Is it just me or has Halloween become a
“bigger holiday” in recent years? The decorations available
today are very cool and it seems like more people decorate their
homes. I remember visiting Massachusetts right before Halloween
about 10 years ago and being amazed at the number of homes
decorated. Is California following the East Coas
t?
Is it just me or has Halloween become a “bigger holiday” in recent years? The decorations available today are very cool and it seems like more people decorate their homes. I remember visiting Massachusetts right before Halloween about 10 years ago and being amazed at the number of homes decorated. Is California following the East Coast?
One thing that hasn’t changed is that most kids get a new costume every year. This, of course, means that there are lots of old costumes taking up room in closets around town. Before this becomes a problem of epic proportions (wink, wink) – your dedicated local Environmental Programs Division is proud to announce our first – ever – Halloween costume collection. This event is very simple. You bring in your gently used but no longer needed Halloween costumes to the Community and Cultural Center. We will package them up and deliver them to Community Solutions. They will store them until next year and make them available to needy families.
We will be collecting costumes at the Community and Cultural Center from Nov. 1-5. The Center is open on Mondays and Fridays from 8am-5pm and on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8am-8pm. Look for the orange collection can near the Center Office. Thanks for being eco-conscientious and I hope that you and your family have a fun-filled and safe Halloween.
Eco-Fact of the Week: Fall is a great time to think about composting. In case you haven’t ever thought of it, your pumpkins (without candles) should certainly be placed in your yard trimmings collection cart for composting. You may want to cover them will leaves or grass clippings – though it isn’t necessary. In addition, you may besieged with leaves about now. If there are too many for your yard trimmings bin, here are some options:
• You can place leaves in normal 32-gallon trash cans if you place the cans with leaves next to your yard trimmings cart and away from your garbage. Extra cans cannot weigh more than 50 pounds each. Remember, garbage drivers cannot take yard trimmings.
• If you run out of extra cans, remember that you can place garbage in a plastic bag, but you can’t place leaves in a plastic bags since the plastic will not compost.
• Leaves are great to use as a mulch in various locations in the landscape and can be very helpful in protecting sensitive plants during hard freezes. I often stockpile some in the fall for use during the winter. For those of us who are home composters, leaves are great to use in the winter to cover food scraps in the compost bin since there are often no grass clippings to be found in winter.
Anthony Eulo is a program administrator for the City of Morgan Hill who will soon be contributing some gently used costumes at the CCC. He appreciates greatly the ongoing assistance and partnership of staff from the Community and Cultural Center. He welcomes your questions, comments, and thoughts and can be reached at en*****@************ca.gov or 779-7247.
