MBTA Hosting Huge Recycling Event at the Watertown Bus Yard

Bring your electronics, appliances, clothes, metal and more to the event on May 11.

  The MBTA will host a recycling event where residents can bring a wide variety of items, including electronics, metal, clothes and much more. The event will be at the Watertown Bus Yard, at Galen and Water streets in Watertown, on Saturday, May 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Residents of all towns are welcome, according to an information poster from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Items taken at the event will not end up in landfill, according to the MassDOT. Televisions cost 35 cents per pound to recycle, and everything else will be accepted for free, according to the announcement. Here are items that will be accepted:             Items that will NOT be accepted: wood, glass, hazardous materials, paint, tires, liquids, …

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Save Energy, Money By Insulating Your Home

Sealing windows and adding insulation to your home can take as much as 30 percent off your heating bill, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Clear Out your Medicine Cabinet at Needham Police Station

Needham Police announce Medicine Take Back day, April 27.

  If you have any old meds in your cabinet, this weekend is the time to get rid of them. Make sure you don't have anything expired, and ensure your old pills or syrups in the back don't make it into the wrong hands accidentally. An announcement on the town website says there is a collection of unused and expired medications in the driveway of the Needham Police Department, 99 School St. Stop by any time between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Some time today, the announcement reccomends you check the expiration dates on any medications you have at home: over the counter, prescription, cough and cold, etc. However, they do not accept needles, thermometers, medical waste or illicit drugs.  If you can’t make it to the disposal event, there is always a box…

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Save Energy, Money By Insulating Your Home

Sealing windows and adding insulation to your home can take as much as 30 percent off your heating bill, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Time is money, the old adage goes, but so is a well-winterized house. Stopping air leakages can take as much as 30 percent off your heating bill, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The Needham Green Collaboration has resources and references for energy audits.  After you check with them, check out these three tips for closing up air leaks around your home:

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Massachusetts Limits Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Power Plants

The commonwealth joins eight other states in restricting carbon dioxide emissions.

Massachusetts officials have signed an agreement with eight other states to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 90 million tons over the next six years. As part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) – the nation’s first mandatory “cap-and-trade” program for carbon dioxide emissions – Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont are lowering the current  cap on power plant emissions from the 165  to 91 million tons per year, starting in 2014. After 2020, the cap will continue to lower by 2.5 percent per year.   “This is one of the largest greenhouse gas reduction measures that we have seen,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rick Sullivan.  The RGGI Board of …

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20 Ways to Go Green in 2013 in Needham

If your New Year's resolution is to live a greener lifestyle, check out these 20 tips to help you stick to your plan.

20 Ways to Go Green in 2013 in Needham

If your New Year's resolution is to live a greener lifestyle, check out these 20 tips to help you stick to your plan.

If you want to be kinder to the planet and save some money at the same time, here are 20 ways to go green in 2013. TELL US: Do you think you could stick to a green New Year's resolution? Share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments sections below.

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Needhamites Recognized for Energy Saving Efforts

The Green Needham Collaborative held a ceremony on Oct. 12 at Town Hall.

Submitted The Green Needham Collaborative wrapped up its 10 percent Energy Challenge campaign with the presentation of a brass plaque at Needham’s Powers Hall on Friday, Oct. 12. The plaque honors the town of Needham for its sustainability accomplishments and lists 32 local businesses, organizations and schools that have shown an outstanding commitment to cutting energy use. The plaque, which will be displayed in a glass case on the first floor of Town Hall, was unveiled by Selectman Jerry Wasserman and fourth grader Jack Gordon, a member of Eliot School’s Green Kids Team. Forty people attended the ceremony, including state and town officials, as well as representatives of the local schools, organizations, businesses and houses of worship …

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Green Tips

Why Processed Foods Are Bad For You

Processed foods are foods that have been altered from their natural states in order to extend their shelf life. They are often poor quality and usually cheap.

Processed foods are foods that have been altered from their natural states in order to extend their shelf life. Many foods that come in a box, can, bag or carton are processed. They are often poor quality and usually cheap. About 90 percent of the money Americans spend on food is used to buy “edible foodlike substances” as Michael Pollen, author of "The Omnivore’s Dilemma," calls them. Processed foods have been implicated in most of today’s chronic diseases and health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. What makes processed foods so bad? Many processed foods contain trans fats (or hydrogenated), a dangerous type of fat that raises the bad cholesterol and lowers the good.   Most processed foods are extremely high…

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Green Tips

Shop 'Made in America' This Holiday Season

In these tough economic times, with so many Americans unemployed, consider buying “Made in America” products.

The holidays are fast approaching, and it’s time to start thinking about holiday shopping. In these tough economic times, with so many Americans unemployed, consider buying “Made in America” products. American manufacturing companies have been especially affected by the economic downturn, and it’s important for each of us to do what we can to help turn this around. Most of our home goods, clothes, shoes, appliances, computers, trinkets, etc. are made in China and other countries. We buy them because not only are they often the only option but also they are cheaper. At what cost, however? Lost jobs here in America? Products made in sweatshops using child labor and unfair labor practices? Poor quality? Listed below are several Web sites with…

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