Recycling

The first Earth Day was celebrated April 22, 1970. Across the United States, more than 20 million people participated. It is anticipated that this year’s 40th anniversary events will be commemorated by more than 1 billion people worldwide. Did you realize that using your library is one of the greenest things you can do? Where else can you pick up books, movies and music in one stop? Where else can you get a free canvas bag to check out so that you can carry your items?

A Costa Mesa homeless man who has filed a claim against the city of Newport Beach doesn’t want any monetary compensation after aluminum cans and other recyclables he had collected were snatched from a local beach. He just wants a note from a police officer stating he can comb through trash cans for plastic and glass. Eugene Edward Howard III filed a claim last week that three Newport Beach Police officers were called to the front steps of City Hall, 3300 Newport Blvd.

Contributed by Jon Batarse St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church is hosting a community Shred and Recycle Day this Saturday from 9am to1pm. This is a free event! 600 St. Andrews Rd, Newport Beach, 92663 The limit to be shred is 6 file boxes of papers per household, with no limit on your e-waste. Shredding: Secure and complete document destruction. Shredded on-site at St. Andrew's No need to remove paper clips, rubber bands or staples E-Waste: Bring your computers, cables, shredders, printers, copy machines, speakers, calculators, electronic components, fax machines, recorders, computer monitors, batteries, scanners, stereo systems, cell phones, circuit boards, routers, cameras, radios, televisions.

The back fence in Corona del Mar resident Claudia Schmutzler’s yard is a living art gallery of staghorn ferns. The exotic ferns, which don’t require soil and get moisture from the air, explode like pieces of 3-D art from recycled picture frames Schmutzler hung on her fence. She got the idea after her dog, a springer spaniel named Russell, sniffed out an old picture frame that someone had thrown out in the trash one day. Since then, she’s hunted down old picture frames at yard sales to add to her collection, or made her own using scraps of wood.

Got an old computer monitor or empty toner cartridges lying around the house? Bring them to the Newport Beach Country Club this weekend and receive two complimentary passes to watch some of golf’s past greats compete in the Toshiba Classic. The second annual Toshiba Swing for the Green recycling event provides the community a free and easy way to dispose of electronic waste. Such items include old laptops, camcorders, fax machines, VCRs ore cellular phones. For a full list of acceptable items, visit www.toshibaclassic.

The 2009 Toshiba Classic is going green on the green. The Toshiba “Swing for the Green” Recycling Event, in its second year, will provide the community a free and easy way to responsibly dispose of e-waste. As a thank you, everyone who participates by bringing in an item for recycling will receive two complimentary admission tickets good for any one day of the tournament. Patrons are encouraged to bring their outdated electronic equipment between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Friday through March 8 at the main admission gate at the Newport Beach County Club and Newport Dunes.

The Pacific Symphony’s newest donor, Chrissa Beilby, had a prime seat for rehearsals Wednesday afternoon. Perched behind harpist Mindy Ball, she grinned as the orchestra roared through portions of Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker,” even making motions along with the young ballet dancers. No, Chrissa isn’t your average donor. The 6-year-old student at an Irvine Jewish day school, who donated $37.30, collected every cent herself, crushing cans and returning 10% of the recycling money to a traditional tzedakah box, which holds money for charitable purposes, grandfather John Beaver said.

Costa Mesa housing developer Steve Jones is all about recycling. He fashioned his business cards from a deck of playing cards with a sticker on one side advertising his housing business, Bettershelter. The eco-friendly landscaping for Bettershelter’s latest venture, a quasi-village of 12 bungalows in Eastside Costa Mesa, was just going into the ground Wednesday. Bettershelter is hosting a launch party at 6 tonight for 12@Elden, 2381 Elden Ave., a remodeled condominium complex targeted at the young, cool and environmentally conscious home buyer.

Got some old tires in the garage you want to get rid of? The Costa Mesa Sanitary District and Costa Mesa are teaming up for a used tire collection to recycle them. You can drop off the used tires from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the city’s corporation yard, which is across the street from Estancia High School, 2300 Placentia Ave. Unmounted and mounted tires will be accepted for no charge. Recyclers can use the material for playground coverings for local schools or for road paving.

Bernie Jimenez spends the first Saturday of every month with his daughter driving around Costa Mesa in his sport utility vehicle, collecting bottles and cans from his neighbors and taking them to the OCC Recycling Center. He takes the money he makes from the pounds of glass and aluminum he recycles and uses it to buy supplies for parents who just had a child diagnosed with cancer. According to Jimenez, the first two weeks after having a kid diagnosed with the disease are the hardest on parents because their lives are thrust into upheaval with no warning.