On October 2, the Town of Superior, the Cities of Lafayette and Louisville, and Boulder County Valley School District partnered to host a free event on how we can all create healthy, resilient, and sustainable communities in Boulder County. Residents had the opportunity to shop local, exchange Halloween costumes, recycle small electronics and plastic bags, and more.

The Advisory Committee for Environmental Sustainability (ACES) took the opportunity to talk to our community about the importance of waste reduction during the upcoming holidays. Here are some of the tips shared:

• Replace disposables with reusable plates, cups, cutlery, and napkins. Consider gift-wrapping techniques that reuse materials.
• Try gifting experiences or shared time together to reduce your consumption emissions.
• Create a Center for Hard-to-Recycle Materials (CHaRM) collection box at home with sturdy containers like oatmeal and chip cylinders to collect batteries, scrap metal, broken porcelain, ceramic and glassware, Styrofoam, plastic bags, Amazon blue and white mailers, and other plastic film.

The event highlight for ACES member, Michelle, was the EV Showcase. She took the one-stop opportunity to "sit in EVs without having to travel to dealerships, many of whom don't have the vehicles in stock."

You can learn more about what was offered at the event on the EcoTober event page. Don't worry if you missed this year's event; you'll have another chance next year!

The registration period has closed for Superior’s first Solarize campaign. The outreach campaign, which aims to provide a streamlined process for communities to go solar, was successful in registering over 100 residents and securing approximately 57 kW of contracted solar systems. Community members who participated were eligible for an exclusive program discount from the partnered installer, Custom Solar, and an additional $350 rebate from the Town. 

The program reached over 130 community members through educational outreach throughout the duration of the campaign. Dereck, the first resident to sign a contract with Custom Solar in May, reported that after years of research, the Solarize program gave him the confidence to install solar on his home.

“I have investigated solar several times with multiple companies over the last five years. I never followed through due to lack of confidence in the process, inability to store and use our own collected energy, or the cost. The Solarize Superior program provided more information, collective buying power, and thus a higher level of confidence in the final product than I have had before. We will finally reduce our reliance on grid power with the system we wanted, battery backup, and at a reasonable cost. I look forward to the final result!”

It's that time of year when the leaves drop from deciduous trees. Instead of putting your leaves in the trash, consider helping our planet and our ecosystems by dropping them off at the Town of Superior Yard Waste Drop-Off site at Autrey Park, 2125 Honey Creek Lane.  

Don't forget; you can also drop off your pumpkins at the Yard Waste Drop-Off Site. Remember to remove paint, glitter, and other decorations before composting your pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns.