Sustainable Middleton October 2017

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A Message from the Middleton Sustainability Committee

Hello! You are receiving the Middleton Sustainability Committee's third issue of Sustainable News. The goal of this quarterly newsletter is to ensure that all Middleton residents gain a better understanding of the initiatives that are being undertaken by the City related to sustainability. To continue receiving this newsletter, be sure to subscribe to the City’s Notify Me list for Sustainability/Environmental Education.

Sincerely, Spencer Schumacher, Chair, Kathy Olson, Vice-Chair, JoAnna Richard, Council Representative, Jessica Kim, High School Representative, and members Deb Saeger, Angie Carey, Kris Koenig, Lee Schwartz, Dave Clutter, and Bradley Harris.

Neighborhood Leaf Collection Pilot

Last fall, the City of Middleton, Friends of Pheasant Branch (FOPB), and Madison Area Municipal Stormwater Partnership (MAMSWaP) partnered to bring the City of Middleton Neighborhood Leaf Collection Pilot to residents. The pilot program’s goal was to engage and educate residents in an effort to remove leaves from the street prior to storm events, in an effort to reduce phosphorus dissolved in area water ways. If leaves are left in the street during storm events, water runs through the leaves creating a phosphorous rich ‘leaf tea’, which flows through storm sewers into local waters. This can cause algae blooms that deplete oxygen levels in the water and reduce water clarity.

The City of Middleton urges residents to help alleviate phosphorous in our water ways. You can do this by staying informed on weather alerts and by removing leaves from the street when rain is forecasted. To review the full Neighborhood Leaf Collection Pilot report, visit: http://www.ci.middleton.wi.us/DocumentCenter/View/4860

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Tennis Ball Recycling

Retour Tennis and the City of Middleton now proudly offer tennis ball recycling! In the United States alone, over 125 million tennis balls are sold annually, many of which will enter landfills; to alleviate this waste burden, the City implemented Retour Tennis’ AD-IN Bin. The Bin, located at the Orchid Heights Tennis Court, and can hold up to 200 tennis balls. Once in the AD-IN Bin, tennis balls are processed and mixed with other composites to create recreational surfaces, like playground and sports arena surfaces! Check out the new AD-IN Bin today!

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Battery Collection at the MRC

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The City of Middleton has partnered with Call2Recycle to offer battery recycling at the Middleton Recycling Center! Call2Recycle is a national company that collects old and used batteries, so that they can be ethically and sustainably recycled. This keeps harmful chemicals and heavy metals out of the environment. Call2Recycle accepts rechargeable batteries and single-use batteries. Once placed in collection boxes, the batteries are then mailed back to Call2Recyle headquarters to give used batteries a second life. Valuable metals can be recovered from recycled batteries and turned silverware, pots and pans, new batteries, golf clubs, and more! Recycle your batteries today at the Middleton Recycling Center!

What’s better than single-use batteries? Rechargeable batteries! Rechargeable batteries hold charges longer than single-use batteries and can be used over and over, which save you money, increase energy efficiency, and protect the environment by keeping heavy metals and chemicals out of our landfills. To learn why you should choose rechargeable batteries, visit: http://www.ci.middleton.wi.us/Admin/DocumentCenter/Document/View/4861



Discontinuation of Hard Plastics Recycling at the Middleton Recycling Center (MRC)

Effective immediately, hard plastics recycling will no longer be offered at the Middleton Recycling Center. Due to recycling market changes, hard plastics are no longer able to be recycled at this time at the drop-off facility. Hard plastics include things like toys, laundry baskets, lawn furniture, and more. Curbside cart recycling will not be affected by this change.

What can you do to prevent these products from entering the landfill? Reduce and Re-Use! You can help alleviate plastic in our landfills by reducing the amount of hard plastics you purchase and looking for products made from alternative materials. You can also get creative and find re-use options for your hard plastics. For example, if you have slightly used lawn furniture you are getting rid of, see if any friends or family want it, sell it online, or drop it off at a local charity. Read Middleton’s Trash and Recycling Guide to discover how your trash could become another person’s treasure!


Downtown Middleton Farmers Market

Mark your calendars! There are only a couple of more times for you to stock up on fall treats at the Downtown Middleton Farmers’ Market and the Greenway Station Farmers’ Market. The Downtown Middleton Farmer’s Market is open every Tuesday through mid-October from 2:30pm-6pm at the Terrace Avenue Pavilion (7734 Terrace Avenue), and the Greenway Station Farmer’s Market is open every Thursday through October 5th from 8am-1pm at Greenway Station. Hurry and stock up before the season is over!

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Middleton Station Garden

Middleton’s community gardens have had quite a successful growing season, full of fresh produce and a brand new sign! Middleton Station Community Gardens had a lovely new sign made by fellow gardeners, Greg and Jackie Pavek.

The gardeners favored vertical planting this year, and harvested a lot of beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, fresh flowers, herbs, zucchini, cabbage, and now watermelons and sunflower heads! Middleton Station gardens are located off of South Avenue, next to the Middleton-Cross Plains School District Building, making it an ideal location for community members and families to tour the gardens and marvel at how food grows!

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City Hall's Native Prairie

Have you walked down Hubbard Avenue and noticed the native prairie in front City Hall? These native plantings are a sustainable landscaping effort by the City to improve our environment and showcase the beauty of Wisconsin’s local vegetation. The native prairie is adapted to local environmental conditions, making it a low maintenance landscaping option that will help to conserve water and provide habitat for local wildlife. Next time you walk past City Hall be sure to check out this amazing native prairie!

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Future News

Got a topic you would like to be covered in a future issue of Sustainable News? Contact Abby Attoun, Director of Community Development.