on the types of batteries accepted? See our updated Battery Recycling How To Guide on our website. It’s important to note which batteries require taped terminals for safety in shipping. Clear tape is provided next to the battery recycling bin at the library.

April 2019 - The Wayne Green Team Turns 10 Years Old!

Started in 2009 by former Mayor Lois Shelton, the Wayne Green Team is celebrating 10 years of service in our community. From Green Expos to Green Move Outs, Earth Day movies to Zero Waste Chamber Coffees, we have made an impact in reducing waste and increasing sustainable behavior.

Over the last 10 years, we have recycled over 100,000 pounds of electronics, 79 tons of glass, 1,000 pounds of string lights, and 526 pounds of batteries. We have hosted: 5 Earth Day movies, 4 Green Expos, 3 Household Hazardous Waste events and 2 Green Move Outs at WSC. And, we have raised $42,000 in grant funds. Our efforts together make a positive difference. Let’s keep going on our journey to Zero Waste in Wayne America!

This April, join us as we celebrate our community’s annual Earth Day events to protect and sustain our planet and its resources.

Friday, April 12, 10 am - Zero Waste Chamber Coffee. This event will be at the Wayne Public Library. Bring your own mug and see demos on what you can and cannot recycle in Wayne. #RecycleRight

Sunday, April 14, 6:30 pm - Tapped at the Majestic Theater. Join us at the Majestic Theater for a free screening of the powerful documentary Tapped, a behind-the-scenes look into the unregulated and unseen world of the bottled water industry -- an industry that aims to privatize and sell back the one resource that ought never to become a commodity: our water. Doors open at 6:30 pm for exhibits, raffles and discussion, and the 75-minute film begins at 7 pm. Raffle tickets are one for $5 or five for $20 and raise funds for the WSC Green Team. This free event is hosted by the WSC Green Team, the City of Wayne Green Team, and the A. Jewell Schock Museum of Natural History. Bring your own popcorn container and cup to make this a zero waste event.

Also, from now until May 31, Pac N Save will donate its 5-cent reusable bag credit to the Wayne Green Team. Please bring your bags to the store to shop and help raise funds to support our community’s Zero Waste programs.

Every day is Earth Day. Thank you for your support!

February 2019 - Love Food, Hate Waste

We may love food, but no one loves to waste it. Wasting food means wasting resources, time and money. So how can we stop? Try these five easy ways to reduce your food waste and increase your bottom line.

Buy only what you need. Plan ahead and make a list before grocery shopping. Be smart about sales. It’s not a bargain if you won’t eat it.
Eat what you buy. Sounds simple, yet few people manage to do this effectively. Make a conscious effort to keep track of the food you have -- and then remember to eat it, especially those yummy leftovers.
Keep food fresh. Learn to store foods properly to keep them fresh as long as possible.
Don’t toss food before it spoils. Expiration dates don’t always mean the food has gone bad. It often means the food just can’t be sold at a store.
Avoid the trash. If you have extra food, share it with others by giving to family, friends, coworkers, or our local Wayne Food Pantry. For the food scraps you can’t eat, consider backyard composting.

January 2019 - A Green Resolution for the New Year

Ready to start your new year off with a green resolution? Begin with a home cleanse by going through your house to see what you no longer need or use. Wayne has many options for you to donate or resell your stuff at our local consignment shops, thrift store, and more. A full list of where to take odds and ends in Wayne is posted on our website at www.cityofwayne.org/greenteam. It includes batteries, prescription medicine, eye glasses, books, plastic bags, inkjet cartridges, and more.

You can always recycle for free at the Wayne Recycling & Trash Station, located at 110 South Windom Street, and open Mon and Fri, 9:00 am - 1:30 pm, Tue 11 am - 2 pm, and Sat 8:00 am - noon. The station accepts glass, cardboard, plastics #1-7 (no plastic bags), and scrap metal, and has recycling drop offs for local Boy Scout Troop #174 of aluminum cans, newspapers, magazines, and mixed paper. You can still bring your strings of holiday lights to be recycled at the Wayne Recycling & Trash Center or City Hall.

October 2018 - 18,000 Pounds of Electronics Recycled

Many thanks to our community for making our 6th electronics recycling event on September 15, 2018, a success. We recycled nearly 18,000 pounds of electronics from over 100 households and five businesses. We collected 63 tube TVs, 11 tube monitors, and 8 microwaves. Overall, the event kept thousands of pounds of electronics out of the landfill and raised $2,400 to support our Zero Waste programs in Wayne.

We owe a special thanks to the many people who helped make this the best run event in our history, including volunteers from the Wayne State College Men’s Basketball and Women’s Soccer teams; City employees Earnest Ping and Officer Dominic Consoli; our recycling vendor DataShield; and the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality for grant funding.

With partners like these, the community of Wayne will continue to be successful in our efforts to Recycle Right and reach Zero Waste.

September 2018 - Electronics Recycling - Saturday, Sept. 15th

For the 6th year in a row, the City of Wayne is hosting an electronics recycling collection event on Saturday, September 15 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. (will end earlier if the truck fills up). Drive eastbound on 3rd Street between Lincoln and Pearl in front of the City Hall parking lot to responsibly dispose of your e-waste. Bring your old TVs, computers, cell phones, printers, cords and more to recycle right, and keep electronics out of the landfill, where they can become hazardous to our soil and groundwater.

Note: this block of 3rd Street will be closed to traffic during this event. Enter from Lincoln Street to unload your electronics and exit onto Pearl Street.

Fees: Suggested donation of $10 per carload or $50 per business load of reasonable size. Fees for CRTs (tube) of $5/monitor and $10/TV (no charge for flat screens); and $10/microwave. Sorry, no large appliances, batteries or VHS tapes accepted. A full list of acceptable items and fees are available here.

August 2018 - Wayne Grow an Extra Row!

This summer, join gardeners in donating fresh produce from the garden to our local food pantries. While picking your produce, set aside a bag of beans, a few tomatoes, spinach, cucumbers, squash or anything else from the garden. Bring your garden produce to the Wayne Food Pantry at the First Presbyterian Church, Tuesday-Friday, 9am-noon, or to the Our Savior Lutheran Church Food Pantry on the 4th Saturday morning of each month. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but if everyone contributes, it will add up fast. Thanks for growing that extra garden row!

Electronics Recycling Coming: Save the date of Saturday, September 15, 8 am-10:30 am (or earlier if the truck fills up) heading eastbound on 3rd between Lincoln and Pearl Streets again. More details will be coming next month.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection Results: Great job by our community for bringing in their HHW at the collection event sponsored by the Nebraska Resource Conservation & Development Council this past April. Nearly 3,000 pounds of HHW, or 1.5 tons, were properly disposed of and diverted from our landfills. Thank you for taking the time to Recycle Right!

June 2018 - Battery Collection and Transfer Station Updates
Some updates to the options available for recycling and battery collection in Wayne!

May 2018 - Straws Suck, Sip Instead

Americans use and toss over 500 million plastic straws each day -- that’s enough to wrap around the Earth 2.5 times in one day. In only the past twenty years, people have come to expect plastic straws in every drink. These short-lived tools become garbage with no further thought, adding to the source of plastic pollution. Plastic straws cannot be recycled. They often end up in our oceans and waterways, causing severe harm to wildlife. Are a few minutes of drink convenience worth this much damage and garbage? We don’t think so.

Here are three simple actions you can take to reduce plastic straw pollution:

Make a personal commitment to say "no" to plastic straws. Whenever ordering a drink, politely request "no straw, please." Encourage your friends and family to do the same.
Reach out to some local eateries in your neighborhood or town and ask them to change their protocol to only serve straws upon request.
Encourage those eateries to make a change to non-plastic straw options -- like paper, glass or stainless steel -- if diners do request a straw.

For more information, visit http://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/no-straw-please and https://thelastplasticstraw.org.

April 2018 - Celebrate Earth Day every day!

Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970 on April 22 to focus a national day on the environment. This annual event is now 48 years old and recognized around the world, with the goal to protect and sustain our Earth and its resources. Join us this month at our special events celebrating the Earth.

April 27: 2:00-4:00 p.m. - Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event at Wayne Transfer Station. For a $10 drop-off fee, bring your household hazardous waste for proper disposal to the Wayne Transfer Station at 110 S. Windom St. HHW items include: lightbulbs, latex & oil-based paints, yard & garden chemicals, oil, cleaning chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, anti-freeze, car batteries, and mercury or mercury-containing devices, including CFLs. Household quantities only. Not accented: tires, electronics, appliances, PCBs, picric acid, science lab materials, radioactive materials, or biological hazards. This event is sponsored by Northeast Nebraska RC&D, Nebraska Environmental Trust, Wayne Green Team and Gill Hauling.
April 20: 10:00 a.m. - Zero Waste Chamber Coffee hosted by Wayne Green Team. This Zero Waste Chamber Coffee will be at the Wayne Public Library, 410 Pearl Street Bring your own mug and see demos on what you can and cannot recycle in Wayne. Number RecycleRight
April 22: 6:30 p.m. - Before the Flood at the Majestic Theatre. Join us on Earth Day at the Majestic Theatre for a free screening of the powerful documentary Before the Flood, a riveting account of the dramatic changes now occurring around the world due to climate change, as well as the actions we can take to prevent catastrophic disruption of life on our planet. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for exhibits, raffles and discussion, and the 96-minute film begins at 7 p.m. This free event is hosted by the WSC Green Team, the City of Wayne Green Team, and the A. Jewell Schock Museum of Natural History, with funding from the Nebraska Recycling Council. Bring your own popcorn container and cup to the movie to make it zero waste.

We believe every day is Earth Day, and we know each one of our actions can make an impact on reducing waste and increasing sustainability.

March 2018

HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION COMING. Mark your calendars for a special Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event on Friday, April 13, 2-4 pm at the Wayne Transfer Station (110 S. Windom Street). A drop-off fee includes HHW items such as paint, pesticides, herbicides, oil, yard & garden chemicals, anti-freeze, car batteries, household batteries, lightbulbs, and mercury & mercury-containing devices. We thank the Northeast Nebraska Resource Conservation & Development for selecting Wayne to host this special collection event.

HOW TO RECYCLE GLASS IN WAYNE. Bring your clean and rinsed glass bottles (including glass food and beverage containers and glassware such as wine and pint glasses, but NO windshields, ceramic, porcelain, or laminated glass) to the metal bins inside the Wayne Transfer Station. For your safety and to prevent contamination, do not lace glass directly into the concrete bunker outside. Also, remove any plastic bags as these cannot be recycled with glass. Thank you!

February 2018 - Where can I recycle plastic bags in Wayne?
Plastic bags require a different type of recycling than plastic bottles and containers. Our local grocery stores in Wayne (Pac N Save, Quality Foods) each have a plastic bag recycling bin in their store marked Bag-2-Bag. These bins accept:

Plastic retail bags
Produce bags
Newspaper bags
Dry cleaning bags
Cereal box liners
Paper towel and toilet paper wrap
Over wrap on cases of soda or canned vegetables
Sealed air pouches in mailed packages aka "Air Pillows"
Ziploc and other zipper style bags (with zippers removed)

The Wayne Transfer Station does NOT accept plastic bags for recycling. Many people think the bins next to the glass and plastics recycling areas are for plastic bags, but those contents are taken to the landfill. Take your plastic bags to the grocery stores for recycling. Better yet, bring your own reusable bag when you shop. Both Pac-N-Save and Quality Foods offer a reusable bag credit of 5 cents per bag.

Food Labels 101 - February 12. Join us at our monthly meeting on Monday, February 12, 7 pm, for a Food Labels 101 talk led by Wayne State College. Come learn how to read food labels, how to understand ingredients, what it means to be organic, and how to be a smart consumer of healthy foods. This special meeting will be held in the back room of Tacos N More in Wayne.

January 2018 - Green Reminders for the New Year!

Recycle Strings of Lights - Bring your old strings of holiday lights for recycling to the Wayne Transfer Station or City hall and placed in the bins marked for lights. These are recycled for the copper wire inside. When replacing, consider LED lights, which last longer, use less energy and save money.

Use the City’s Brush Pile - Don’t forget about the City’s brush pile at 1810 Industrial Road for disposing of your Christmas tree (without any decorations or tinsel) and greenery at the end of the holiday season.

Recycle Batteries - Our Battery Recycling program is off to a great start, accumulating 50 pounds in the first month. You can bring household batteries to City Hall and place them in the battery pail. Please visit our Battery Recycling How-To Guide on our website for details on the types of batteries accepted and which ones require taped terminals. Clear tape is provided next to the battery pail.

Electronics Recycling Results - Our electronics recycling event held last September officially collected over 19,000 pounds of electronics! Thank you for responsibly disposing of these items so we can keep hazardous substances out of our landfills. We will host another event in September of 2018.

November 2017 - Composting 101
It’s always a good time to think about composting so you can clean up your yard this fall and prepare for the return of spring next year. This month, we invite community members to another special meeting of the Wayne Green Team on Monday, November 13, 7-8 pm, to explore composting as a way to reduce waste. This educational session is in partnership with Wayne State College. You will learn:

What materials can be safely composted?
How can you build a composter for your home use?
Where can you use your composted material in next year’s garden or landscaping?
How can we work together to reduce the amount of food waste sent to the landfill?

This special meeting will be held in the back room of Tacos N More in Wayne.

October 2017 - A new home for old clothes and shoes
Have an old shirt or pair of shoes you never wear but are still in good shape? You can find it a new home at several places in Wayne:

Micah’s Closet is a local thrift shop run by the United Methodist Church. Clothes may be donated here or purchased for low prices
Thrift Warehouse takes adult clothing for consignment resale
The community has a Facebook page called Wayne, NE Online Sales that has frequent users posting items for sale or looking to buy
Providence Wellness Center has a drop off box for gently used athletic shoes, both adult and kid sizes

Give good clothes a new home in Wayne to keep them out of the landfill and in the cycle of being used!

Special Green Team Meeting in October. Join us at our monthly meeting on Monday, October 9 at 7 p.m. for a Climate Science 101 talk led by Dr. Barbara Hayford, Professor of Life Science at Wayne State College. Come learn what a changing climate means for farming, ranching, and life in small town Nebraska, and what we can do to help make things better. This special meeting will be held in the back room of Tacos N More in Wayne.

September 2017 - Electronics Recycling: Saturday, Sept. 23
For the fourth year in a row, the City of Wayne has been awarded a grant from the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality to host an electronics recycling collection event on Saturday, September 23rd from 8-11 am (or earlier if the truck fills up). Drive eastbound on 3rd Street between Lincoln and Pearl in front of the City Hall parking lot to responsibly dispose of your e-waste instead of throwing it into the landfill where they can become hazardous to our soil and groundwater. Bring your old TVs, computers, cell phones, printers, cords, and more. Note, this block of 3rd Street will be closed to traffic. Enter from Lincoln Street to unload your electronics and exit onto Pearl Street.
Fees: Suggested donation of $10 per carload or $50 per business load of reasonable size, and fees for CRTs (tube) of $5/monitor and $10/TV (no charge for flatscreens); also $10/microwave. Sorry, no large appliances, batteries or VHS tapes will be accepted. A full list of acceptable items and fees are on our website.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection in Northeast Nebraska

The Northeast Nebraska RC&D hosts HHW events yearly in our area, returning to Wayne every three years. This year’s closest event is in Hartington on Friday, Sept. 9 from 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. at the Transfer Station. The fee is $10 per vehicle.

August 2017 - Wayne Grow an Extra Row!
This summer, join gardeners in donating fresh produce from your garden to our local food pantries. While picking your produce, set aside a bag of beans, a few tomatoes, spinach, cucumbers, squash or anything fresh from the garden. Bring your garden produce to the Wayne Food Pantry at the First Presbyterian Church, Tuesday-Friday, 9 am-noon, or to the First United Methodist Church Food Pantry on the fourth Saturday morning of each month. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but if everyone contributes, it will add up fast. Thanks for growing that extra garden row!

Electronics Recycling Coming: Save the date of Saturday, September 23rd, 8 am - 11 am (or until the truck is full) on 3rd Street between Lincoln and Pearl Streets again. More details coming next month.

July 2017 - Glass Recycling Makes a Ripple
For the past year, the City of Wayne has participated in a glass recycling program with Ripple Glass, a Kansas City company that recycles glass to remake into glass bottles and fiberglass insulation. The average American uses 80 pounds of glass every year, and all of it can be recycled over and over again. So why is it important to recycle glass? Here are four of the most important reasons:

Recycling glass means less materials in our landfills, lengthening their life, which means fewer new landfills.
Making new glass out of existing glass conserves raw materials and eliminates the waste and environmental impact of mining.
Because glass melts at a lower temperature than its raw materials, making new glass out of existing glass uses 30% less energy! Consider this, recycling just one glass bottle saves enough energy to power a 23-watt CFL for 16 hours.
Making new glass out of existing glass dramatically reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Every ton of recycled glass means 600 pounds of carbon dioxide is not released into our atmosphere.

More than 80 communities recycling glass as part of the Ripple Glass network across seven states. In just eight months, we recycled 17 tons of glass, and we keep filling up the bunker at the transfer station. Know that your small act of recycling glass can make a big ripple!

HOW TO RECYCLE GLASS IN WAYNE

Bring your clean and rinsed glass bottles (including glass food and beverage containers and glassware such as wine and pint glasses, but NO windshields, ceramic, porcelain, or laminated glass) to the metal bins inside the Wayne Transfer Station located at 110 South Windom Street. For your safety and to prevent contamination, do not place glass directly into the concrete bunker outside. Also, remove any plastic bags as these cannot be recycled with glass. Thank you!

CHANGE IN TRANSFER STATION HOURS

The Wayne Transfer Station continues to be open on Tuesdays, but now closes at 2 pm instead of 6 pm. The station is open Monday and Friday 9 am - 1:30 pm, Tuesday 11 am - 2 pm, and Saturday 8 am-noon.

June 2017 - New Recycling Bins in Our Parks
Get ready for cleaner parks and the opportunity to recycle in more public spaces thanks to collaborative funding through national, state and local partners.

This summer, blue recycling containers will be installed throughout Wayne city parks, making recycling more accessible for people enjoying the outdoors. Funding to purchase the 27 recycling containers was made possible because of a national grant by Dr. Pepper Snapple Group in collaboration with Keep America Beautiful; Nebraska Recycling Center’s Recycling Equipment Grant through the Nebraska Environmental Trust; and the City of Wayne.

In an effort to "Twin the Bin", recycling containers will be placed right next to a park’s trash bin, making recycling convenient and clear.

The City of Wayne became one of 41 other local governments and community organizations to receive the 2017 Dr. Pepper Snapple Group/Keep America Beautiful Park Recycling Bin Grant. Being awarded this national grant was years in the making, and took the help of students at Wayne State College and support from the Nebraska Recycling Council (NRC). The additional funding from NRC’s Recycling Equipment Grant and the City made it possible to purchase enough recycling containers to place at nearly all parks in Wayne.

Over the year, the Green Team also has collected more than 30 tons of glass, aluminum, electronics and household hazardous waste materials from the community for recycling. The installment of the new recycling bins will not only divert even more materials from the landfill, but will also give everyone the opportunity to recycle at home, work and play.

May 2017 - What a Difference You Make
Check out the impact our community has made in reducing waste:

66,000 pounds of electronics diverted from the landfill over 4 years from our electronics recycling events
Nearly 17 tons of glass collected in 8 months and recycled into glass insulation and bottles
5,500 pounds of aluminum cans recycled by our local Boy Scout Troop Number 174 in 2016, raising $2,000 -- enough to send 7 Scouts to a week-long summer camp
377 pounds of holiday strings of lights recycled in one year for the copper wire inside, a 74% increase from 2015
$25,000 received in grant funds since 2013 to support our zero waste efforts in Wayne

We also had a great turnout at our Earth Day Events, with over 40 people attending our first Chamber Coffee and 70 people at our free screening of the movie Just Eat It. We are thankful for our volunteers, our partnership with Wayne State College, and our community’s commitment to sustainability and zero waste. Each of you make a difference in reducing waste in Wayne!

April 2017 - Just Eat It
In celebration of Earth Day, the Wayne State College Green Team, and the A. Jewell Schock Museum of Natural History are hosting a free screening of the powerful documentary Just Eat It, a food waste story by Peg Leg Films in association with Knowledge Network, at the Majestic Theatre in Wayne on Sunday, April 23 at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for exhibits, raffles and discussion.

We all love food. As a society, we devour countless cooking shows, culinary magazines and foodie blogs. So how could we possibly be throwing nearly 50% of it in the trash? Filmmakers and food lovers Jen and Grant dive into the issue of food waste from farm, through retail, all the way back to their own fridge. After catching a glimpse of the billions of dollars of good food that is tossed each year in North America, they pledge to quit grocery shopping and survive only on foods that have been discarded. What they find is truly shocking.

Just Eat It brings farmers, retailers, inspiring organizations and consumers to the table in a cinematic story that is equal parts education and delicious entertainment. For more info about the movie, visit www.foodwastemovie.com.

Tickets for the raffle are 1 for $5 or 5 for $20 and serve as a fundraiser for the WSC Green Team. Be sure to bring your own popcorn container and water bottle to the movie so we can make this a Zero Waste event. Come celebrate Earth Day at this free screening of Just Eat It!

Don’t miss our Chamber Coffee April 21
The Wayne Green Team will host its first ever Chamber Coffee at The Coffee Shoppe on Friday, April 21st at 10 a.m. Bring your own mug and help make this a Number zerowaste event.

March 2017 - Say Hello to Blossoms, Butterflies, Birds & Bees
We are all looking forward to spring, and there are many signs that it is approaching. One is the numerous seed and plant catalogs that many of us get in the mail. As you look through these catalogs and start to plan how to make your home look more colorful in the summer months, consider an important part of the system that makes those flowers and our fruits, vegetables, and many other crops possible -- the pollinators. "Pollinators" refers not only to bees, but also to butterflies, some birds (like hummingbirds), and many insects.

Catalogs will often tell you which plants are most attractive to these busy little creatures. UNL Extension also has information online to help in selection. The Xerces Society is another excellent source of pollinator information. If you want to be really eco-conscious you can start including native plants in your landscape. They not only support the pollinators but are better adapted to our climate, requiring less water and less work once established.

Welcome summer and our helpful pollinators with beautiful blossoms this year.

February 2017 - Give Vinegar a Try
Did you know vinegar is used for more than just cooking? It’s a great natural cleaner for your home. Besides being effective, vinegar is cheap and widely available. Plus, it’s non-toxic, lasts for a long time without losing strength, and is much safer to have under your sink than bleach, ammonia or other toxic cleaning products. Here are just three green cleaning recipes for you to try out in the home: 1. Window Cleaner: Mix half a cup of vinegar with half a cup of water and put into a spray bottle. Squirt on then scrub with newspaper, not paper towels, which cause streaking.

2. Laundry: Add 1/4 cup of vinegar to you rinse cycle when washing clothes. It’ll help make colors brighter, remove smells, and break down detergent build-up.

3. Hard Water Build-Up: For stubborn hard water deposits on faucets or shower heads, fill a plastic bag with enough distilled white vinegar to cover the fixture and then let it soak overnight.

January 2017 - A Green Start to the New Year
If your house feels full of all those holiday purchases, then take stock and do a home cleanse and see what you no longer need or use. Wayne has great options for you to donate or resell your stuff at our local consignment ships, thrift stores, and more. A full list of where yo take odds and ends in Wayne is posted on our website at www.cityofwayne.org/greenteam, and includes watch batteries, prescription medicines, eye glasses, books, plastic bags, inkjet printer cartridges, and more.

You can always recycle for free at the Wayne Transfer Station, located at 110 South Windom Street and open Monday and Friday, 9:00 am - 1:30 pm, Tuesday 11:00 am - 6:00 pm (or until 3:00 pm in winter) and Saturday, 8:00 am - noon. The station accepts glass, cardboard, plastic bottles (no plastic bags) and scrap metal, and has recycling drop-offs for local Boy Scout Troop Number 174 of aluminum cans, newspapers, magazines, and mixed paper. Don’t forget you can still bring your strings of holiday lights to be recycled at the Wayne Transfer Station or City Hall.

2016 Green Notes

December 2016 - Green Up Your Holidays
Go green this holiday season with three easy tips that will save you money and reduce waste: 1) Buy something that will last. Consider the durability of a product before you buy it as a gift. Often, a cheaper item will wear out long before its more durable equivalent, which can be passed down to others. You don’t want the holiday toys to end up in the trash before the start of the new year.

2) Make it from scratch. Think about making a card with a hand-written note, a list of 25 reasons your family member is special, or ornaments from recyclable materials, like toilet paper rolls and egg cartons. Sometimes the best gift is one you can’t buy.

3) Re-gift. Have something you no longer want, like a good book you’ve read, or a nice shirt you don’t wear? Don’t be shy about re-gifting. You’ll extend the life of the item and pass it on to someone who will appreciate it.

Recycle strings of lights. Bring your old strings of holiday lights for recycling to the Wayne Transfer Station or City Hall and placed in the bins marked for lights. These are recycled for the copper wire inside. When replacing, consider LED lights, which last longer, use less energy and save money.

Use the City’s Brush Pile. Don’t forget about the city’s brush pile at 1810 Industrial Road for disposing of your Christmas tree (without any decorations or tinsel) and greenery at the end of the holiday season.

November 2016 - Great Results for Electronics Recycling!
Our community once again showed their commitment to zero waste with an outstanding collection of electronics at our yearly event on September 24, 2016:

15,967 pounds of electronics collected total
5,499 lbs of CRT televisions and monitors
3,567 lbs of computers and laptops
3,987 lbs of printers and other computer peripherals
2,914 misc. household electronics, a/v equipment

Year over year, we’re seeing a decrease in the amount of CRT TVs and monitors collected, which is a positive trend as we hope to run out of those items eventually. We must be finally cleaning out the basements of Wayne!

Thank you to our city crew, DataShield, Green Team members, and the Wayne State College men’s basketball team for their help throughout the event, and to NDEQ and our community for the funding to help sponsor this event and our other zero waste programs in Wayne.

Recycling Strings of Lights
As you prepare for the holidays, don’t forget you can bring your old strings of holiday lights to the Wayne Transfer Station for recycling. These are recycled for the copper wire inside. When replacing, consider LED lights, which last longer, use less energy, and save money.

October 2016 - HHW Event a Success!
Thank you to our community for great support at the Household Hazardous Waste Collection event held September 9, 2016. In just two hours, this event served more than 100 households and collected the following Household Hazardous Wastes (processed by Red Willow Hazardous Waste from McCook, NE):

Pesticide (400 pounds)
Paint (3,420 pounds)
Acids (2 pounds)
Oil (25 gallons)
Antifreeze (11 gallons)
Batteries (240 pounds)
Mercury (4 pounds)
Fluorescent light bulbs (236)
2-4-D (12 gallons)
Round-Up (2 gallons)
Other recyclable materials (320 pounds)

The Wayne Green Team thanks local business Thrift Warehouse and its owners Lukas Rix and Mark Kanitz for its donation of $300 in support of this event, as well as Gill Hauling for its donation of the roll-off and disposal fees. Thank you also to the Northeast Nebraska Resource Conservation & Development for choosing Wayne to host this event and providing funding from the Nebraska Environmental Trust. With committed partners like these in our community, we will not doubt reach our goal of Zero Waste in Wayne.

September 2016 - Say Goodbye to Electronics and Household Hazardous Waste this Fall!
The Wayne Green Team invites our community to participate in two important events this September.

(1) Household Hazardous Waste Collection on Saturday, Sept. 10, 8-10 a.m. at the Wayne Transfer Station located at 110 S. Windom Street. Your $10 drop-off fee includes household hazardous waste items such as latex & oil-based paint, pesticides, herbicides, oil, yard & garden chemicals, anti-freeze, car batteries, household batteries, mercury & mercury-containing devices including light bulbs, and even nail polish.

(2) Electronics Recycling Event on Saturday, Sept. 24, 9 am-noon at the City Hall parking lot at 306 Pearl Street in Wayne. Bring your old TVs, computers, cell phones, printers, cords and more. Requested donation of $10/carload or $50/business load, and fees for CRTs (tube) of $5/monitor and $10/TV (no charge for flatscreens). Sorry, no appliances. A list of all acceptable and unacceptable electronics is on our website.

August 2016 - Glass is back at the Wayne Transfer Station!
You can now bring your glass bottles back to the Wayne Transfer Station for recycling. The City of Wayne Green Team has partnered with Ripple Glass out of Kansas City to pick up and recycle our glass for free. Bring your clean and rinsed glass bottles (including glass food and beverage containers and glassware such as wine and pint glasses, but no windshields, ceramic, porcelain, laminated glass) to the metal bins inside the Wayne Transfer Station located at 110 South Windom Street. The station is open Monday and Friday 9 am-1:30 pm, Tuesday 11 am-6 pm, and Saturday 8 am-noon.

Once the metal bins are full, Gill Hauling will move the glass to the concrete bunker located next to the Boy Scouts Paper Trailer. Ripple Glass will then pick up the glass for recycling into fiberglass insulation and bottles. Ripple Glass even rewards communities with funds for achieving goals of year-over-year growth on glass tonnage collected.

Save the dates for Household Hazardous Waste & Electronics Recycling Events this fall

Thanks to two recent grants from the Northeast Nebraska RC&D and NDEQ, we will host a Household Hazardous Waste collection event Saturday, Sept. 10 from 8-10 a.m. at the Wayne Transfer Station and an Electronics Recycling Event on Saturday, Sept. 24 from 9 am-noon at the City Hall parking lot. Look for more details next month on acceptable items and fees.

July 2016 - Wayne Grow an Extra Row!
This summer, join gardeners in donating fresh produce from your garden to our local food pantries. While packing your produce, set aside a bag of beans, a few tomatoes, a bag of lettuce or spinach, cucumbers, squash, anything fresh from the garden. Bring your garden produce to the Wayne Food Pantry at the First Presbyterian Church, Tuesday-Friday, 9 am-Noon, or to the First United Methodist Church Food Pantry on the 4th Saturday morning of each month. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but if everyone contributes, it will add up fast. Thanks for growing that extra garden row!

May 2016
Need more time to recycle at the Transfer Station? The Wayne Transfer Station is offering extended hours into the evening beginning in May as a pilot program. New hours will now include Tuesday 11 am-6 pm. If you are interested in using the Transfer Station for its free recycling or fee-based trash drop-off during these hours, please be sure to go as Gill Hauling is testing whether the community will use these later hours. The Transfer Station remains open to the public Monday and Friday from 9 am to 1:30 pm and Saturdays from 8 am to noon.

When bringing recyclables to the Transfer Station or placing curbside, make sure you clean out or rinse your items. Contamination may spoil an entire load of recyclables, which means Gill Hauling will have to dump the entire load of recycling into the trash as their recycler will not accept such loads.

THANK YOU for a great Earth Day celebration at our event featuring the free movie Planet Ocean. Approximately 90 people attended, including families, college students, seniors and more. $175 was raised from the raffle and meaningful discussion was had by all. Thank you to our co-sponsors the WSC Green Team and A. Jewell Shock Natural History Museum. Remember, every day is Earth Day!

April 2016
Come see Planet Ocean in celebration of Earth Day!
In honor of Earth Day this year, the Wayne State College Green Team, the City of Wayne Green Team, and the A. Jewell Schock Museum of Natural History are hosting a free screening of the stunning documentary Planet Ocean by French director Yann Arthus-Bertrand and Michael Pitiot, on Sunday, April 17, 7 pm at the Majestic Theatre in Wayne. Doors open at 6:30 pm for exhibits and discussion on marine life, connections between local waterways and our oceans, and more. Information will be available about new waste reduction efforts locally, including updates on what can be recycled at the Wayne Transfer Station.

This Earth Day event will also include a raffle containing a handmade quilt, the book "Man and Sea: Planet Ocean" by Yann Arthus-Bertrand and Brian Skerry, children’s books on nature, and more. Tickets for the raffle are one for $5 or five for $20. Be sure to bring your own popcorn container and water bottle to the movie so we can limit waste at the event.

Dive into our planet’s greatest mysteries with a team of international underwater cinematographers as they explore the breathtaking bond between humanity and the ocean. For more information about the movie and oceans visit Good Planet Foundation. Celebrate Earth Day at this free screening of Planet Ocean and join us on our journey toward Zero Waste!

For more information, find us on Facebook as the WSC Green Team, the Wayne Green Team or the A. Jewell Schock Museum of Natural History. For the Wayne Green Team, visit us at www.cityofwayne.org/greenteam or email greenteam@cityofwayne.org. For the A. Jewell Schock Museum of Natural History, visit https://www.wsc.edu/museum or email kedill1@wsc.edu.

March 2016
Leftovers - What do you do with them?
Not leftover food, but leftover medications. Likely there are unused, expired and unneeded medications in your home. These should be disposed of properly to reduce the chance of accidental poisoning of children or pets and potential contamination of surface or groundwater.

Properly Disposing of Leftover Medications
DO NOT flush medications down the toilet or place them in the trash! At one time, these were recommended disposal methods. However, there is a much better method.

Take leftover medications back to the pharmacy! Thanks to the Nebraska MEDS program, over 275 participating pharmacies in nearly 300 communities across Nebraska can now take back most medications for proper disposal. In Wayne, both ShopKo and U-Save pharmacies participate in this program.

What is the Nebraska MEDS program? Nebraska MEDS is a coalition of several agencies and organizations coordinated by the Nebraska Pharmacists Association. Currently, it is paid for by grant funds from several of the coalition partners.

How does it work? The process is really simple and convenient. Take your leftover medications to the pharmacy in the original bottle or container they came in. The pharmacist will then determine what medications you are returning. If they are acceptable non-controlled substances, the pharmacist will place them in a container to be shipped to an approved incinerator for disposal. If you have controlled substances, the pharmacist will give you a special postage-paid envelope. Place the medications in the envelope, seal it, drop it in the mailbox where it will be sent to the approved incinerator for disposal.

What does it cost? The process is free because of grant funding.

For more information about the Nebraska MEDS program: - Talk to your local pharmacist

- Call 800-222-1222

- Visit the website: leftovermeds.com

Help protect the environment, people and pets by properly disposing of leftover medications. It’s easy to do.

February 2016 - Show your love for LEDs
Love to save money? Then you’ll love this incentive from NPPD for a rebate of $3 per LED bulb purchased for your home (max 15/year). LEDs last up to 35 times longer than incandescent lights and often four or more times as long as fluorescents. LEDs do not contain mercury, generate almost no heat (which helps reduce air conditioning costs), and light up instantly. A longer lasting bulb means fewer changes, more savings and less waste. Find rebate details under LED Lighting Incentive at http://www.nppd.com/save-energy/for-your-home.

January 2016 - A Green Resolution for the New Year
Ready to start your new year with a green resolution? Begin with a home cleanse by going through your house to see what you no longer need or use. Wayne has many options for you to donate or resell your stuff at our local consignment shops, thrift stores, and more. A full list of where to take odds and ends in Wayne is posted on our website. It includes watch batteries, prescription medications, eye glasses, books, plastic bags, inkjet printer cartridges, and more.

Plus, it’s always free to recycle in Wayne at our Transfer Station, located at 110 South Windom Street and open three days a week on Monday and Friday, 9:00 am 1:30 pm, and Saturday, 8:00 am - noon. The station accepts cardboard, plastics Number 1-7, and scrap metal, and hosts recycling drop offs for local Boy Scout Troop Number 174 of aluminum cans in the baler, and of newspapers, magazines and mixed paper in its parked trailer, raising funds for Boy Scout activities. Batteries, lightbulbs, and glass are no longer being recycled. Save your batteries and lightbulbs for a proper Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event, or take them to the Norfolk Transfer Station. Glass is recycled by Waste Connections’ curbside pick-up service, and Gill Hauling is currently exploring other options. We will post updates as soon as we have any.
December 2015 - Get Ready for a Green Holiday
Save money and the environment this holiday season with three easy tips on being green.

Re-Gift. Have something you no longer want, like a good book you’ve read, or a nice shirt you don’t wear? Don’t be shy about re-gifting. You’ll extend the life of the item and pass it on to someone who will appreciate it.
Shop local. Our community has wonderful stores that offer creative gifts and services along with opportunities at local craft and book fairs to buy something special. Shop in town before spending dollars outside our community and on extra fuel to drive there and back, and save the gift of extra time for yourself!
Wrap it with care. Save paper and money when you reuse gift bags, wrap with newspaper or paper grocery bags you can decorate yourself and later recycle, or use cloth such as a scarf or dish towel to wrap a gift. You’ll generate less waste and save tons of paper!

Don’t forget about the City’s brush pile near the old Pacific Coast feather site for disposing of your Christmas tree and greenery at the end of the holiday season. For more tips on the Green Path to the Good Life, like the "Wayne Green Team" on Facebook or visit Green team.

November 2015 - Recycle Strings of Holiday Lights
Decorating for the holidays only to discover your holiday lights no longer work? Well don’t throw them out when you can recycle them instead. Collection bins are now set up to recycle strings of Christmas Lights at the Wayne Transfer Station & Recycling Center during its regular hours of operation (Monday and Friday, 9 am - 1:30 pm; Saturday 8 am-noon) or at Wayne City Hall. The strings of lights will be recycled for its copper wire by a company called Retrofit in Minneapolis. Whey buying new holiday lights, consider LED ones, which last longer, use less energy, and save you more money in the long run. Now that’s a bright idea!

October 2015 - Electronics Event a Success!
We had a great turnout at our annual recycling event last month, collecting 22,885 pounds of electronics. That’s over 10 tons of electronics that were diverted from our landfill, a nearly 50% increase from last year’s collection! Way to go Wayne for doing the right thing and making sure these hazardous items do not end up in our landfill, but get properly recycled. Our vendor, Nebraska Recycles, took all the items back to Lincoln for dismantling, sorting and recycling. We thank our volunteers from the WSC Men’s Basketball team who helped throughout the event, along with our Green Team members. If you missed our event, hang onto your electronics for next year. You can also take certain electronics to Best Buy for recycling (call ahead to confirm if your items are accepted.) For more tips on the Green Path to the Good Life, like the Wayne Green Team on Facebook or visit www.cityofwayne.org/greenteam.

September 2015 - Electronics Recycling Event on September 19
For the 2nd year in a row, the City of Wayne has been awarded a grant from the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality to host an electronics recycling collection event on Saturday, September 19th from 9 am to noon at the City Hall parking lot. Come responsibly dispose of your e-waste, like TV’s, computers and monitors, instead of throwing these items into the landfill where they can become hazardous to our soil and groundwater. This event is open to households only (no businesses). A full list of acceptable items and the fee schedule will be posted on our website as soon as it’s finalized.

July 2015 - Dumpster Duty Results Are In!
For the 2nd year in a row, the Wayne Green Team organized a Green Move Out at the WSC dorms in early May. Over 50 volunteers covered 95 hours of dumpster duty at the five largest dorms on campus. As a result, there was a decrease in the amount of trash hauled away to the landfill by more than 3,000 pounds compared to last year. We salvaged usable household items and clothes for resale at Rustic Treasures or donations to Micah’s Closet, such as microwaves, trash bins, drawer caddies, shower caddies, rugs, lamps, fans, chairs, DVD players, VCRs, bags of clothes, and even lots of Husker gear. Thank you to members of the WSC football team, WSC Green Team, Wayne Green Team and our community for volunteering their time with this important Green Move Out!

June 2015 - Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food
The Wayne Farmers Market returns Wednesday, June 10, on the grounds of the Wayne County Courthouse at 510 Pearl Street, offering fresh seasonal produce, artisan breads, baked goods, jams and jellies, live music and much more. The Wayne Green Team will even have the occasional booth offering green tips, cloth bags and more. Bring your reusable shopping bag to check out the Wayne Farmers Market this summer Wednesdays (new day) from 4-7 pm and Saturdays 9am-noon, through October.

May 2015 - Nominate a Zero Hero
Zero Heroes are everywhere in Wayne, helping the Earth by reducing waste in so many ways. Now you can recognize these heroes, whether an individual or business, by nominating them through an online tool at www.wsc.edu. Already the nominations are rolling in, and you can see who in Wayne is reducing, reusing and recycling their way around the community by visiting our Facebook page for pictures. The Wayne Green Team is sponsoring the WSC Green Move Out May 6-8, 2015 for a second year. Volunteers will be doing dumpster duty to encourage students to donate their reusable items for resale and donation in our community to green partners Rustic Treasures and Micah’s Closet. Last year’s Green Move Out was a success and we hope more students donate their stuff instead of dumping into landfills. For more information, like the Wayne Green Team on Facebook, visit the Wayne Green team at Green Team or email at greenteam@cityofwayne.org.

April 2015 - Just Bag It!
In honor of Earth Day this year, the Wayne State College Green Team and the City of Wayne Green Team are hosting a free screening of the award-winning documentary Bag It on Sunday, April 19, at 7 p.m. at the Majestic Theatre in Wayne. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for exhibits, demos, and discussion on how to recycle in Wayne and reduce the use of plastic bags. Raffle tickets will also be sold for the chance to win reusable bags and quilts made by local artisans. In this touching and often flat-out-funny film, we follow "everyman" Jeb Berrier, who is admittedly not a tree hugger, as he embarks on a global tour to unravel the complexities of our plastic world. What starts as a film about plastic bags evolves into a wholesale investigation into plastic and its affect on our waterways, oceans and even our own bodies. We see how our crazy-for-plastic world has finally caught up to us and what we can do about it today. In Wayne, for example, our local grocery stores Pac-N-Save and Quality Foods offer a reusable bag credit. You can also recycle all kinds of plastic bags by depositing them into the Bag-2-Bag bins located at both grocery stores. The average American uses about 500 plastic bags each year, for an average of 12 minutes before they are discarded. Join us in our efforts to reduce plastic bag consumption in Wayne and journey toward Zero Waste by attending this free screening of Bag It. Funding is provided in part by WasteCap Nebraska through a grant from the Nebraska Environmental Trust.

February 2015 - Love Food, Hate Waste
Food waste is a growing problem in the U.S. In Wayne, 27% of what we throw out in our trash is food -- a much higher number than the Nebraska state average of 17%. Wasting food means wasting resources and money too. So here are five easy ways to reduce your food waste and increase your bottom line: 1) Buy only what you need. Plan ahead and make a list before grocery shopping. And be smart about sales. It’s not a bargain if you won’t eat it.

2) Eat what you buy. Sounds simple, yet few people manage to do this effectively. Make a conscious effort to keep track of the food you have, and then remember to eat it, especially those yummy leftovers. 3) Keep food fresh. Learn to store foods properly to keep them fresh as long as possible. 4) Don’t toss food before it spoils. Expiration dates don’t always mean the food has gone bad. It often means the food just can’t be sold at a store.

5) Avoid the trash. If you have extra food, share it with others by giving to family, friends, coworkers, or our local food pantry. For the food scraps you can’t eat, consider backyard composting.

Link: More Tips for Reducing Your Food Waste

January 2015 - Reduce Your Waste for Free

Did you know it’s free to recycle in Wayne? You can take recyclable materials to the Wayne Transfer Station & Recycling Center for free three days a week. The Transfer Station accepts cardboard, plastics Number 1-7, aluminum cans, scrap metal and glass. There is also a trailer for Boy Scout Troop Number 174 that collects newspapers, magazines and mixed paper all for free. Why pay to throw these resources away with your trash when they can be easily recycled and reused. The Transfer Station is located at 110 South Windom Street and is open Monday and Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to noon. To see a complete list of all the free recycling options in Wayne, visit our website www.cityofwayne.org/greenteam. For more tips on the Green Path to the Good Life, like the Wayne Green Team on Facebook.

2014 Green Notes

December 2014 - Save Your Green While Being Green This Season
Ready to save money this holiday season? Follow our three easy tips to help keep both your pocket book and the environment green.

1) Buy something that will last. Consider the durability of a product before you buy it as a gift. Often, a cheaper item will wear out long before its more durable equivalent, which can be passed down to others. You don’t want the holiday toys to end up in the trash before the start of the new year.

2) Shop local. We have wonderful stores that offer creative gifts and services, along with opportunities at craft and book fairs to buy something special. Consider shopping in town before spending dollars outside of our community and on extra fuel to drive there and back.

3) Make it from scratch. Think about making a card with a hand-written note, a list of 25 reasons your family member is special, or ornaments from recyclable materials, like toilet paper rolls and egg cartons. Sometimes the best gift is the one you can’t buy.

November 2014 - Electronics Recycling Event a Success!
Thank to you everyone who came out to responsibly dispose of your electronics at our event last month. DataSheild collected over 15,000 pounds of electronics -- nearly 8 tons in only 3 hours! Most of it was hazardous CRT monitors and TVs, which contain harmful substances such as mercury, lead and phosphorus that often leach into soil and groundwater when thrown into landfills. Special thanks to the WSC Men’s Basketball team for their help unloading and sorting electronics throughout the event. If you were unable to attend, please hang onto your electronics until our next event, usually once a year.

October 2014 - Electronics Recycling Collection on October 11
The Wayne Green Team has contracted with DataShield to responsibly dispose of unwanted electronics on Saturday, October 11, 9 am to noon at the City Hall Parking Lot. Drop off your old TVs, monitors, computers, laptops, scanners, copiers, phones, cell phones, printers, cords, wires, docking stations, stereos, gaming stations, chargers and more. All hard drives and memory containing devices will be shredded. Sorry, no appliances accepted.

There is a suggested donation of $10 per carload or $25 for each commercial or business load and additional fees for hazardous electronics of $5 per monitor and $10 per TV of any size. See Green Team for details, and like the "Wayne Green Team" on Facebook to stay up to date. Join us on our journey to Zero Waste!

July 2014 - Wayne Grow an Extra Row!
This summer, join gardeners across the nation in donating fresh produce from your garden to our local food pantries. While picking your produce, set aside a bag of beans, a few tomatoes, a bag of lettuce or spinach, cucumbers, squash, anything fresh from the garden. Bring your garden produce to the Wayne Food Pantry at the First Presbyterian Church, Tuesday-Friday, 9 am-noon, or to the First United Methodist Church Food Pantry on the 4th Saturday morning of each month. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but if everyone does contribute, it will add up fast. Thanks for growing that extra garden row!

May 2014 - Get a Green Lawn the Green Way

Spring means back to lawn care and according to the Turf Management experts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, earlier is better than later. Help those grass blades that are trying to push the dead tops up with new growth by mowing off that brown winter kill and letting the green see the light. The plants are working hard to produce and store nutrients and moisture. Do not mow short however in your effort to help. Setting the mower at least 3" inches high is best for the lawn. Mowing frequently and taking off less each time will promote a healthier lawn -- don’t remove more than 1/3 of the grass height in each mowing. And leave those clippings on the lawn to help shade the soil, retaining moisture and keeping it cooler, as well as returning the nutrients in the cut grass back to the plants. For more info you can search turf.unl.edu.

April - Get Green This Spring!

The Wayne Green Team is busy with several exciting green initiatives this year, focusing our efforts on making it easy to minimize waste and increase sustainable behavior throughout our community and in our daily lives. We’re taking a break on our usual Green Expo so we can make progress in other areas. Here’s what we’ve been busy doing this year:

Turn trash into treasure. We’ve been partnering with Wayne State College to coordinate a Green Move Out from the dorms, salvaging usable furniture and goods from landfills by redirecting them to local consignment and thrift stores or other reusable places.
Improve access to recycling. We’ve been applying for grants to buy recycling bins for our community’s outdoor parks and Main Street business area, and encouraging schools and businesses to place recycling bins next to all trash bins.
Increase awareness on waste reduction. We’re working to become more visible at public events to offer information on waste reduction and recycling. This includes outreach to youth by teaching waste reduction lesson plans and participating at the Wayne Elementary Boosters Carnival offering Earth-friendly activities while handing out useful Green Living tips. Look for us at more public events, and if you’d like us to join an event, just ask!

Last year alone, we diverted the following hazardous wastes from our landfills by responsibly disposing of them at our electronics recycling and hazardous household waste collections:

12,000 pounds of unwanted electronics
480 pounds of pesticides
2,380 pounds of paint
138 fluorescent bulbs

Let’s be proud of our community’s work to protect the environment. And let’s keep up our efforts to be GREEN! Join us on the Green Path to the Good Life by attending our monthly meetings, liking us on Facebook, or taking the simple step of changing your daily habits to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Stay tuned for more info on an electronics recycling event this May, and be sure to celebrate Earth Day on April 22!

March - Shop with Reusable Bags

You may be thinking, what’s one plastic shopping bag to the environment? Sadly, plastic bags are rarely recycled, made from petroleum oil, and are an enormous harm to our environment. Paper bags are just as bad for the environment as they take more raw materials and energy to manufacture per bag. If you’ve made the switch to reusable grocery bags, then applaud yourself for being environmentally aware. But if you’re still using plastic bags, read the facts below and consider making the switch when you shop. Cloth bags are readily available for purchase and many stores will give you a credit when you bring your own bags. 1. Plastic bags take anywhere from 15 to 1,000 years to decompose.

2. Only 1 percent of plastic bags are recycled in the United States. The rest end up in landfills, the ocean, or some other place in the environment. There’s actually a giant garbage heap made mostly of plastic floating in the ocean that’s twice the size of the United States. 3. It’s estimated that 1 million birds and thousands of turtles and other sea animals die each year after ingesting discarded plastic bags. 5. It takes 12 million barrels of oil to produce the estimated 100 billion plastic bags Americans use each year.

6. The petroleum used to produce 14 plastic bags can drive a car one mile. February - Make the Switch to LEDs

Want to save money on your energy bill and get a rebate? Switch to LED bulbs. These bulbs last up to 35 times longer than incandescent lights and often four or more times as long as fluorescents. LEDs do not contain mercury, generate almost no heat (which can help reduce air conditioning costs), and light up instantly. A longer lasting light bulb means fewer changes, more savings and less waste. Find out how you can get a rebate of $5 per qualified LED lamp through NPPD at http://www.nppd.com/save-energy/for-your-home/.

2013 Green Notes

December - Deck the Halls with Lots of Green

Be green this holiday season with three simple tips. (1) Use LED lights to decorate -- it’ll save you money and time as you won’t have to keep replacing your holiday lights each year. (2) Skip the holiday gift wrap -- which can’t be recycled locally -- and use newspapers, children’s artwork, dish towels, or scarves instead. Or wrap with a reusable bag so that your gift can keep on giving. (3) Shop local and be creative for your holiday gifts. Consider the gift of time to help someone, or re-gift something you no longer need. Driving out of town or having items shipped to you has an added cost on the environment and our community. Remember, it’s the thought that counts!

November - A Green Turkey Day

With so much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving season, don’t forget to be green with one simple tip: don’t cook so much. Save time and money by keeping portions in check and limiting leftovers to what you know guests and yourself will actually eat. Between the turkey, the many side dishes, and the desserts, there is plenty of food to stuff everyone and more. If needed, have leftover containers ready to hand out at the end of the meal. Don’t let food (or your hard work) mold up in the fridge.

October - Buried in Leaves

Is your yard buried with leaves this fall? Instead of putting them in your garbage, take them to Garden Perennials where they’ll be turned into compost for plants. Just dump your leaves, but not your bags. Call or visit Gail Korn at Garden Perennials with any questions, 85261 Highway 15, Wayne, NE, (402) 375-3615.

September - Green is Cool at School

How can kids and grown-ups be green at school this fall? Start by greening up your lunches. If you pack a lunch for school (or work), avoid buying food in disposable containers. Not only does the plastic packaging go to waste, but it usually costs more than if you bought the items separately, like cheese and crackers, and just packed them yourself. Also, skip the plastic baggies and rely on reusable containers instead. Last, if you buy your lunch, then order only what you’ll eat, or take leftovers home. Throwing away food is like throwing money out the door!

August - The 3 Rs

Just because it’s the middle of summer, don’t forget to think about your consumption habits and the environment. To help green up your list, just remember the 3 Rs: Reduce, Reuse & Recycle. First, reduce your overall consumption of whatever it is you use. Next, reuse what you have until you wear it out. Last, recycle as much as you can. This includes donating, selling or trading in what you no longer use. These three Rs will help you live the green path to the good life all year!

July - Wayne Grow an Extra Row!

This summer, join gardeners across the nation in donating fresh produce from your garden to our local food pantries. While picking your produce, set aside a bag of beans, a few tomatoes, a bag of lettuce or spinach, cucumbers, squash, anything fresh from the garden. Bring your garden produce to the Food Pantry at the First Presbyterian Church, Wednesday-Friday, 8:30-11:30 am, or to the First United Methodist Church Food Pantry on the 4th Saturday morning of each month. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but if everyone does it, it will add up fast. Thanks for growing that extra garden row!

June - Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food!

Know your farmer, know your food. The Wayne Farmer’s Market returns Thursday, June 13, on the grounds of the Wayne County Courthouse at 510 Pearl Street, offering fresh seasonal produce, artisan breads, baked goods, jams and jellies, live music and much more. Open Thursdays 4-7 pm, and Saturdays 9 am-noon, through October. Bring your reusable shopping bag and check out the Wayne Farmer’s Market this summer!

May - Electronics Be Gone

Thanks to our community for a great show of support at the 4th Annual Wayne Green Expo last month. We had an amazing turnout for the electronics recycling, collecting over 12,000 pounds of old electronics! More than half of the DataShield truck was filled with monitors and TVs, so all of the hazardous chemicals inside them will stay out of the landfill. If you still have old electronics you wish to safely dispose of, there is another e-Scrap recycling event in Norfolk on May 4, Saturday, 8-11 a.m. in the Vulcraft parking lot. All electronics and scrap metal will be accepted free of charge.

April - 4th Annual Green Expo

Go green this spring by attending the City of Wayne’s 4th Annual Green Expo, Saturday, April 20th, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the Wayne City Auditorium.

This year’s Green Expo has lots to offer our community, with great food, activities for kids, green door prizes, and earth-friendly tips for cleaning your home, taking care of your baby, gardening and more.

March - Spring Cleaning

Ready for spring cleaning? Start with cleaning out your closets, cabinets and shelves. Create piles of things you want to keep and donate. For your donations, there are lots of options in Wayne, such as the Coat Closet or Goodwill. Just pick your favorite charity. You can also consider reselling your unwanted yet usable items at a consignment shop. Finally, you can regift to a friend or family member you know would appreciate your old shirt, table or plates. One person’s "junk" is another person’s treasure. Happy cleaning!

February - Love of Water
This Valentine’s Day, try showing your love for water by conserving it inside the home. Three easy places to start are kitchen, laundry and bath, which together make up more than 50% of home water use.

When washing dishes by hand, don’t let the water run while rinsing.
Use your dishwasher and washing machine only with full loads.
Turn off the water while brushing your teeth.

Easiest of all, repair any leaky faucets and toilets, and install low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators. These tips will not only save water, but will save you money on your utility bill.

January - Green Resolutions

Ready for your New Year’s resolutions? Don’t forget to think about your consumption habits and the environment. To help green up your list, just remember the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse & Recycle. First, reduce your overall consumption of whatever it is you use. Next, reuse what you have until you wear it out. Last, recycle as much as you can. This includes donating, selling, or trading in what you no longer use. These three Rs will help you live the green path to the good life in the new year!

2012 Green Notes