Welcome to the February 2009 Edition of the City of Fort Wayne’s Green City email newsletter.

Dear Green City Subscribers:

It has been a pleasure to bring you this newsletter over the past year and a half.  I have now transitioned into my new role as the City’s Program Manager of the Biosolids, Lime and Yard Waste Handling Facility at 6202 Lake Avenue.

At the facility we capture waste streams from the Water Filtration and Water Pollution Control Plants and turn them into soil amendments that are beneficial to the earth.  These are free of charge to those residents who want to load it themselves, or we charge a nominal fee to load it for you.  We also accept yard waste and brush for a nominal fee and turn that into mulch which is also given away to residents.

This will be my last time writing the Green City Newsletter.  I have appreciated all of your feedback and readership over this time.  I wish all of you a continuing greener path.  Thank you.

Sincerely,
Nicholas Harter

----------------------------------------------

This edition of the Green City email newsletter contains:

*Green Tip of the Month

*Pay Bills the Green Way 

----------------------------------------------

*Green Tip of the Month

This Valentine’s Day, when millions of roses and other cut flowers and delivered all over the U.S. , think about what happens to them when they are done blooming.  Do you just throw them in the trash?

Cut flowers and other nitrogen rich items like food waste, break down in the landfill, creating methane and other harmful gases.  These gases cause global climate change over time.

Instead of throwing them away, consider starting a compost pile in your backyard.  Composting is easy and provides beneficial nutrients back into your lawn and garden.  According to the U.S. Composting Council, about 40% of what we throw away can be composted.  That’s a staggering amount of waste being diverted from the landfill.

For more information on composting and how to build a compost bin, visit: http://igniteindiana.org/articles/composting.htm
----------------------------------------------

*Pay Bills the

By Caitlin Gossman
 

The average household receives 20 bills per month. That’s a lot of paper! By simply paying your bills online you can help the environment by cutting down on paper waste as well as save time, money, and energy. Paying your bills online is even more secure than paying by mail!

Save Money

Most banks offer free online banking. By paying your bills online you won’t have to pay for stamps or envelopes. You can even save a check. A typical family can save $80 or more per year by simply paying bills online!
 
Save Time
Online bill paying can take less than 5 minutes! You can pay your bills by simply logging into your online bank account and transferring money. Some banks even offer automatic bill paying. This way you don’t even have to log into your account to pay your bills, your bank automatically transfers money from your account to pay your bills for you!

Improve Security
Identity theft is at a high these days. By utilizing online bill paying you can help decrease your risks of being a victim. Identity thieves steal check books, checks, bank statements, and bills – online bill paying eliminates all of these sources, thus preventing identity theft.

Help the Environment

Paying your bills online saves trees, water, and reduces fuel consumption! You can help save thousands of trees used to produce paper as well as billions of gallons of waste water that is produced while making paper each year. Fewer envelopes to pick up and mail means less fuel consumed and leads to less greenhouse gas and fuel emissions.
 
Put a Stop to Junk Mail

The junk mail industry destroys about 100 million trees each year! The production and disposal of junk mail consumes more energy than 3 million cars! Putting an end to obnoxious junk mail can help put an end to this destruction of trees and energy consumption. It’s simple! You can choose the mail you receive by contacting the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and registering in their Mail Preference Service. Adding your name to the do-not-mail list is easy. - You can register online at www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailinglist or download a mail-in form.

----------------------------------------------

Thank you very much for being a subscriber to our Green City email newsletter.  We hope this has been helpful and informative to you.

We will contact you once per month with the email newsletter, as well as on Air Quality Action Days to alert you when air conditions indicate you need to take action.

If you would like to suggest topics or articles to include in monthly email newsletters, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Please pass this email newsletter on to your friends and family, so that everyone can share in the knowledge and have an impact on reducing energy consumption.

Sincerely,

Nicholas Harter

Program Manager

Energy & Environmental Services

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Visit the City’s Energy & Environmental Services Website: http://www.cityoffortwayne.org/energy

To unsubscribe from the list permanently visit:

http://www.cityoffortwayne.org/greencity_signup

Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.