Hey, I just got Volume 30 of “For Land’s Sake”, Charleston County Solid Waste’s Spring/Summer 2007 newsletter, and I read the whole thing. Good stuff. Here’s some notes:

What I liked…

• The new “Curbside Recycling Calendar” was a long time coming - thank-you. It features a zone map of pickup days, scheduled holidays and make-up days, and a cut-out-and-stick-on-fridge friendly layout.
• The section on page 8 that displays what can and cannot be recycled is well done and important.
• Home composting is featured with some general info, tips, and an invite to a free workshop.
• I like seeing corporate sponsorship of things like this. Please, keep helping.

What I thought could be better…

• The centerfold map on page 6-7 is nice, but it fails in one critical area - the dots on the map can’t be matched to the listed sites and addresses. This is a bizarre oversight. Fix it.
• More information is needed on what is included in the “paperboard packaging containers” category. We’ve really been trying to be good about this around the house, and I’m afraid that we are taking it too far. It seams like more things than just cereal and cracker boxes are made out of this stuff, but that’s all they ever show.
• It’s unclear who the publication is from. Is it from Charleston County Solid Waste, The Waste Department, Charleston County Recycling, or The Recycling Center? I’m not sure.

What I learned…

• The Recycling Center is really good with community outreach and education. They seem to be everywhere.
• They encourage the tracking of recycling rates at a neighborhood level. I like this…data!
• They have people you can call to report eyesores and nuisances. Who knew?

I really do love this zine, and think its mission is an important one. Tomorrow morning when I drive to work, I’m going to see people who don’t know any better putting unflattened cardboard boxes filled with dead house plants and newspaper out with the trash. People need help…they need the information. That’s the goal of this newsletter, and that’s the goal of this site.