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Green Living

FAQs and video on curbside recycling program
News ImageCurbside recycling is well underway in Lakewood. EDCO Waste and Recycling Services has delivered blue recycling carts to all single-family homes citywide. Click to read FAQs

Recycling collection occurs on each resident’s regular trash day. Click for CityTV video about recycling carts and curbside collection

EDCO trash trucks running on natural gas empty the blue recycling carts and takes the mixed recyclables to a “materials recovery facility” where the recyclables are separated and sorted. Click for video about how EDCO recycles
 

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Green living: Making a sustainable city
News ImageLakewood's green goals reflect the community's need for greenhouse gas reduction, sustainable use of natural resources, and preservation of the environment.

Going green starts with simple things: water conservation, recycling and waste reduction, wise energy use, and caring for the quality of life in your neighborhood.

Follow the link below to a roundup of green living solutions.

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Tax return help available at Weingart Senior Center
News ImageVolunteers will be available this spring at Weingart Senior Center to help low-income families, individuals, seniors and handicapped individuals prepare their basic tax returns.  Appointments are for Mondays and Thursdays. A reservation is required.  To make an appointment, please call 562-630-6141.

Lakewood's Earth Walk, March 20
News ImageThe Lakewood Earth Walk will be held at Lakewood’s rustic Monte Verde Park which is the trailhead to over 3 miles of landscaped walking trails and the San Gabriel River Parkway. Monte Verde Park will host Earth Walk’s interactive experiences for kids and adults on Saturday, March 20 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
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Video: Lakewood ‘bioretention wells’ filter runoff
News Image(Originally published 09/01/2009) Nature is quietly working for a greener Lakewood, filtering runoff along Paramount Boulevard of pollutants, capturing litter, and even adding to the beauty of the city’s “urban forest.”

In addition, the Paramount Boulevard project overlaid the street with rubberized asphalt (which recycled 25,000 used tires into the new paving) and included six solar-powered bus shelters. Click for CityTV video segment
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No drugs down the drain!
News ImageGot any leftover or expired drugs in your medicine cabinet? Most of us do, and the question is how can we dispose of these medicines safely?

Flushing drugs down sinks or toilets is not the answer. While wastewater from indoor plumbing is treated to meet strict regulatory standards before being discharged into the ocean, the wastewater treatment plant cannot filter out or neutralize all medicinal ingredients.

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Arbor Week and Woody celebrate Lakewood’s urban forest
News ImageArbor Week celebrates 20 years of National Arbor Day Foundation recognition of Lakewood as a “Tree City USA” and its management of the community’s urban forest. During Arbor Week sixteen local elementary schools are visited by “Woody the Tree” (Lakewood’s Arbor Day mascot) and his troupe of recreation staffers.

The program teaches youngsters about the important role that trees play in the environment and Lakewood's urban forest of 28,000 trees--with over 3,000 new trees planted since 2005.

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Home energy tool
News ImageThe Home Energy Saver is designed to help consumers identify the best ways to save energy in their homes, and find the resources to make the savings happen.

The tool computes a home's energy use on-line based on methods developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Users can estimate how much energy and money can be saved and how much emissions can be reduced by implementing energy-efficiency improvements. Click to try the home energy tool.
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Source reduction: Reduce, reuse, recycle, re-buy
News ImageNot making waste in the first place is called source reduction. Practices such as double-sided copying and using reusable mugs at work are just two of the many ways we can learn to waste less by producing less waste. Try these additional options for reducing waste at home and at work. 
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City solar system generates 250 kilowatts
News ImageLakewood's largest water reservoir now generates electricity on top of serving the city's water needs--literally. A photovoltaic solar power system covers the reservior roof.

The system provides over 250 kilowatts of electrical energy during daylight hours to power water system pumps. And the solar panels will eliminate the equivalent of 13 million pounds of carbon dioxide fhrom the environment over the system's 30-year life.
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Lakewood: Act Locally


Lakewood goes solar
Lakewood's solar power


Click for R3 recycling maps and links
Greenwaste, grasscycling, composting
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 Electric Mower Exchange Events Flyer from AQMD (220.7 KB)
 Lakewood Composting Bin Flyer 04/2007 (506.4 KB)
R3 Recycling Network, household hazardous and special waste
Lakewood's "R3-Reduce-Reuse and Recycle" forms, workshop information and our comprehensive recycling guide.
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 Battery Recycling Flyer (29 KB)
 Brochure: Los Angeles County Department of Public Works Sharps Waste Collection Program (286.7 KB)
 Buying Recycled - Info-guide (101.1 KB)
 California EPA: Study of NPDES Costs (157.7 KB)
 Directions to Lew Davis HHW Events (44.4 KB)
 Directions to Pico Rivera HHW Events (57.5 KB)
 Donation opportunities for household items--reuse instead of refuse (112.1 KB)
 Lakewood Recycling Guide (599.2 KB)
 Lakewood Recycling Network Locations Matrix (356.9 KB)
Trash collection, curbside recycling
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 FAQs: Curbside Recycling and Automated Collection (162.6 KB)
 Trash Day Changes - FAQs (73.8 KB)