(originally sent May 7, 2012)
PEDAL PEOPLE NEWS MAY 2012 Contents: * Pedal People Rock - International Year of Cooperatives photo and video contest * Hazardous waste collection day, Saturday May 19th * Northampton bike breakfast and bike to work day Wednesday May 16th * Reuse and recycling rally, Saturday June 2nd * Help us keep compost bins happy ** PEDAL PEOPLE ROCK ** 2012 has been recognized as the International Year of Cooperatives by the United Nations. This is an acknowledgement by the international community that co-operatives drive the economy, respond to social change, are resilient to the global economic crisis and are serious, successful businesses creating jobs in all sectors. The My Coop Rocks photo and video contest celebrates the International Year of Cooperatives and Pedal People and Valley Green Feast are participating. Please take a second to vote for us! We could both win cash prizes. You can vote for us once each day, and voting ends at the end of May. Browse the other photos and videos to be inspired by all of the awesome coops represented and feel proud to be a Pedal People customer. Vote for our photo at: http://mycooprocks.coop/entries/pedal-people-rock/ And vote for Valley Green Feast's video at: http://mycooprocks.coop/entries/valley-green-feast-a-journey-of-food-access/ ** HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION DAY ** Every year the City of Northampton offers a chance for its residents to dispose of many hazardous materials banned from the usual waste stream. This year, the date is set for May 19th from 9am to noon at the Smith Vocational High School. This event is free but you must register, and you may do so by calling the Department of Public Works at 413-587-1059. The deadline for registration is Thursday, May 10th at noon. This year, for the first time, you can hire Pedal People to pick up your hazardous waste. No registration is required if we bring your waste for you. This service is not limited to our current customers. Please call 413-586-8591 or email us for pricing details. We will pick items up either Friday, May 18th or Saturday, May 19th. More information: http://74.94.173.233/DPW/landfill/HazMat.pdf ** NORTHAMPTON BIKE BREAKFAST AND BIKE TO WORK DAY ** The week of May 14th-20th is Bay State Bike Week, an annual celebration of human powered, two-wheeled transportation. Many towns throughout the state are putting on events such as organized rides, film screenings, bike breakfasts and more. Our biggest event in Northampton is the Bike Breakfast and Bike to Work Day, which will take place on Wednesday, May 16th from 7 to 10am on the Courthouse lawn. This is always a fun event with free food, coffee, live music, and a raffle to benefit MassBike. Join us for breakfast, then bike to work if you are able! http://baystatebikeweek.org/ ** REUSE AND RECYCLING RALLY ** Also at the Smith Vocational High School, the DPW is sponsoring a Re-use and Recycling Rally for Northampton residents and businesses on Saturday June 2nd from 9am to noon. They will be accepting a variety of items for reuse and recycling that aren't accepted at the transfer station including: bulky rigid plastics, building materials, textiles, styrofoam, three R's packaging, and bicycles. This is a great opportunity to help keep useful items out of the landfill, and we applaud the DPW for putting on this event! If you can't make the event but have items to contribute, you can hire us to bring items to this event as well. More information: http://www.northamptonma.gov/dpw/uploads/listWidget/11062/back%20cover%20for%20website.pdf ** HELP US KEEP COMPOST BINS HAPPY ** Just a reminder - we really appreciate it when our customers line their compost buckets with paper bags. This keeps your compost bin cleaner and prevents old compost from building up on the bottom of the tub - yuck! Make your Pedal Person happy - use a paper bag in your compost bucket! Thank you.