Every Day is Earth Day, Especially in April
Five great opportunities to reduce, reuse, recycle and revel this month in and around Park Hill
By Erin Vanderberg, Editor
Spring has sprung and the world again turns green – April is perhaps the perfect month to celebrate the Earth. These five events provide Park Hill neighbors the opportunity to organize community cleanups, celebrate Earth Day in our nearby natural areas, recycle electronics, sell unused items at the Community Garage Sale and collect free mulch for sprouting young gardens.
Pitch-in for the Great Denver Clean-Up
Denver Solid Waste Management’s Keep Denver Beautiful program will host the 2013 Great Denver Cleanup on April 6, offering free hauling from five drop sites, including Fred Thomas Park and East High School, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Acceptable items to drop include: mattresses, carpet, lawn mowers, yard debris, small appliances, scrap metal, barbecue grills, bikes, toys, swing sets, slides, household furniture, outdoor furniture and electronics excluding televisions. Unacceptable items include: televisions, tree stumps, railroad ties, soil or sod, demolition debris, tires, auto parts, fireplace or barbecue ashes, appliances with Freon, construction materials, branches over 4’ long or 4” in diameter and hazardous waste like oil, paint, batteries, etc.
The Great Denver Clean-up is not limited to one day; the Keep Denver Beautiful program offers free cleanup supplies to individuals and community groups organizing neighborhood cleanups while supplies last. Visit the website to apply for free supplies or call GPHC to pick up supplies for neighborhood cleanups.
denvergov.org/kdb
Race For Open Space 5K & Earth Day Festival
Two great nature areas just east of Park Hill have teamed up to host the Race for Open Space 5K Walk/Run and Earth Day Festival on Saturday, April 20 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The entirely off-road 5K course will wind along the Sand Creek Regional Greenway through Denver and Aurora, and finish with a loop around Bluff Lake. The race will include prizes for best costumes, largest teams, biggest pledge-earners and fastest runners.
Following the race, Earth Day festivities include live music, food trucks, environmental crafts and games, and a live raptor presentation. $25 early-bird race registration, $5 suggested festival donation. All proceeds will benefit the two organizations, funding public recreation and natural areas in Aurora and Denver, as well as important environmental education programs for urban youth.
sandcreekrregionalgreenway.org
Eco-rally Electronics Recycling
Beginning July 1, it becomes illegal for Colorado residents to dispose of electronic materials in landfills. While electronics recyclers, like Metech Recycling, are open throughout the year and many manufacturers will take their goods back for recycling, this one-day event taking place Saturday, April 27, allows Denver residents to recycle electronics at $5 per carload. The reservation-only event, hosted by Denver Recycles, Comcast, the University of Denver’s Center for Sustainability and Metech Recycling, takes place at the DU campus in the parking lot located just north of the intersection of Buchtel and South Josephine. Appointment times are from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The $5 participation fee includes recycling the first two “screens” (televisions, monitors and/or laptops) and all other electronics; additional screens accepted at $5 each. No commercial or business electronic devices will be accepted.
Acceptable items include televisions, monitors, CPUs, laptops, printers, scanners, faxes, keyboards, mice, stereos, external hard drives and storage devices, cellular phones, telephones, DVRs, VCRs, digital cameras, video recorders, MP3 players, wires, cables and some small appliances such as microwaves. Not accepted are: air conditioners, large appliances, vacuum cleaners, car batteries or household batteries (rechargeable batteries are okay).
denvergov.org/ecorally
Park Hill Community Garage Sale
The first-ever Park Hill Community Garage Sale, taking place April 27 from 8 a.m. to noon, is a great way to reduce and reuse household items in exchange for another kind of green. Get your block involved and meet some neighbors. Register your home by sending your name, address, email and top three items you are selling to gphcyardsale@ymail.com or by calling 303-913-5858. Participants will receive a garage sale kit and be set-up on the GPHC Garage Sale Google map. After the sale, The Epilepsy Foundation of Colorado will pick up any unsold items you would like to donate from your home starting at 12:30 p.m. Your donations of clothing and household items raise money to support programs and services to assist Coloradoans with epilepsy. To have them pickup on Saturday, please call 303-428-5600 or register online at donatecolorado.org.
Don’t have anything to sell? Then enjoy a Saturday morning exploring Park Hill while shopping for some great deals. Homes participating in the garage sale will be posted at bitly.com/gphcyardsale2013. This event is sponsored by your local real estate agents from Cherry Creek Properties LLC and by the Greater Park Hill Community.
gphcyardsale@ymail.com or 303-913-5858
Mulch Giveaway
& Compost Sale
On Saturday, May 4, Denver Recycles, Denver Parks and Recreation and A1 Organics host their annual Free Mulch Giveaway & Compost Sale. Denver residents can load up on free wood mulch and purchase discounted compost at Havana Nursery, 10450 Smith Road, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. while supplies last. Options include pre-bagged compost for purchase or loader service on mulch and compost. Bagged compost will be sold at $3.50 for 1.25 cubic foot bags and in bulk at $30 per cubic yard (tax included). Residents collecting only a few bags are advised to arrive after 11 a.m. when lines are shorter. Also at the Havana Nursery, Garden Centers of Colorado will accept plastic garden pots of any size or color, hanging baskets (with wires removed), carrying trays and flower pack holders. In addition, dig-your-own mulch events are available at four locations throughout the city, including Fred Thomas Park; bring your own shovels, pitchforks, bags and/or tarps.
Mulch for the event was made from holiday trees set out for Denver Recycles’ Treecycle program, as well as city storm debris branches. Compost for the event was made from leaves collected through Denver Recycles’ LeafDrop program.
denvergov.org/denverrecycles