 December 2024
 During the holiday season, Americans generate 20-30% more waste. This includes things like packaging and wrapping paper as well as unwanted electronics and large amounts of uneaten food. While it’s difficult to eliminate holiday waste all together, a handful of small changes each year can add up and go a long way. In many cases it can even help stretch your holiday budget a little further.
- Traditional wrapping paper is not recyclable. Keep it out of your recycling bin along with tape, bows, ribbons, and plastic films. Seek out more recyclable wrapping options.
- When making room for new toys and gadgets, donate what you can before throwing it in the trash.
- Drop off old, broken, or unwanted electronics at an electronics recycling location like the Environmental Center in Chaska.
- Keep tanglers out of your recycling bin. String lights and cords, known as “tanglers” in the recycling industry, cause major issues at recycling facilities. Keep these out of your bin and look for drop off opportunities instead.
- Plan meals ahead of time according to the number of people attending your holiday event. Many tools online, like the Guest-imator from savethefood.com help you decide what to make and determine portion sizes. This is an easy step that will save you money and reduce food waste.
- Try the new Betterbin recycling and composting app to help you with recycling or composting questions. Available free to Carver County residents.
Trying to reduce the amount of waste you and your family create can be difficult at any time during the year, this can be especially true during the busy holiday season. The best way to start is by making a few small changes every year.
The Environmental Center will be accepting real Christmas trees at no charge through March 1, 2025. Real Christmas trees are biodegradable and can be reused or recycled for mulch and other purposes. You can bring trees in during regular hours of operation. Trees must be free of any lights, decorations, tinsel, or flocking. No other forms of yard waste will be accepted. We cannot accept wreaths due to the metal wiring.
Artificial Christmas trees and string lights are accepted at the Environmental Center year-round.
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Volunteer and service-learning opportunity
Spreading salt across roads, sidewalks, and parking lots is a regular practice to maintain public safety in the winter. Unfortunately, the chloride from road salt pollutes our lakes, rivers, and groundwater, harms wildlife, and damages are infrastructure.
When a lake or stream has chloride levels over the state standard for water quality, it is listed as impaired. Over the last 10 years, the land of 10,000 lakes has suffered with the number of chloride impaired waterbodies increasing from 38 to 68, and more impairments surfacing as data becomes available. Chloride is a permanent pollutant. Once in a lake or river, it’s impossible to remove it safely and cost-effectively. The only way to reduce chloride levels in water is to use less salt.
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Join Salt Watch to help us monitor chloride levels in Carver County. The Salt Watch program is a crowd-sourced community science project, focused on mobilizing volunteers across the country to monitor chloride levels in the waters they care about. By signing up you can receive a kit with instructions on how to test your waters. You can test lakes, streams, stormwater ponds, even snowmelt from your property.
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Water Management Plan update
The public comment period is open to review proposed changes to the project list in the Carver County Water Management Plan. The plan was adopted in 2020 and guides decisions for managing and restoring lakes, rivers and wetlands within the Carver County Water Management Organization's boundaries.
The plan directs staff to update the project list (table 5-5) every two years. The project list is used to plan and budget for water management organization levy funded capital projects and grant requests. Maintaining an up-to-date project list puts the organization in a better position when applying for state and other grant funds. The project list was last updated in 2022.
In 2024, County staff worked with Carver Soil & Water Conservation District staff, and city engineering and public works staff to update the project list. The draft list was reviewed by the citizen advisory committee and technical advisory committee who recommended that the proposed changes be released for public comment.
The public comment period is open until 4:30 p.m. on December 19, 2024.
Webinar series hosted by University of Minnesota Extension
Curious about how climate change is affecting pollinators? Wondering how Minnesota’s diverse ecosystems contribute to supporting their habitats? Join us for this engaging webinar series to learn how you can support pollinators in any space—big or small—and help build resilient ecosystems in the face of climate change.
University of Minnesota Extension educators are excited to bring you this webinar series on learning more about our pollinators. This four-part series will cover how the changing climate affects pollinators, the role of pollinators in food production, ideas for establishing pollinator habitat in small spaces and how woodlands can serve as another pollinator habitat.
Join us on Jan. 27, 28, 29 and 30 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. CST for this free webinar.
You must pre-register for this series to receive the Zoom webinar links.
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If you are looking to volunteer your time for water resources, there are two openings on our citizens advisory committee.
Carver County Water Management Organization's citizen advisory committee provides input to staff and makes recommendations to the County Board on water resource policies, projects and programs.
Openings are for citizen representatives from East/West Chaska Creek watershed and Bevens Creek watershed. Check if you live in these watersheds.
Interested candidates can apply online or contact mseveland@carvercountymn.gov or 952-361-1026 to request a paper application. Appointments are made in early January. Submit your application by the end of the year.
No wish-cycling during holiday season
The holiday season brings an abundance of wrapping paper, gift boxes, decorations, and party supplies. Tossing non-recyclable items into the bin hoping they’ll be recycled can contaminate entire batches of recyclables, sending more waste to the landfill during an already waste-heavy season.
Common holiday contamination culprits include shiny or glittery wrapping paper, bows, ribbons, and many plastic packages. Items that are not recyclable should be disposed of in the trash or, better yet, reused. Cardboard boxes, plain wrapping paper, and paper gift bags can usually be recycled, but they must be clean, dry, and free of tape or other accessories.
To reduce holiday waste, opt for reusable gift wrap, fabric bags, or recycled materials for packaging. If you’re unsure of where a package should go, try Carver County’s mobile recycling app: Betterbin.
When it comes to discarding holiday lights, electronics, and batteries—these require special disposal methods, not the recycling bin. Carver County residents can take advantage of the Environmental Center in Chaska, which takes many of these items free of charge.
Avoid wish-cycling and follow proper recycling practices to celebrate the holidays more sustainably.
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