Derry Lions collect 290 lbs. of food; Composting workshop in Cavendish on June 24

Londonderry Area Tri -Mtn Lions Pam Nichols and Pat Glabach are smiling over the 290 pounds of non-perishable foods and personal hygiene products and $475 monetary donations collected at the Food From the Heart drive on Saturday, May 22.

Tri-Mtn Lions Gail Wyman and Randee Keith helped set up the collection area in front of the Londonderry Hardware at 10 a.m. and collected and boxed items generously donated by community members and weekend guests to our area.

The Tri-Mtn Lions thanks all who donated and especially to the folks at Londonderry Hardware who allowed the group to set up in front of the store and to Jamie, who matched the $475 collected.

Proceeds from this drive are divided between Londonderry’s Neighbor’s Pantry and the Winhall Community Center food shelf. If you are interested in becoming a Lion, please email Randee.55@comcast.net

June 24: Composting workshop set for Cavendish, surrounding towns

The Southern Windsor/Windham Counties Solid Waste Management District in conjunction with the Cavendish Energy Committee and the Town of Cavendish will host a workshop specifically about composting at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 24 in the Cavendish Town Elementary School, Main Street, Proctorsville. Masks and physical distancing will be encouraged for all. State regulations on safety will be adhered to.

Effective July 1, 2020 Vermont state law banned food scraps from household trash, with the exception of meat and bones. Residents must recycle by composting their own food waste, or join with others to do so. This rule has existed for several years for restaurants, grocery stores and other food generators. The rules are now mandatory for households, but what  does that mean? And how can we as Vermont residents best comply with the new rules? Composting is easy and beneficial both for the community and for homeowners.

Ham Gillett of the Southern Windsor/Windham Counties Solid Waste Management District will address the aspects of Vermont Act 148 that relate to recycling and the composting of food waste. He will discuss the basics of home composting and the other options available to comply with the law and to keep food scraps out of your trash. These include transfer station drop-off and curbside pick-up. The presentation will last about 45 minutes with plenty of time afterward  for questions about composting and recycling in general.

All attendees will be eligible to win the door prize of a new Soil Saver composter and may order composters for residential use. These bins normally retail for $100 each, but will be available to workshop attendees for $55. Please bring exact change or a check. Credit cards are not accepted. A second drawing will be held for a compost pail, good for kitchen use to gather scraps bound for the composter. These pails will also be for sale at the workshop for $5 each.

Residents of Cavendish and any other town are invited to attend. To sign up for the workshop, or for more information, please email cavendishcommunityconservation@gmail.com. If you’d like to purchase a composter but not attend the workshop, please email your order. While sign-up is encouraged, walk-ins will be welcomed.