San Anselmo: Volunteer Opportunities, Green Waste, Refuse Service Options, and MMWD

Volunteers Needed

Volunteers are needed for the Library Parcel Tax Oversight Committee.  The purpose of the oversight committee is to ensure transparency and accountability to the voters by reviewing the collection and expenditure of Library tax revenues.  There are three seats available for terms of three years.  The group meets twice a year to review the library budget.

For more information or an application, go to: http://www.townofsananselmo.org/index.aspx?nid=175 or contact Carla Kacmar at ckacmar@townofsananselmo.org or 258-4691.  Applications for these openings should be submitted by Friday, February 28, 2014.

Green Waste

At the meeting of Tuesday, February 25, the Town Council will hear a presentation from Marin Sanitary on the Green Waste program.  If you are interested in hearing more about the green waste carts and possible service changes in the future, please come to the meeting.  It will be held in the Council Chambers and will begin at 7 p.m.

The key points to the presentation are that the currently accepted personal cans for green waste:

• Contribute to workers compensation claims and worker injuries.
• Hinder conversion to the new style automated collection systems.
• Contribute to higher costs.

Food Scraps in the Green Can

Marin Sanitary Service has a great residential food scrap composting program.  Following is the list of acceptable food scraps:

Meat and poultry                    Vegetables                              Napkins                                  

Dairy products                                    Egg shells                                Waxed paper and waxed cardboard

Cooking oils & grease             Coffee grounds                       Paper towels

Fats                                          Pizza boxes                              Paper plates

Fruit

Here are the items that are not compostable:

Non-organic items                  Foil                                          Hazardous waste

Liquids or juices                      Animal waste                          Motor oil

Glass                                        Styrofoam                               Milk or beverage cartons

Plastic                                      Diapers

It’s easy.  Just designate a “Food Compost” container for your kitchen, post the list of acceptable food scraps, empty it often into your green can, and remember to put your green can out by the curb every week.

Refuse Service Options

Marin Sanitary provides lifeline service to customers with financial need. To qualify, customers must meet the following requirements:

1.      Must be enrolled in the PG&E CARE residential program.  Here is the link to the PG&E program:

http://www.pge.com/myhome/customerservice/financialassistance/care/singlefamily/

2.      Must have no larger than a 32 gallon garbage container.

Once you have proof of enrollment in PG&E CARE program, you can notify Marin Sanitary at 415-456-2601. This will give you a reduction in the cost of garbage service.  Please call Marin Sanitary if you have questions about the program.

MMWD News

MMWD encourages all water users to voluntarily cut their water usage by 25 per cent immediately to help preserve our existing supply.  Any mandatory rationing plan will be based on water consumption prior to 2014, so cutting back now will not result in any kind of penalty should mandatory rationing be enacted on April 1.  Rationing baselines will most likely be based on an average of several years’ use.

MMWD is in the process of finalizing the specifics of a rationing plan.  The District’s goals are to create a plan that is fair to the extent possible, understandable, practical to administer and attains the level of water savings needed.

Here are MMWD’s top three recommendations for reducing water consumption:

1. Turn off your irrigation system and water plants only as needed.
2. Fix dripping faucets, running toilets and other leaks.  Based on the experience of MMWD’s conservation staff working in the field, about one third of homes have undetected water leaks.
3. Replace your high-water-use toilets, clothes washers and irrigation controllers with new water-efficient models and get a rebate from MMWD.

For more information and conservation tips, go to http://www.marinwater.org/controller?action=menuclick&id=257.

Quote of the Week

Rain, Rain, Come and Play – We wait for you every day!

-Linda,  Linda’s Flower Box.

San Anselmo News, published weekly on Fridays, is available at the San Anselmo Town Hall, Library, and on the Public Notice Bulletin Board. It is also available on the Town’s website, www.townofsananselmo.org, and by email subscription.