Composting
- The nearest DPW drop-off site in Ward 3 is the Cleveland Park Farmers Market.
Other drop-off sites can be found at https://zerowaste.dc.gov/foodwastedropoff - For home/office pick-up services, see Compost Cab at https://compostcab.com and Compost Crew at http://compostcrew.com
- For composting at your home, see https://learn.eartheasy.com/guides/composting/
Landscaping
Homeowners can do a lot to improve our sustainable environment while enhancing their homes. Planting native plants and trees, landscaping to absorb water runoff, and avoiding use of gas-powered garden equipment.
- Dumping of yard waste is a serious problem at Reservation 630 West at Reno Road between Rodman and Tilden. Communicate to your vendors that they are not allow to dump in our local National Parks.
- Use electric garden equipment. DC law prohibits gas-powered leaf blowers as of January 1, 2022. High quality electric lawnmowers, leaf blowers and weed-wackers are available with interchangeable batteries. They are powerful, relatively quiet, and affordable. Require your landscape maintenance crew to upgrade their equipment and to collect debris with rakes and brooms. Removing every fallen leaf doesn’t have to happen every week; your crew can remove Fall leaves twice a month instead.
- Take advantage of DC’s RiverSmart programs and incentives to install green landscape infrastructure. See https://doee.dc.gov/riversmart
- DC’s extensive tree canopy that reduces CO2 and cools our city needs constant support. Maintain trees on you property, water street trees during droughts, and plant more trees if you have the space. Casey Trees will offset your planting cost – see https://caseytrees.org/resources/tree-rebate/
Guide to Going Green at Home
- A money saving guide to going green at home –
- https://couponfollow.com/research/home-green-guide
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Our global environment is infected by unnecessary waste. Plastic waste occupies thousands of acres of global seas. We can reduce our contribution to this impact by avoiding purchase of plastic containers, reusing as much as possible, and recycling.
- DC regulations for recycling are here: https://dpw.dc.gov/node/418912. Remember that no plastic bags (plastic film) should be in your recycle bin.
- Consider joing a Facebook-based Buy Nothing group. There is a Cleveland Park/McLean Gardens Buy nothing group- enter your address to find out if you live in the parameters. https://www.facebook.com/groups/3159733301015153
Connect with Parks and Environmental Groups
- Rock Creek Conservancy offers frequent opportunities to learn about Rock Creek Park, enjoy it, and work to enhance it. See https://www.rockcreekconservancy.org
- Tregaron Conservancy maintains historic woodland landscape. https://tregaron.org/.
Connect with CPCA’s Sustainability Fair Group
On April 13, 2019, CPCA hosted a Sustainability Fair at the Cleveland Park Library. Tables staffed by DC government agencies and non-profits introduced neighbors to an array of opportunities to affect our environment. Here is the list of participating organizations and their websites:
- DC Department of Energy and the Environment https://doee.dc.gov
- DC Department of Public Works https://dpw.dc.gov/service/recycling-collection
- DC Riversmart Program https://doee.dc.gov/riversmart
- UDC College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES) https://www.udc.edu/causes/causes/about-causes/
- DC State Fair https://dcstatefair.org
- Nuts for Natives https://nutsfornatives.com
- Love and Carrots https://www.loveandcarrots.com/
- Beyond Pesticides https://www.beyondpesticides.org
- Cleveland Park Farmers Market https://www.freshfarm.org/markets/cleveland-park
- Compost Crew http://compostcrew.com/
- Surfriders Foundation https://dc.surfrider.org/
- Solar United Neighbors of DC https://www.solarunitedneighbors.org/dc/
- Citizens Climate Lobby https://citizensclimatelobby.org/chapters/DC_Washington/